I have always admired the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami for his solid intellection and painstaking understanding of his brief in public service, alongside his charismatic and pragmatic efforts in governance. As a pioneer in government, defining the frontiers of a new future for our country, he has a fascinating understanding of his remit, which is as evident in the manner he speaks without the prompting of prepared addresses, as equally in his eloquence with facts and figures.

Beyond an endearing gift of oratory, in less than three years of his tenure, his ministry has grown in leaps and bounds, while facilitating the establishment of newer agencies and departments. This includes the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) in 2020; Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI) in 2021; the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (NDIEC) in 2021; and the Nigerian Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) this year, 2022.

While he spearheaded the unbundling of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), which now has subsidiaries for property development, transportation and logistics, courier service and a micro-finance bank, the aggressive NIN-SIM verification campaign following the transfer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to his Ministry resulted in the significant capturing of over 85 million Nigerians in the National Identity (NIN) database. As his endeavours have made many aware, the need to document the identity of Nigerians in this age cannot be overemphasised, particularly towards the goals of national planning and accountability, including the greater demands for security.

It is therefore not surprising that during Pantamis ongoing tenure, the ICT sector has the highest growth rate in Nigerias economy, contributing an unprecedented 14.70 per cent to GDP in 2020, and which increased to 16.20 per cent in the first quarter of 2022, as enumerated by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.

Despite his busy and crowded schedules, it was quite surprising to learn that the Minister still found time to nurture his first love as an academic, by authoring two books that were recently unveiled at the Stakeholders Consultative Forum on Emerging Technologies, coordinated by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in Lagos.

The books, with the first being titled, Cybersecurity Initiatives for Securing a Country and the second going by the title of Datafication of Society to Foster an Internet Economy, both constitute a tour de force of high intellection, which elucidate upon key elements and initiatives on cybersecurity and datafication in the digital age, with Nigeria as the case study.

While the book on datafication brings together a series of lectures delivered by Pantami at various academic fora, including universities and analogous institutions, the book on cybersecurity provides insights on modern strategies in the protection of internet-connected systems involving hardware, software and data from cyber threats, particularly in Nigeria.

The 129-page Datafication of Society unfolds in nine chapters, traversing a General Overview on Datafication As a Concept, Economic and Security Issues in Using Public and Private Data, ICT As a Catalyst for Economic Development, and the Funding of Nigerian Tertiary Institutions for Entrepreneurship Education.

Other chapters comprise erudite expositions on the Role of the Digital Economy for National Development, Population Growth and Human Capital Development, the Role of Disruptive Technologies, and Data Privacy and Confidentiality.

In his introduction, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim, who occupies a commanding height on issues pertaining to Nigerias digital reality, both as a scholarly mediator and policy-maker, points out that datafication is an emerging technological trend involving the harvesting and transformation of the different aspects of everyday life into digital data. To him, this approach converts a wide range of everyday information into machine-readable and mineable data that can be used to generate deep insights about such information through the patterns it encodes.

In his attempt to ensure a layman understands the concept of datafication, the author offers a simple illustration of how he uses his smartphones to count his daily steps and also the calories that he burns for healthy living, etc.

On its part, the book on cybersecurity, published by the University Press Plc, spans seven chapters that are spread over 95 pages. Some of these sections focus on the Imperative of Cybersecurity, the Internet as an Enabler of Cybersecurity and Cybercrime, Leading National Cybersecurity Efforts, Policies and Initiatives on Cybersecurity, Citizens Data Harmonization for Enhanced National Security, and Strengthening the National Identification Number (NIN) and Securing a Country.

In his foreword to the book, the President of the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), Professor Mike Hinchey describes the Cybersecurity Initiatives for Securing a Country, as a first-hand personal representation of Pantamis efforts, challenges and successes in implementing the extremely crucial cybersecurity mandate in Nigeria.

Hinchey, who is a professor of Software Engineering at the University of Limerick, Ireland, noted that from the practical approaches to establishing a National Identification Number for accessing government services, to restricting the number of mobile telephony SIM cards assigned to an individual, for which Pantami received numerous death threats, to implementing the National Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria, the book details a magisterial chronicle that is fascinating and insightful to read.

