Category: Nigerian Tribune

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), Chief Wole Olaonipekun (SAN), Major General Ike Nwachkwu, Prof. Patrick Lumumba, and other prominent leaders have emphasize the need for Nigeria to stand tall as the giant of Africa and strengthen the continent’s place on the global stage.

They made the call on Thursday as they all gathered at the Island Club 2025 Nigeria @ 65 Independence Lecture and Awards Night, themed: ‘Nigeria and the African Reawakening: The Giant That Must Not Sleep,’ held at the Peacock Hall, Island Club, Lagos.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, while making the call, stressed that Nigerians needed to join hands and fight to ensure that the country hits its potential in all areas of human endeavor to strengthen African unity, foster economic growth, and secure its rightful place as a global leader.

The governor, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, noted that Nigeria stands tall as Africa’s most populous nation with over 220 million people, considered as a demographic dividend fuelling growth, with over 60 per cent believed to be young and in their productive stage, further stressing that not many countries can boast of this youthful, productive, and vibrant demographic.

‘We need to join hands and fight to ensure that Nigeria hits her potential in all areas of human endeavours. With private sector leadership or collaboration with captains of industry, like the esteemed Island Club members, this giant of a nation will wake up, move up, and stay up,’ he said.

Governor noted that the theme of the event was a reflection on Nigeria at 65, saying that it should be an exhibition of collective ideas on how this giant of a country can live up to its stature as a true giant, responsible and respected nation, honoured and valued at home and abroad.

This was just as he reaffirmed that Lagos remained committed to contributing its quota as a hub of enterprise, creativity, and progress to Nigeria’s bright future and Africa’s awakening.

Highlighting Lagos’ pivotal role in Nigeria’s economic progress, Sanwo-Olu noted that the state now ranks as the second largest city economy in Africa with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $259 billion based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), adding that the state GDP is more than 18.7% of Nigeria’s GDP and about 20% of the country’s non-oil GDP.

‘Nigeria has all that it takes to succeed. We are home to the largest number of millionaires in Africa – a true reflection of our economic vibrancy. Lagos State epitomizes entrepreneurial dynamism; a commercial heartbeat driving Africa’s economic pulse.

‘It is working towards becoming Africa’s model megacity, one that is safe and secure, functional and productive. It has the ambition of becoming a global economic and financial hub in which businesses thrive and with high returns on investment,’ the governor said.

Similarly, former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Fashola (SAN), called for a national consensus on what the ‘Nigerian Dream’ truly meant, stressing the importance of defining clear standards for success and leadership.

Fashola, while emphasizing that success was not static but must be redefined over time to reflect the nation’s evolving challenges and opportunities, urged Nigerians to establish a gold standard for leadership, to ensure that the nation recognize and rally behind true visionaries.

Referencing Nigeria’s role in continental infrastructure, Fashola highlighted the country’s contributions to the Trans-African Highway and other projects, noting that three of the nine highways across Africa terminated in Lagos.

He explained that such investment from the Lagos-Badagry Expressway to the Kano-Maradi Railway reflected Nigeria’s responsibility in shaping Africa’s shared future.

Also speaking, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Olaonipekun (SAN), underscored the importance of structural and constitutional reforms to rebuild Nigeria’s foundations, even as he stressed that the responsibility now rests on Nigerians and Africans themselves to define a new path.

‘The responsibility now rests on Nigerians and Africans themselves to define a new path. With a call for justice, unity, and moral rebirth. Nigeria must be born again, contextualized, structural, constitutional, and legal. Only then can we inspire Africa and the world,’ he said.

The former Foreign Minister, Major General Ike Nwachkwu, in his own remark, noted the importance of strong opposition in safeguarding democracy, recalling how past opposition figures helped preserve nation’s stability and accountability.

Lamenting the weakening of opposition politics today, Nwachkwu warned that democracy cannot thrive without genuine checks, fairness, and focus, calling on Nigerians to unite, rise above selfish politics, and demand governance that prioritizes the collective good over personal ambition.

The Keynote Speaker, an Internationally Celebrated Pan-Africanist and Thought Leader, Prof. Patrick Lumumba, challenged Nigerians to embrace their historic responsibility as Africa’s leader, warning that the nation can no longer afford ‘business as usual.’

Lumumba, while making the call, noted that Nigeria, despite its vast resources and human talent, had yet to achieve its true potential, pointing to persistent challenges in governance, education, healthcare, electricity, and the economy.

The erudite scholar emphasized that leadership at all levels must rise above self-interest and tribalism to deliver real transformation, declaring pointedly that ‘the day Nigeria wakes up is the day Africa wakes up.’

He, therefore, urged Nigeria to take bold steps in diversifying its economy, reviving local industries, strengthening education, and investing in innovation, rather than relying on imports.

Imagine trying to teach a ghost to paint. It has no hands, no eyes, and no physical form. All you can do is show it millions of paintings and tell it, ‘This is a cat,’ or ‘This is a starry night.’ Over and over again, you provide examples until, miraculously, the ghost starts to understand the essence of ‘cat’ or ‘starry night.’ It learns the patterns, the styles, and the concepts. Eventually, you can ask it to paint something new-a cat on a bicycle under a starry night-and it can conjure an image from the patterns it has absorbed. This enchanting, almost magical process is, in simple terms, how generative AI works. It’s a digital ghost in the machine, learning from vast amounts of data to create something entirely original. The process involves recognising complex patterns, much like a seasoned player develops an intuition for games of chance. On platforms like https://fortunica-online.com/en-gb, success often comes from understanding probabilities and patterns over time. Similarly, generative AI doesn’t rely on luck; it masters its craft by analysing countless examples until it can predict the next logical step, whether that’s a word in a sentence or a brushstroke in a painting.

