Personality in Focus
GITEX 2022: An Encounter with Digital Economy Maestro
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By Yushau Shuaib
I arrived at GITEX 2022 in Dubai with the hope of waylaying Professor Ali Ibrahim Pantami for an exclusive interview on politics, alongside the challenges, excitements, disappointments, and accomplishments of his ever-inspiring exploits in public office, particularly since his appointment as the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy.
Pantami remains one of the few cabinet members in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration who are highly pragmatic, charismatic, and results-oriented. He boldly builds partners with sincere allies, surmounts hurdles and never shies away from the good fight towards accomplishing what has been described as unprecedented feats in his Ministry. He is truly Nigeria’s Digital Economy maestro.
The results are certainly obvious for many to see: Apart from the digital economy sector now playing a pivotal role in lifting the Nigerian economy out of recession, it is continuously recording the highest growth rate in the country’s public sector.
Just as parastatals under his Ministry are remitting trillions of naira into the coffers of the Federal Government, a lot more in taxes and duties are also being paid by ICT companies and other sectoral players into the national treasury. It’s a case of the golden goose that is being properly tended to and which continues to lay the golden eggs that expand the national fortunes, especially in a period of global fiscal crisis.
I was interested in asking him about the spirit behind the significant number of policies developed and the hundreds of projects executed by his Ministry towards providing an enabling environment for the sustainable growth of the communications and digital economy sector.
Rather than being granted what I had expected to be a straightforward interview, the Minister rather got me into covering the week-long activities of the Nigerian delegation at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), which he led. This was the 2022 edition of the annual Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX Global), from the 10th of October 2022 in Dubai.
The delegation led by Pantami was a powerful one, having officials from Nigeria’s public and private sectors, including regulators, academics, media practitioners, change makers, and young entrepreneurs. Nigeria has been attending GITEX because of its enormous benefits, especially in attracting foreign direct investment to the country.
Some of the distinguished personalities on the entourage were Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Danbatta; Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa; Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr Aliyu Aziz; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Professor Muhammed Bello Abubakar, and Chairman of the Board of Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), Barrister Maimuna Yaya Abubakar.
As the Minister went about attending a series of summits, meetings and exhibitions, I had the opportunity of being able to engage him intermittently, and I learnt a lot both from him and in my coverage of some of these events.
While inaugurating the Nigerian exhibition pavilion, Pantami informed the audience of how, in the last three years, the Federal Government had launched several programmes, policies and projects, which have been yielding results in great leaps and bounds that have contributed to the flourishing of the country’s digital economy sub-sector.
Immediately after the inauguration and tours of numerous stands, the Minister led the team to the Startups exhibitions, where at least nine Nigerian young technology innovators had spots in the semi-final of the GITEX tech-invention competition, known as the Supernova Challenge Pitch Competition, organised by North Star Dubai.
The Challenge is the biggest pitching competition in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, where startups have the opportunity to become the next unicorns, with up to $200,000 in cash prizes up for grabs.
The Minister interacted and took pictures with promoters of the startups. He also had words of encouragement for the Nigerian semi-finalists, including Identity Pass, 9JaCodeKids Academy, Floews, Medtech, Paddycover, Pricepally, LiveBic, Technyon Technologies, and Wellness Health Technologies.
On the second day, at the Nigerian pavilion, the Minister received visitors and also held a series of meetings with representatives of governments and big corporations seeking partnerships with Nigeria in the areas of digital identity, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, among others.
Pantami held bilateral conversations and meetings with the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Omar Sultan Alolama and the Minister of IT and Telecommunications of Pakistan, Mr. Syed Amin Ul Haque, among other top global public figures.
The Minister also met with officials of the Dubai World Trade Center to explore areas of collaboration, as Nigeria is the largest Africa digital economy. A Senior Vice President, MEA of Oracle, Antonio Mesa consulted with Pantami towards the deepening of collaboration with Nigeria on the growth of the digital economy, through universal licences and corporate social responsibility.
A strategic meeting was equally held with Vice-President of Amazon, Isabella Groegor-Cechowicz on a similar level of partnership. A dollar vault of investment opportunities was opened for the start-up community, as the Nigerian team engaged with Amazon Web Services (AWS).