Hinchey further describes Professor Pantami as a recognised expert in the field of cybersecurity. In addition to professional practice as a professor, teacher, and public speaker, Pantami has kept his skills and knowledge up to date with courses at some of the best universities in the world, he points out.

A medley of scholars, including intellectual peers, subject matter experts, Vice Chancellors of reputable universities, and leaders of relevant professional bodies have engaged with and offered their praises for Pantamis critical book on cybersecurity.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe aptly noted that without making assumptions about the reader, the author presents a concise, definitive and clear introduction of cybersecurity and its enabling technology, the internet, making it an easily comprehensible and engaging reading experience for a wide range of audiences of diverse backgrounds.

Similarly, the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Professor Kabiru Bala said the publication is highly crucial to Nigeria, especially in these difficult times of pervasive security challenges, as it concisely deals with the necessary building blocks for ensuring a digitally secure nation. This, to Bala, has been particularly through the indigenous efforts of public agencies such as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and other levels of technical support.

In a related vein, Professor Adesina Sodiya, the President of Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), observed that the book encompasses key strategies that can be adopted to curb cybercrimes, while the models, frameworks and case studies captured in the book are valid and tested, as reflected in the Nigerian situation.

With his knowledge and experience, the author has presented readers with some essentials of cybersecurity and datafication in lucid and comprehensive prose, devoid of technical jargon. The books are designed to assuage the curiosity of readers who are concerned about the threats and opportunities of emerging technology.

Professor Pantami draws from his experience as Nigerias Chief Information Technology Officer, as well as Minister of the Digital Economy, using the country, Nigeria as a case study in some instances, while providing sincere insights on how activities on the internet are changing the way humans feel, think, and behave.

In fact, the books document a number of the accomplishments and success stories attained by the administration of President Muhammadu with regard to the building of a sturdy digital economy in Nigeria.

These books are indeed gifts to scholars and professionals, not only in the ICT sector but for those interested in the changing reality brought about by the digital age, in which internet-enabled devices are continuously changing the ways we do things.

The author holds B.Tech and MSc degrees in Computer Science, an MBA in Technology Management, and Doctorate in Computer Information Systems. He is a professor of Cybersecurity.

Professor Pantami also holds various certifications in Digital Strategies and Leadership from reputable global institutions of learning including Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Oxford University, the University of Cambridge, and the Institute of Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, among others.

Yushau A. Shuaib, Editor-in-Chief PRNigeria and TechDigest
www.YAShuaib.com yashuaib@yahoo.co

The post Pantami’s grand exposes on Cybersecurity and the Datafication of Society appeared first on YAShuaib.

It was almost late into the night when the calls came in. Since I didn’t have the number in my phone’s list of contact, I was initially reluctant to answer it. But when the call came again, this time with the ID Caller displaying ‘Isa Pantami’, my heart skipped a beat.

The quite critical article I did on Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy quickly flashed back to my mind.

I had received different comments on the said article, with some friends saying I was not fair to the notable Islamic scholar and digital worldview professional.

Prior to the publishing of the said article, I had only seen him at a distance when he served as a guest speaker at the book presentation of a childhood friend and forensic detective, Dr. Abdullahi Bello, and also at the conference of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), both in Abuja.

Still, on the two occasions, one thing I found impressive was Pantami’s promptness to the events, even arriving earlier than some of the organisers, and then the extempore manner of delivery of his remarks, in which he spoke to subjects and issues that he displayed a captivating command of.

Meanwhile, on October 17, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari had approved Pantami’s submission for the expansion of Ministry of Communication’s mandate to cover the novel and future-looking area of an encompassing digital economy that captures the direction of the global economy which the Nigerian one seeks greater participation in, particularly as anticipated in the strategy laid out in the National Economic Growth and Recovery Plan. As such, he is the first driver of the Nigerian economy in this regard.