This powerful technology is no longer confined to science fiction; it’s reshaping our world, from how we work to how we play. But how does it go from being a student of human creation to a creator in its own right? Let’s demystify the magic.

What Is This Digital Ghost?

At its core, generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can produce new and original content. Unlike other AIs that might only recognise or classify information, generative models create. They can write poems, compose music, design images, and even generate code. Think of them as incredibly advanced mimics that, after seeing enough examples, can develop their own unique style.

These systems are powered by complex algorithms called neural networks, which are loosely inspired by the human brain. They learn by identifying underlying patterns and relationships in massive datasets. This training allows them to generate outputs that are not just copies but are statistically plausible creations based on the data they’ve learned from.

This brings us to the most crucial part of the process: the training. Without it, our digital ghost would have an empty canvas and no inspiration.

The Library of Everything: Training Data

The fuel for any generative AI model is data-colossal amounts of it. An AI that generates text, like ChatGPT, is trained on a vast corpus of text from the internet, including books, articles, and websites. An image generator like MidJourney or DALL·E, on the other hand, learns from billions of images paired with descriptive text captions. This library of examples is what teaches the AI about the world.

Here’s a breakdown of the kind of data used for different models:

Text Models: Fed with terabytes of text from the web, they learn grammar, context, facts, and conversational styles.

Image Models: Trained on huge databases of images and their descriptions, they learn to connect words like ‘surrealist painting of a fox in a top hat’ to specific visual elements.

Music Models: Learn from countless hours of music, absorbing melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and genre conventions.

This data doesn’t just teach the AI what things are; it teaches the AI the intricate connections between them.

Learning the Rules of Art (and Everything Else)

Once the AI has its library, the learning begins. During training, the model tries to predict and reconstruct the data it’s given. For example, a text model might be given a sentence with a missing word and tasked with guessing it. An image model might be shown a blurry image and asked to make it sharp.

With each attempt, it receives feedback on how well it did. If it guesses the wrong word, it adjusts its internal parameters. This process is repeated billions of times, and with each iteration, the AI gets better at understanding the patterns. It’s not memorising the examples but rather building an internal, abstract representation of the information. This is how it learns the ‘rules’ of language, art, and logic without ever being explicitly programmed with them.

This foundational understanding is what allows the AI to move from simply recognising patterns to generating them on its own.

From Apprentice to Master: The Creation Process

After extensive training, the AI is ready to create. The process of generating new content usually follows a few key steps, starting with a prompt from a user. This is where you get to collaborate with the digital ghost.

Here is a simplified step-by-step guide to how generative AI creates something new:

Receiving the Prompt: You give the AI a command, known as a prompt. This can be anything from ‘Write a short story about a time-travelling detective’ to ‘Create an image of a crystal palace on Mars.’

Interpreting the Concept: The AI breaks down your prompt into concepts it understands from its training. It associates words like ‘crystal,’ ‘palace,’ and ‘Mars’ with the patterns it has learned.

Generating From Noise: For many models, especially image generators, the process starts from a field of random noise (like TV static). The AI then gradually refines this noise, shaping it step-by-step to match the concepts in the prompt.

Refining and Iterating: The model continuously checks its own work against the prompt, making adjustments to better align the output with the request. It’s essentially asking itself, ‘Does this look like a ‘crystal palace’?’ until the result is a close match.

This generative ability allows the AI to produce a near-infinite variety of outputs, making it a powerful tool for creativity and problem-solving.

Comparing Different Generative AI Models

While the underlying principles are similar, different generative AI models are specialised for various tasks. Understanding their strengths can help you choose the right tool for your needs. The table below offers a comparison of common model types.

As this table illustrates, each type of generative AI excels in its own domain, having been trained on data specific to that medium. This specialisation is what allows for such high-quality and context-aware outputs.

Unleash Your Inner Creator

Generative AI is more than just a technological marvel; it’s a new frontier for human creativity. By understanding how it works-not as magic, but as a sophisticated process of pattern recognition and generation-we can demystify the technology and harness its potential. From the initial spark of a prompt to the final, polished creation, AI acts as a collaborative partner, a tireless assistant, and an endless source of inspiration. It’s the ghost we taught to paint, now ready and waiting for our next masterpiece.

The next time you see a stunning AI-generated image or read a cleverly written piece of text, you’ll know the secret behind it. It’s not about a machine thinking for itself, but about an algorithm so well-trained on human culture that it can reflect it back to us in new and unexpected ways. So why not try it yourself? Experiment with a text or image generator and see what you can create. You might just be surprised by the artist within you.

The remains of the former Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, on Friday interred in Benin, the Edo State capital amid tears from family members, friends and former colleagues.

Solomon Arase was buried at a private ceremony witnessed by few family members and closed associates.

The former IGP was interred after a funeral mass was held at the St. Paul Catholic Church, Airport in Benin.

In his homily, Reverend Father Andrew Obiyan, urged the congregation to work towards making heaven after leaving the physical world.

Obiyan said people would want to go everywhere on earth but refused to go to the House of God.

He expressed disappointed at attitude of some humans towards donating for the work of God.

According to him, ‘Our own life is in heaven. We must never be distracted. We now see old age creeping into our lives daily powerfully.

‘It crept in to remind us of immortality. We study so hard to receive so many titles. At death, those titles mean nothing to God. The only title that means so much is a grace of battle.

‘We have the assurance that Arase will reap the fruit of baptism in the presence of the eternal King.

‘Sometimes we go everywhere but we dont want to go to the House of God except when we want to please people. We do not want not to come to the House of God.

‘Late Arase feared and loved God. Policing is a profession with risk. We see soaring crime rate yet many police officers are exemplary hard.

‘We give glory to God for Arase’s getting to the peak of his career. The lord do not take from you what he cannot give.’

Governor of Bayelsa State, Duoye Diri, said late Arase was of great service to the Nation.

‘Moments like this are for us to know that one day we will lie down like this. We should be humble to serve our state and country to the best of our ability.

‘All about him are great and good testament. From his professionalism and service to the country, his relationship with the rest of society marked his humility and spreading love everywhere he goes.’

Dignitaries at the event were Governor Monday Okpebholo represented by his Deputy, Dennis Idahosa, Oba Ewuare II represented by Chief Oseni Elamah and Chief Uso Osaretin, the Usoh of Benin Kingdom.

Others were former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, FRSC Zone 5 Commander, Stella Orakwe, Secretary to the Police Service Commission, Onyeabuchi Nnamani, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, Senator Neda Imasuen, amongst others.

Osun State House of Assembly has warned commercial banks in the state, Osogbo branch, not to honour unauthorised financial instructions on local government accounts.

Speaker of the House, Honourable Adewale Egbedun, who dropped the warning via a letter, drew attention to unlawful financial directives allegedly issued in some local governments, including Boluwaduro Local Government, authorising deductions of up to 15 percent of September 2025 allocations in favour of private individuals.

He described such actions as illegal, unconstitutional and without any budgetary approval, stressing that treasurers are not legally recognised signatories to local government accounts under extant laws.

The House reaffirmed that only the local government chairman and the Director of Administration and General Services, both officers of the Local Government Service Commission are empowered to operate such accounts in line with the Osun State Guidelines on Local Government Administration and the Public Financial Management Law, 2020.

Citing its resolution of September 29, 2025, the assembly reiterated that no withdrawals or deductions may be made from local government accounts without strict compliance with the constitution, internal regulations and approved budgets. It further warned that any financial institution processing unauthorised instructions would be deemed complicit in financial misconduct in violation of multiple national anti-corruption laws, including the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and would face the weight of the law.

The speaker cautioned that erring banks risk severe consequences, including summons before the House, arrest warrants and referrals to anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution.

The letter reads:’ I write with reference to our earlier letter dated September 29, 2025, by which the assembly, pursuant to its oversight powers under Sections 128 and 129 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), demanded disclosure of all local government accounts domiciled with your bank.’

‘This House has been made aware that certain local government areas in the state, including but not limited to Boluwaduro Local Government, have issued financial instructions authorising deductions from their accounts in favour of private parties. One such instance is the instruction to deduct 15 percent of funds received in September 2025, allegedly authorised by the local government’s treasurer and chairman.’

‘ Apart from the fact that such an expenditure is illegal and does not conform with the provisions of internal regulations, it is equally not provided for in the 2025 approved budget of the local governments.’

‘ Let it be stated for record purposes that the treasurer is not a legally recognised signatory under the extant Osun State laws governing the operation of local government accounts. Specifically, Section 14 of the Guidelines for the Administration of Local Government stipulates that only persons listed by the assembly resolution, which stipulates that only the local government chairman, Director of Administration and General Services, as officers under the employment of the Local Government Service Commission, are authorised to operate such accounts.

‘These provisions are further supported by the Osun State Public Financial Management Law, 2020.

‘Furthermore, the resolution of this House passed on Monday, September 29, 2025, affirms that no withdrawals or deductions may be made from local government accounts without compliance with the Constitution, the Guidelines and the Financial Management Law.

‘The said resolution also declared that any bank which processes instructions issued by unauthorised persons shall be deemed to have aided and abetted financial misconduct in violation of the Constitution, the Criminal Code Act, the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission Act.

‘Accordingly, you are hereby formally warned not to honour any instruction, verbal, written or electronic authorising disbursement, deduction or diversion of public funds from any local government account domiciled in your bank unless such instruction originates from the legally authorised signatories and is supported by express budgetary provision approved by the House.

‘Any transaction in breach of this position shall attract the constitutional and legal consequences, including summons before the House, the issuance of warrants of arrest and referrals to anti-corruption agencies for investigation and prosecution. Your institution will also stand the risk of blacklisting and recommendation for withdrawal of the privilege to operate government accounts.

‘You are reminded that your response to our initial request remains due within the 24-hour timeframe already communicated.

‘This matter is of public interest and must be treated with the utmost urgency and seriousness it deserves’, it said.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in the state, on Thursday, told members of the union to disregard the sponsored story of a particular political party that said leadership of the union has directed its workers to resume work.

The union’s chairman, Dr Nathaniel Kehinde Ogungbangbe, in a statement made available by Mr David Olalekan Owoeye, the state publicity secretary in Osogbo, said the claim was to cause commotion and disorganise the well – informed NULGE members in the state.

‘The union is using this medium to inform our well-respected members to know that such information did not emanate from the elected NULGE executives under the leadership of Dr Ogungbangbe and there is no directive of such from the national body of our union under the leadership of Haruna Aliyu Kankara.

‘It was authored to destabilise the peace of the state through which our members could be massacred and reduce our membership strength.’