I am equally aware that apart from preaching against terrorism for over a decade as an Islamic scholar, Pantami as a digital professional has been in the forefront of advocating for the implementation of ICT-based solutions to tackle insecurity in Nigeria. I with his bosom friends, Jaafar Jaafar of the Gandollar fame and award-winning investigative journalist, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, had causes to discuss, analyse and report the incessant threats of Boko Haram to the minister in our different media platforms.

With all these running through my mind within a span of seconds, I picked the phone that night hoping it could however be one of those scam calls by the growing legion of increasingly sophisticated con artists, known as yahoo-yahoo boys, looking to another victim.

“Assalam alaikum. My name is Isa Pantami. Am I speaking to Mallam Yushau Shuaib?”

Immediately, I recognised the soft voice and responded in the affirmative, “Yes, Sheikh Pantami.”

“I have been reading you for a very long time and I am impressed by some of your contributions to national discourses,” he continued.

I was quite flattered, but being fairly familiar with this sort of ritual, I knew that such praises at the beginning of a conversation could easily take a sharp turn and nosedive into accusations and abuse.

Surprisingly, rather than expressing any reservation, he commended the efforts of our media platforms in the objective reporting being carried out. As he went on, the news instincts of the journalist in me sought some quick responses from him to certain media reports about his alleged conflict with other public officials.

However, he quickly interjected by saying that he was grossly misunderstood and attacked in the media, and that he was not even aware of some of the actions being attributed to him. He ended by saying that, “Surprisingly, I hold in high esteem and respect, some of the officers behind these reports.” Yet, I could sense his feelings about the unfair attacks on his person by the media, as we rounded up the call, with his promise to see me soon.

Weeks later I received an invitation from the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa to attend virtual commissioning of ICT projects in the first year of President Buhari’s second tenure in office.

I was amazed at the unveiling of dozens of ICT projects across the country within a few hours. In attendance at the virtual commissioning of the projects in Abuja were the Ministers of Information, Lai Mohammed; Interior, Ogeni Aregbosla; Aviation, Hadi Sirika and the Minister of State for Works, Abubakar Aliyu. Governors Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe, Hope Uzodinma of Imo and Mohammed Abubakar of Jigawa State were equally present at the unique event.

The two phases of the event were beamed live on big screens. Gracing the occasion at the other end on different locations were university Vice-Chancellors, public officers, religious leaders, traditional rulers and security chiefs, among others.

Some of the digital projects commissioned during the two phases of the event included the School Knowledge Centres (SKC), Tertiary Institution Knowledge Centre (TIKCs), ICT Innovation Hubs, Digital Skills for Entrepreneurs and Innovators, Community IT Training Centres, Virtual Examination Centres, and the newly completed Emergency Communication Centres (ECC).

More significant is the E-Health Centre, which aims to improve access to healthcare service delivery at medical facilities and the E-Accessibility Project that promotes digital inclusion of persons with disabilities through the provision of ICT and assistive technologies for institutions catering for their needs

All the facilities were delivered with adequate infrastructure and tools for ICT teaching and learning, including the Virtual Academy, which provides digital skills to citizens for economic empowerment (digitalnigeria.gov.ng).

Apart from these facilities provided within a year of Pantami’s tenure, his Ministry has also developed many policies to address concerns in the sector. These include the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy 2020-2030 (NDEPS); Roadmap for the Implementation of the NDEPS; the National Broadband Plan 2020-2025; SIM Card Registration Policy; and the National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Telecommunications Sector (Draft). Also, the National Policy on Virtual Meeting in the Federal Public Institutions (Draft); National Dig-Once Policy; and the National Policy on Internet.

Meanwhile, concerned about efficient productivity, the Minister also commissioned the Computer Emergency Response and Readiness Centre, the Digital Media Studio for Virtual Learning and the Digital Conference Centre for Remote Collaboration at the Nigeria Information and Technology Agency (NITDA).

NITDA’s IT Project Clearance (ITPC) also successfully cleared the Unique IT Projects of the ministries, departments and agencies of government (MDAs) and saved the government N5 billion, while it commenced enforcement action against MDAs that flout the Local Content Policy of the Buhari administration.