Therefore, the union is urging all members to see the write-up as the handiwork of the killers of destiny which needed to be jettisoned and stay away from office until further directive from the real elected state NULGE executives in the state.

‘It is equally pertinent to note that NULGE has not directed our members to resume work.

How do you think your experience in LegalTech has influenced your approach to problem-solving in other industries, such as FinTech and CareTech?

My career began in LegalTech at LawPavilion Nigeria, where I worked on digitising case law and legal processes. That experience sharpened my ability to translate highly regulated, paper-heavy workflows into streamlined, user-friendly systems. The legal sector taught me that compliance, accuracy, and trust are non-negotiable. Every solution had to be airtight because the cost of mistakes in law is incredibly high.

When I transitioned into FinTech and later CareTech, I carried that mindset with me. It wasn’t just about building products that looked good or functioned on the surface; it was about designing systems that could stand the test of regulation, scrutiny, and scale. In finance, trust is the currency, and in healthcare, safety is paramount. My LegalTech foundation gave me the discipline to balance innovation with responsibility, ensuring that solutions not only solved problems but also met regulatory and ethical standards.

Can you share some insights into the technical architecture of the Loan Management Portal you developed at LSETF, and how it achieved a 40 per cent increase in productivity?

At the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, we were faced with the challenge of managing large volumes of loan applications manually. The process was not only slow but also prone to human error. To solve this, we built the Loan Management Portal on a modular, service-oriented architecture. Each module handled a specific function-whether that was loan application intake, credit assessment, approval work flows, or reporting.

We also implemented role-based access so that everyone from loan officers to compliance managers had clearly defined permissions. Automated credit assessments reduced approval times, and integrated reporting created transparency for management. What used to take days could now be accomplished in hours. The productivity increase of over 40 per cent came from automation of repetitive tasks, smarter workflow orchestration, and data-driven dashboards that gave decision-makers a real-time view of what was happening. It transformed LSETF’s operations from a manual, paper-heavy process into a dynamic and scalable digital platform.

What role do you think artificial intelligence and machine learning play in enhancing financial inclusion, and how have you incorporated these technologies into your projects, such as Wyrr and GenCapita?

AI and ML have the potential to rewrite the financial services playbook. Traditional credit scoring models often exclude people without a formal credit history, which is a large portion of the African population. With AI, we can look at alternative data, such as mobile phone usage, transaction patterns, or even behavioral analytics, to make fairer credit decisions.

At Wyrr, we experimented with fraud-prevention models that analysed transaction patterns in real time, flagging unusual behavior before it caused damage. At GenCapita, the focus was on investment pattern recognition. By applying machine learning, we were able to recommend smarter portfolio allocations to users based on their behavior and risk appetite. These aren’t just technical improvements; they are steps toward financial inclusion, creating opportunities for people who were previously invisible to traditional banking systems.

How do you balance the need for innovation with the requirement for regulatory compliance in your work, particularly in the FinTech sector?

This balance is one of the toughest challenges in FinTech. Many startups are eager to move fast and disrupt, but ignoring compliance is a ticking time bomb. My approach has always been ‘build fast, but build right.’ For instance, at Gen Financial Limited, we had ambitious goals around securities trading and payment processing. But we knew from the start that we had to work closely with regulators.

We engaged with them early, explaining our product roadmaps, and aligning with KYC, AML, and data-protection frameworks. Instead of seeing compliance as a burden, we treated it as a competitive advantage. Once regulators trusted us, it gave us the freedom to innovate more confidently. That discipline is what has allowed me to build products that are both groundbreaking and sustainable.

What are some of the key lessons you learned from developing the Buy Now, Pay Later platform at QOOP, and how have you applied these lessons to other projects?

The BNPL platform at QOOP was an eye-opener. The technology itself was straightforward-creating a credit line for users and integrating it into e-commerce platforms. But the bigger challenge was human behavior. Many African consumers are still new to digital credit, and that means issues like repayment discipline, trust in the platform, and understanding the terms are critical.

We learnt very quickly that education and transparency had to be built into the product. Instead of hiding fees in fine print, we made repayment terms clear and user-friendly. Instead of focusing solely on growth, we focused on responsible lending. That approach reduced defaults and built long-term trust. I’ve carried those lessons into other projects, always ensuring that innovation is accompanied by financial literacy and user education.

As a co-founder and CTO of Aisiki, what was the inspiration behind building a logistics and agriculture-tech platform, and how do you see this sector evolving in the future?

Aisiki was born out of the realisation that one of Africa’s greatest challenges-agriculture-is also one of its biggest opportunities. Farmers were losing significant income because they lacked reliable logistics and direct access to markets. We set out to build a platform that connected farmers with logistics providers and buyers, reducing waste, improving efficiency, and increasing incomes.

The agriculture sector in Africa is primed for disruption. With the right mix of data, logistics, and financing, smallholder farmers can scale beyond subsistence farming. Looking ahead, I see technologies like IoT sensors for crop monitoring, mobile platforms for market access, and decentralised finance for micro-lending as key drivers of this transformation.

Can you tell us more about the technical challenges you faced in developing Caresyntra, and how you overcame them to create a seamless care management platform?

Caresyntra was a complex project because it sat at the intersection of healthcare, compliance, and technology. Care management requires strict adherence to regulations, but at the same time, caregivers need a platform that is intuitive and not overly bureaucratic. We had to build features like rostering, compliance tracking, and secure communication, all while ensuring that users found the platform easy to adopt.

The solution was to design the platform in a modular way, using cloud-based microservices for flexibility. Real-time synchronisation via secure APIs ensured that patient and staff data was always up-to-date and protected. It wasn’t just about solving technical problems; it was about designing for empathy. A platform in healthcare has to serve patients, families, and caregivers equally well, and that’s what we achieved with Caresyntra.

How do you think the ticketing industry can be transformed through technology, and what innovations have you introduced at TixTrack to enhance the user experience?

The ticketing industry has long suffered from inefficiencies and fraud. At TixTrack, we looked at how technology could make ticketing more transparent and accessible. I worked on features like transferable tickets, which allowed users to resell tickets safely, and group sales optimization, which helped event organizers cater to bulk buyers. We also introduced advanced reporting for organizers, giving them real-time insights into sales patterns.

These innovations don’t just improve efficiency-they improve trust. Event-goers feel safer knowing they won’t be duped by fake tickets, and organizers gain better tools to manage revenue and engagement. The result is a win-win ecosystem for everyone involved in live events.

What motivated you to create PayBridge.SDK, and how do you see this open-source project contributing to the developer community and the broader tech ecosystem?

Payment integration is one of the biggest headaches for developers. Each gateway has its quirks, and integrating multiple ones can be time-consuming. I built PayBridge.SDK as a unified API wrapper that supports both local and international gateways, drastically reducing integration time.

Making it open-source was intentional. I believe the best tools should be shared, not hoarded. Open-source projects like PayBridge democratise access, allowing small teams and startups to build at the same level as larger firms. It also encourages collaboration-developers can improve on it, adapt it, and feed those improvements back into the community. My hope is that PayBridge becomes a foundation stone for the next generation of African startups that want to scale globally.

Through your technical blog, tundehub.dev, you’ve shared insights on a range of topics, including microservices and cloud computing. What do you think are some of the most pressing issues in these areas, and how can developers stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies?

Microservices and cloud computing are exciting but also tricky. The biggest issues I see are around security, scalability, and cost optimization. Many startups rush to adopt microservices without putting observability, governance, and cost controls in place. That leads to chaos when the system scales.

Developers can stay sharp by engaging with open-source communities, studying real-world case studies, and experimenting with emerging technologies in safe environments. Writing for tundehub.dev keeps me honest. It forces me to learn continuously, to explain concepts clearly, and to share both successes and failures. That cycle of learning and teaching is what keeps me current.

With TechNaija FM, you’re creating a platform for voices in fintech, edtech, and digital transformation. What do you hope to achieve with this podcast, and how do you see it contributing to the tech ecosystem in Africa and the UK?

TechNaija FM is my way of giving back to the ecosystem. It’s a platform where African and UK voices can come together to share stories of innovation, resilience, and collaboration. Too often, the African tech narrative is told from the outside. I wanted to create a space where founders, developers, and investors could tell their own stories in their own voices.

My hope is for TechNaija FM to become a knowledge hub and an inspiration platform. If a young developer in Lagos or a founder in Manchester hears an episode and feels motivated to push through challenges, then the podcast has done its job. By amplifying diverse voices, we strengthen both ecosystems and build bridges across continents.

As someone who has worked on several high-impact projects, what do you think are some of the key factors that contribute to a project’s success, and how do you measure impact in your work?

From my experience, three factors stand out: clarity, collaboration, and adaptability. Clarity means everyone on the team understands the vision and the problem we’re trying to solve. Collaboration ensures that ideas flow freely and that no one feels siloed. Adaptability means being ready to pivot when new information emerges or when the market shifts.

I measure impact not just by whether the code works, but whether people actually use and trust the product. Adoption metrics, efficiency gains, and user satisfaction are my benchmarks. A project is only truly successful if it makes life easier for its users.

What role do you think collaboration and knowledge sharing play in driving innovation in the tech sector, and how have you incorporated these principles into your work?

Collaboration is the lifeblood of innovation. No one builds in isolation. Open-source projects, community events, hackathons, and mentorship all exist because innovation thrives when ideas are shared. Personally, I’ve embraced this through my blog, podcast, and developer

I’ve also seen firsthand at conferences how a single conversation can spark an entire startup. Knowledge sharing doesn’t just benefit the community; it benefits the individual too. By sharing what you know, you deepen your own understanding and open doors to opportunities you might never have imagined.

How do you think technology can be leveraged to address some of the most pressing socioeconomic challenges in Africa and the UK, such as financial exclusion and inequality?

Technology has already shown us glimpses of its power to transform lives. In Africa, mobile money has lifted millions out of financial exclusion. But we can go further-with blockchain providing transparency in public finance, AI offering fairer credit scoring, and telehealth making medical services accessible in remote areas.

In the UK, inequality manifests differently, but the tools are similar. Digital skills training can empower underserved communities, and AI-powered care platforms like Caresyntra can make healthcare more efficient and equitable. The key is designing technology that is inclusive, affordable, and accessible to those who need it most.

Looking back on your career, what do you think have been some of the most significant milestones, and how have these experiences shaped your approach to technology and innovation?

Looking back, there are several moments that shaped me. At LawPavilion, digitising legal processes taught me discipline and respect for compliance. At LSETF, driving financial empowerment showed me the power of technology to change lives on a large scale. Building BNPL and cooperative platforms at QOOP and getQoop.com taught me the importance of user trust and responsible growth.