Presently, the structures of the Emergency Communication Centres (ECCs), a project under the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) are now available in 34 states of the federation, with the toll-free emergency number, 112, activated in 19 of these states.

In the attempt to improve the efficiency and modernisation of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), the Minister has approved the unbundling of the service into five companies, to cover Banking and Insurance, Property Development, Logistics Transportation, E-Government Service, and the E-Commerce Service. He also suspended cash payment for the services offered by NIPOST to promote the entrenchment of a national digital economy, while also fighting corruption.

Similarly, in a deliberate commercialisation effort to encourage private sector investment, Pantami endorsed the creation of Strategic Business Units within the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), which now operates the Satellite Infrastructure Company and the Satellite Broadband and Broadcast Company. Also, the Galaxy backbone, another agency under the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, has securely hosted the Open Treasury Portal to track all government expenditure above a certain threshold.

In accomplishing these tasks, the Minister ensured a synergy across the different parastatals under the Ministry, which now work together as a team and complement each another in their respective mandates. It is therefore not surprising that the broadband penetration in the country has hit over 40%, while the contribution of ICT to the Nigerian GDP reached 14.07% within a year.

I must admit that in all remarks, Dr Pantami gives credit to President Muhammadu Buhari for providing him with the enablement for the projects. I won’t be wrong to describe him as one of the keenest supporters of the President in the cabinet.

Yushau A. Shuaib
Publisher PRNigeria and Economic Confidential

The post Pantami and Digital Economy Projects in Nigeria by Yushau A. Shuaib appeared first on YAShuaib.

The aftermath of unveiling the Digital Economy Complex built by Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) has been the negative commentaries in the public space over the seemingly frosty relationship between the Minister of Communication, Dr. Isa Aliyu Pantami and the Executive Vice President of the NCC, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta.

The event in mention was to showcase facilities in the complex and announce the coming into full operation of the newly established Emergency Communication Centres (ECCs) for responding to distress calls on security challenges, health problems, and even the spread of the deadly Coronavirus in Nigeria.

In the presence of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister allegedly broke the protocol three times, while attempting to stop the NCC boss from mentioning the Commission’s achievements in a speech. There is also the allegation that a day earlier, at the pre-conference briefing as part of the lined-up events, Dr. Pantami had cautioned Professor Danbatta to remain silent while he (the Minister) was speaking about his academic qualification, among others. There are several other allegations pertaining to misunderstandings on policy issues due to the deteriorating relationship between the Minister and CEO of the Commission that are too disturbing to be discussed here.

While there are instances where master-servant relationships exist between some Ministers and the heads of agencies under their supervision, however there are relevant laws that define what the relationship between ministries and the parastatals under them should be. As instance, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) are organisations under the direct or indirect supervision or guidance of the Ministers of Finance, Petroleum, Justice and Information respectively. Still, these establishments enjoy independence from the ministries under whose oversight they are.

It is even shocking to realise that Dr. Pantami and Prof. Danbatta are Northern intellectuals and academics, not politicians, whose relationship ought to be devoid of partisanship and political sentiments. While Professor Danbatta, from Kano State, obtained his B.Eng and MSc degrees from the Technical University of Wroclaw in Poland, Dr. Pantami, from Gombe State, obtained his BTech and MSc qualifications from the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) in Bauchi.

Danbatta obtained a PhD from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and lectured in Bayero University Kano for more than 30 years, where he taught courses in telecommunications engineering and electronics and held the academic positions of Head of Department and Dean of the Faculty at different times.

Pantami, on the other hand, obtained his PhD from Robert Gordon University in Scotland and lectured for 10 years in ATBU, where he taught courses on multimedia and software engineering, before his appointment as Head of Technical Writing at the Islamic University of Madinah in 2014.

Apart from other positive innovations in the telecommunications industry since his appointment as NCC boss, Professor Danbatta ensured the completion of Emergency Communications Centres across the country to promote and enhance public safety through a toll free three-digit number, ‘112’, as the Universal Emergency Communications telephone number in Nigeria. The toll-free number can help distressed persons access help from the Police, Road Safety Corps, Civil Defence Corps, Fire and Ambulance Services and emergency responders.

Prior to his present duty call, some of the major successes of Dr. Pantami had been on his beat as Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). There he had not only been at the fore of organising strategic capacity building initiatives for the information technology sector, but he had equally been responsible for enforcing the Nigerian Guidelines on Local Content Development and Data Localisation Regulation. This remarkable feat had resulted in an unprecedented increase in the patronage of locally assembled devices, IT service providers and the repatriation of substantial data assets of the Federal Government, which had previously been hosted outside Nigeria.

Immediately, on his appointment as Communications Minister, Dr. Pantami had, among other things, tasked the NCC to link Subscriber Identification Number (SIM) cards, with National Identification Cards (ID cards) and Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) as a means of checkmating criminal and terrorist activities in the country. This action drew the ire of the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, who threatened to kill him.

While one may appreciate the burning desire of public officers to enable the provision of needed positive impacts in the lives of citizens, they also need to be aware that the public office is a position of trust, which is usually transient. One may be a Director today and become a Minister tomorrow and vice-versa, just like the current Minister of Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare was simply a Commissioner under Professor Danbatta in NCC, only last year, before his elevation into the Federal Executive Council. Public officers should keep finding ways of reconciling their differences, without exposing their acrimonious antagonisms to the public glare.

Meanwhile, the idea behind the Emergency Communications Centres was mooted in 2003 when the National Assembly enacted the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), with Section 107 of the legislation mandating the NCC to promote and enhance public safety through the use of a particular number, while also facilitating the prompt deployment of reliable end-to-end infrastructure for emergency communications needs throughout Nigeria.

Yet, due to the bureaucratic red tape, political bickering and egocentric behaviour of major actors in the sector, this dream could not be realised over a long period. I recall from my time as a spokesperson at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in 2009, the failure of the then Minister of Information and Communication, the now late Professor Dora Akunyili to reconcile the positions of the incumbent Director General of NEMA, retired AVM Mohammed Audu-Bida and the then NCC boss, Ernest Ndukwe on the modalities for the operation of the Emergency Communications Centres. The disagreement had eventually hindered the realisation of the project at that time.

As the nation deals with the emergency situations arising from the global Coronavirus pandemic, the Presidential Taskforce inaugurated by President Buhari, as the central coordinating body on the COVID-19 response in Nigeria, need to painstakingly coordinate the activities of responders on the levels of security, logistics and mass care, in support of the anti-Coronavirus campaign.

With regard to this, the Emergency Communications Centres could be activated to process and attend to the distress and emergency calls from the public in this most crucial of national tasks. And, since NEMA is statutorily empowered to educate the public on disaster prevention and control measures, as well as to coordinate and facilitate the provision of necessary resources for curtailment activities, the agency and other critical stakeholders should be co-opted into the endeavours of the task force.

With NEMA currently under the supervision of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Sadiya Faruk, the existing National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) could also be activated to manage and respond to the Coronavirus epidemic beyond just phone calls.

The NDRP, which serves as a policy guideline for disaster management in Nigeria, is a multijurisdictional, multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary and multi-resource initiative, has aspects that can be implemented through the Emergency Communications Centres. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has done so well in providing updates on the health status of Nigerians, availability of testing and other facilities, alongside contact tracing of infected persons, it should not be burdened with other components of crisis management, which are information, security and logistics related.

The presidential task force and other important stakeholders involved in seeking a resolution to this epidemic need a structure for the systematic, coordinated and effective delivery of federal assistance, and other levels of support to address the consequences of the current emergency. As such, the newly established Emergency Communications Centres, with its easy to memorise toll free 112 number, could play vital roles in this regard. Hence, the need to swiftly douse any brewing controversy around this vital information structure among the sector leaders, and quickly bring the operations of the Centres up to the presently required speed in enabling disaster response at this crucial period.

Yushau A. Shuaib
Author of “Award-Winning Crisis Communication Strategies”
yashuaib@yahoo.com

The post Pantami-Danbatta Squabble: Averting A Communication Sector Crisis appeared first on YAShuaib.