On the technical side, creating open-source contributions like PayBridge.SDK and TableauSharp reinforced my belief in community-driven innovation. Launching TechNaija FM and planning the Obokun Tech Summit reminded me that storytelling and convening people are as important as writing code. Each milestone reinforced my core philosophy: technology should be a tool for empowerment. My approach today is simple-build solutions that matter, scale them ethically, and create opportunities for others.

Stakeholders have observed that Nigeria’s education sector has shown gradual improvements in literacy and enrollment rates over the last 65 years, but still faces significant challenges.

Some of these challenges as listed by stakeholders include inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, teachers’ shortages and quality, high number of out-of-school children and low completion rates and limited access to quality learning materials.

An educationist, Professor Linus Amuta, said that though Nigeria has recorded modest achievements in terms of creation more institutions as stated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his 65th Independence Anniversary broadcast to the nation, the major challenges remain inadequate funding and decline in the quality of the products from the system.

According to him, the fact that Nigeria on an annual basis allocates around seven per cent of its budget to the education sector means that this is far below the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recommended 20 per cent.

He noted that the education sector has a yearly funding shortfall of approximately $1 billion, while about 60 percent of school infrastructures are in disrepair, affecting learning quality.

Amuta further revealed that there is an estimated deficit of over 20,000 classrooms nationwide, adding that only 10 percent of Nigerian teachers are considered highly trained.

‘Around 60 per cent of teachers lack adequate training, and there›s a teacher-student ratio of 1:40 in primary schools. The primary school completion rate is around 85 per cent, but the dropout rates increase significantly after primary school education, with over 40 per cent, not proceeding to secondary education,» he stated.

President Tinubu in his broadcast on Wednesday noted that Nigeria had made significant progress and that today Nigerians have access to better education and healthcare than in 1960.

He recalled that at Independence, Nigeria had 120 secondary schools with a student population of about 130,000.

‘Available data indicates that, as of 2024, there were more than 23,000 secondary schools in our country. At Independence, we had only the University of Ibadan and Yaba College of Technology as the two tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

‘By the end of last year, there were 274 universities, 183 Polytechnics, and 236 Colleges of Education in Nigeria, comprising Federal, State, and private institutions. We have experienced a significant surge in growth across every sector of our national life since Independence – in healthcare, infrastructure, financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, information technology, aviation and defence, among others,’ Tinubu stated.

Professor Amuta, however, insisted that to address the myriad of challenges in the education sector, Nigeria needs to prioritise education funding, improve teacher training and infrastructure, and increase access to quality learning materials.

He added that the government at all levels should also focus on reducing dropout rates and improving completion rates, especially at secondary education level.

Also, speaking, the National President, Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Dr Smart Olugbeko, expressed mixed feelings regarding the education sector, especially teacher›s education in the last 65 years of Nigeria’s political independence.

According to him, though, the country’s education sector is sickly, it isn’t a write-off.

He said the poor state Nigeria is in today is as a result of its level of education, as education defines development of any economy.

‘So, whichever way we look at the matter, Nigeria has not been able to make much impact. This is known to everyone, including the government officials that education is the bedrock of development.

‘However, in Nigeria, it is just a lip service that is being paid to the sector because a country that takes education seriously would definitely not treat teachers the way the Nigerian government is treating them.

‘Until we take this aspect seriously, we will continue to grope in the dark because the teacher›s role is crucial in a nation’s development.

‘Thus, governments at all levels need to give adequate priority to education and also treat teachers very well. Teachers deserve good salaries, welfare and condition of service.

‘Governments also need to address infrastructure deficits in schools across all levels and create an enabling environment for the non-state actors to thrive too.’

Olugbeko, however, pointed out that some of the steps taken by the current government in the sector, particularly the technical education will change the narrative, if well implemented.

Also speaking, the National President of League of Muslims School Proprietors (LEAMSP), Mr Abdulwahid Obalakun, said it was the failure of the government from the mid 80s that the private school operators took advantage of to take the centre stage of the country’s education sector.

According to him, all was good at independence and got better by the day up to the mid 80s when the successive government began to give lip service to the education sector and that action really affected government schools.

‘However, appears that the current government wants to change the narrative by putting the sector in the right direction with some of its policies and programmes, but they must be well-implemented,’ he stressed.

Obalakun, however, urged the government not only to create an enabling environment for private school owners to thrive but also to intensify its support to them.

He said the education sector now deserves to have a specialised bank just as there is the Bank of Industry and the Bank of Agriculture, where school owners can access free or one-digit interest loans for their operations.

Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, however, acknowledged the unwavering leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose Renewed Hope Agenda has made education one of the cornerstones of national development.

He noted that under President Tinubu’s guidance, Nigeria has witnessed an unprecedented budgetary allocation to the education sector, the highest in the history of the country.

‘This historic investment has enabled us to upgrade infrastructure across schools and tertiary institutions, expand access to teacher professional development, and launch groundbreaking reforms such as the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI),’ he said.

He said the President has insisted that ‘no Nigerian child should be left behind because of poverty or geography’ and that this has been the driving force behind every programme launched by the Ministry of Education.

The Vice Chancellor of the African School of Economics (The Pan-African University of Excellence), Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, has urged Nigerians and the world at large to embrace hope despite the chaos that is increasingly becoming the order of the day.

He stressed that, as dark as the horizon may be, human beings cannot afford to lose hope that one day, there will be peace and justice in the world and that good will replace evil on the planet.

Prof. Adedimeji, a Fellow of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice, made this submission in his address, ‘A World Without War’, delivered on the occasion of the Special Lecture organised by the University on Monday as part of the activities marking the 2025 International Day of Peace.

The Vice Chancellor noted that the significance of Peace Day has gained more resonance in today’s world, which is being devastated and divided by war. According to him, ‘We are living witnesses to racism and genocide committed with impunity as the world pretends that human lives only matter on the basis of their skin pigmentation and religious beliefs. And as the United Nations Secretary General, António Gutterres, said in his message to commemorate this year’s edition, ‘We must silence the guns. End suffering. Build bridges. And create stability and prosperity.”

The Fellow of the World Institute for Peace stressed that Nigerians should remain purposeful and peaceful because the entire water in the ocean cannot sink a ship and until the ship allows the water inside it. Accordingly, the prevalence of negativity in the world won’t change individuals who refuse to allow hubris and hatred inside them.

He illustrated his point with the scenario that unfolded during the Cold War when the East Berliners threw trash across the Berlin Wall, but the West Berliners returned their action with sweets and candies thrown across the wall, with a note, ‘Each one gives what they have.’ He encouraged Nigerians to have and keep peace so that they can give it. ‘Let’s have compassion and light so that we can illuminate the world,’ he added.

In his lecture delivered on the occasion, a former Nigerian ambassador to Mozambique, with concurrent accreditation to Swaziland, Madagascar and Mauritius, Albert Omotayo, decried the state of the world, which he said is full of complexities, paradoxes and the unknown saying that the world itself has not really changed much except that man has progressed in evil, increasingly becoming less human and more brutish in his ways.

Ambassador Omotayo described how various philosophers have described the concept of God, citing authorities like Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, St. Augustine, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Immanuel Kant and others, pointing out that the divergence of their views shows how the idea of God has remained central to humanity’s search for meaning, truth and moral grounding.

While advocating forgiveness as a means of coping with the complexities of this world at a personal level, he traced the challenges that confront humanity regarding conflict and war to the beginning of creation, stressing that the world still has a lot of work to do now to achieve world peace in future.

Highlights of the occasion included the presentation of an award to Ambassador Omotayo by the Vice Chancellor of African School of Economics, assisted by the Registrar, Mrs Emilomo Ogunboye, and goodwill messages by guests, including the Assistant Director of Corps, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Raymond Yusuf and the Founder, Path to Peace Foundation, Mr Abubakar Akande.

The Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for the African Region (BCCC-Africa) has organised a workshop for students of the University of Ibadan to train them on how to create awareness on the dangers of plastic waste and solutions to the menace when they proceed to their compulsory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme across the country, and for serving corps member currently enrolled in the scheme.

The workshop tagged, ‘Accelerating Community Awareness on Plastic Waste through Interventions with Students and Graduates of Tertiary Institutions in Ibadan, Nigeria,’ is a continuation of a project which commenced earlier this year. Earlier on June 18, BCCC-Africa held a one-day Inception Workshop for a project titled: ‘Accelerating community awareness on plastic waste through interventions with students and graduates of tertiary educational institutions in Ibadan, Nigeria,’ on the campus of the University of Ibadan (UI), Ibadan, Oyo State.

The BCCC-Africa Executive Director, Professor Percy Onianwa, at the project inception, noted that ‘Nigerian students and youth corps members have never before been utilised in this manner for any community awareness raising programme. The scheme has a high potential for a wide reach within the country. The trainees are also likely to carry on with awareness-building activities even beyond the lifespan of this project.’

He added, ‘The project is being executed by the BCCC-Africa, with funding provided by the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions through its third Small Grants Programme (SGP-3) on Plastic Wastes.’

The project aims to engage about 450 final-year students of the University of Ibadan (UI), and 450 final-year students of The Polytechnic Ibadan, and also work with National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members that are already deployed to serve in the metropolitan city of Ibadan.

The project will also develop educational materials that are suitable for awareness raising and outreach programmes on plastic waste in Nigeria and build the capacities of higher academic institutions’ students and NYSC members for the purpose of engaging them in community awareness through advocating activities on plastic waste and management.

The intensive full day programme held on Saturday, September 20, for students of UI could be broadly divided into two parts, namely ‘problems’ and ‘solutions’ to the plastic waste challenge in Nigeria. The first part with the broad topic of ‘Plastics, Plastic Wastes, Plastic Pollution,’ took them through sub-topics including: ‘Nature of Plastics/Plastic Waste/Single-Use Plastics’, ‘Microplastics and Chemicals in Plastics’, ‘Plastic Pollution: Health Hazards of Plastic Wastes’.

The second part of the session on ‘Managing Plastic Wastes’ dealt with sub-topics including Sorting, Collection and Recycling. Mr Victor Okunola, a recycler from Plastic Edge, said that recycling can become a viable source of income. Professors Adie and Ipeaiyeda spoke on ‘Alternatives to Plastics’ that are less harmful to the environment, such as bamboo, liquid wood and substances that can be added to make plastic biodegradable.

Mr Rafiu Akorede of the Oyo State Ministry of Environment, who spoke on the topic: ‘Managing Plastics in Ibadan,’ mentioned strategies the state government is using for waste management, including decentralised waste collection through waste management consultants, public awareness and advocacy and promoting reusable items.

The ‘Role of Extended Producer Responsibility in Managing Plastic Waste in Nigeria’ was handled by Agharese Onaghise of the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance (FBRA).

Before she spoke, Prof Onianwa noted that the economics of waste management has changed with the increase in the cost of managing dumpsites. He added that one of the ways to cope with this challenge is the extended producer responsibility.

Onaghise said FBRA, established in 2018, with just four members, now has about 47, adding that the organisation empowers Nigerian industries to manage plastic waste effectively.

Speaking about their experiences, Happiness Abiodun, a 400-level student in the Department of Chemistry, said the workshop was indeed insightful, as she not only learned about the activities of BCCC-Africa but also discovered how plastics can be harmful to the environment, despite their usefulness.

She added, ‘I am grateful to BCCC-Africa and all the speakers for teaching us how to enlighten secondary school students and market women on plastics recycling.’

She said she planned to use her upcoming national service year (NYSC) to initiate a group of corps members that would embark on an enlightenment campaign to students and market women. ‘I also plan to introduce clubs in secondary schools that will focus on plastic recycling, and also bring in resource persons to teach them. Secondary school students are well-exposed these days, and I believe they will catch the message quickly,’ she added.

David Adewale, a Geology student of the university, said he was now fully aware of the need to reduce the usage of plastics due to its impact on the environment. ‘I understand that there are alternatives to plastics.

BCCC-Africa also conducted another session of the same workshop on Thursday, September 25, for corps members currently enrolled in the NYSC scheme for the same purpose of creating awareness on the dangers of plastic waste and how to manage it.

After the session, Babalola Sunday, a corps member serving in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, described the session as educative. ‘I understood what BCCC-Africa stands for and its functions. I now understand the dangers of plastic pollution, and we can help to save the situation.’

Ayomide Hannah, another corps member, thanked BCCC-Africa for the opportunity to attend training on plastic waste. ‘I learned about the history and objectives of BCCC-Africa, particularly its role in protecting human health from hazardous waste.

‘The sessions emphasised the hazards of plastic pollution on land and in aquatic environments, supported with statistics, and also explored existing policies and management strategies. I was especially encouraged to create awareness by communicating plastic waste issues to people of all ages.’

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC), has revealed that 166 people have died from Lassa fever between January 1 and September 14, 2025.

The Case Fatality Rate is now 18.5 per cent, higher than the 16.9 per cent recorded during the same period in 2024.

By epidemiological Week 37, the country had reported 7,673 suspected cases and 895 confirmed cases across 21 states and 106 Local Government Areas.

According to the World Health Organisation, Lassa fever is an acute viral illness caused by the Lassa virus. It is endemic in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, but likely exists in other West African countries.

The WHO explained that the virus is mainly transmitted to humans through food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces, while person-to-person transmission can also occur, particularly in health care settings without proper infection prevention and control measures.

The NCDC, in a report, revealed that ‘in week 37, the number of new confirmed cases decreased from 13 in week 36 of 2025 to 11. These were reported in Ondo, Bauchi, Kogi, and Anambra states.’

‘Cumulatively, as at week 37, 2025, 166 deaths have been reported with a Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 18.5 per cent, which is higher than the CFR for the same period in 2024 (16.9 per cent).

‘In total for 2025, 21 States have recorded at least one confirmed case across 106 Local Government Areas.’

The agency said 90 per cent of confirmed cases were from Ondo (33 per cent), Bauchi (23 per cent), Edo (18 per cent), Taraba (13 per cent), and Ebonyi (3 per cent), while the remaining 10 per cent came from 16 other states.

‘The predominant age group affected is 21-30 years (Range: 1 to 96 years, Median Age: 30 years). The male-to-female ratio for confirmed cases is 1:0.8,’ the report added.

The report further noted that no new healthcare worker was affected in the reporting week, and that suspected and confirmed cases declined compared to the same period in 2024.

The NCDC said the National Lassa Fever Technical Working Group continues to coordinate response activities at all levels.

The Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has stressed the need to strengthen the security measures across the Southwest and parts of Kwara and Kogi states to prevent recurring bandit attacks and loss of lives, describing the massacre, which recently took place in Kwara, as deeply tragic and condemnable.

The Yoruba generalissimo made the call on Thursday in a statement, in reaction to the recent killings in Oke Ode area of Kwara State, urging for increased security patrols, intelligence gathering, and community engagement to stem the tide of mindless killings of helpless citizens.

Iba Adams quickly recalled that no fewer than 12 persons, including the Baale of Ogbayo, were killed on Sunday morning when armed bandits attacked Oke-Ode community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.

Besides, he also recalled that many communities in Kwara and Kogi states had, in recent times, been under incessant attacks from armed bandits, resulting in loss of lives and property, saying that they include Babanla, Bororo, Osi, Oro in Kwara State, and Ejiba, Egbe, Okoloke, Okunran, Odo-Ape, and Ole-bunu in Kogi State.

Adams extended his heartfelt condolences to the families and communities affected by the senseless violence and killings, and also to the state government, even as he charged all government agencies, particularly the Nigeria Police and other security operatives, to intensify efforts in securing the lives and properties of citizens in Oke Ode and its environs.

He also called on relevant authorities to act swiftly and decisively to bring perpetrators of the massacre to justice, and to provide support to the victims.

The Yoruba generalissimo said he was particularly pained that such mindless killings were still taking place in spite of the repeated calls he had made for heightened security alertness across the Southwest and parts of Kogi and Kwara states based on intelligence reports that the region had a heavy presence of terrorists masquerading as bandits.

Adams, however, urged the people of Oke Ode and neighbouring communities, and other Yoruba-speaking areas in Kwara and Kogi, to remain vigilant and cooperate fully with security agencies by providing timely information on suspicious activities.

The Yoruba generalissimo, while making the call, noted that security is a shared responsibility, maintaining that community partnership was s essential in combating crime and ensuring lasting peace.