One of the greatest achievements of Nigeria at GITEX 2022 came in the form of the opening up of massive opportunities as the Minister signed, on behalf of the Federal Government, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the global tech giant, Microsoft Corporation. This is for the training of five million Nigerians on high-demand technological skills that are needed for consolidating the capacities of citizens as native players in the burgeoning digital ecosystem and economy.
The Microsoft representative, Mr Deen Yusuf, said the gesture is bound to enlarge knowledge bases, and capabilities, and create massive spinoff potentials that will enhance careers, livelihoods and the national fiscal well-being. Commending the tech giant for the prospects, Pantami said Nigeria would continue to provide an enabling environment and ensure that regulatory instruments are developmental and flexible for Microsoft and other businesses to flourish.
The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Obafemi Hazmat met with the Minister and discussed how Lagos could benefit from the Microsoft offer. Lagos is the only state from Nigeria that sponsored startups to #GITEX2022.
It is necessary to state that out of over 800 applications received for the Supernova pitch competition from 37 countries across 13 categories, nine Nigerian startups emerged among the 140 semi-finalists. The 26 that made it to the finals of the Supernova competition also had two Nigerian startups. Eventually, ShapShap, from Nigeria, emerged as Global Best in the Mobility and Smart Cities category, winning a cash prize of $8,000.
The Minister was elated by the success stories of Nigeria’s participation at this year’s event. Apart from the award to the winning startup, NITDA was equally honoured with the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) Most Valued Partnership Award in recognition of the agency’s extraordinary dedication and service at the startup and tech event.
Similarly, at the end of a discussion on Digital Inclusion: Aligning Regulators and Network Providers to Bridge Digital Divide, Professor Pantami was presented with the prestigious DWTC Leadership and Commitment Award 2022, in recognition of his commitment towards advancing the digital economy at both the ATU and ITU this year. He was the only person honoured with the highly prestigious award this year.
Speaking at the Summit, the Minister said Nigeria has a lot of policies to close the digital divide and promised that the government would soon pass the Start-up bill into law for enlarging the vibrancy of the sector.
Less than a week after his assurance to the global community at GITEX 2022, on the eve of Professor Pantamis 50th birthday, President Buhari signed the Startup bill into law. Not only was this carried out as a tribute to the significant achievements of the Minister, the President said: “The appointment of Pantami was one of the best choices I have made because he has added tremendous value to good governance.”
Buhari went further in his testament that Pantami’s depth of knowledge of complex issues was amazing and remarkable, and his loyalty and dedication to duty were worthy of emulation. I also join numerous well-wishers in praying that may Almighty Allah continue to guide, protect and bless the Minister with good health and wisdom in the service of the country and humanity.
Yushau Shuaib is the author of An Encounter with the Spymaster
Canadian poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature for her inventive writing and her engagement with the classical tradition. Her work brings together poetry, criticism, translation and narrative, expanding the forms through which contemporary literature can tell stories.
Born in Toronto in 1950, Carson trained as a classicist and has combined writing with university teaching and translation throughout her career. Her interest in the origins and meanings of words informs both her scholarship and her poetry. Ancient texts provide material for her explorations of desire, grief, identity and human relationships.
Her translations include If Not, Winter (2002), a rendering of Sappho’s surviving poetry that preserves the gaps between fragments. She has also translated plays by Sophocles and Euripides, bringing the language and conflicts of Greek tragedy into contemporary expression.
Carson’s writing gained increasing recognition during the 1990s. “The Glass Essay,” published in Glass, Irony, and God (1995), combines the experience of a relationship’s end with reflections on Emily Brontë, family life and solitude. Its movement between personal narrative and literary interpretation demonstrates her freedom in working across genres.
Autobiography of Red: A Novel in Verse (1998) remains among her most celebrated works. Drawing on fragments by the ancient Greek poet Stesichoros, Carson reimagines the winged red monster Geryon as a young person discovering photography, desire and heartbreak. The book places his experiences at the centre of a story traditionally associated with the exploits of Herakles.
Her later publications continue this experimentation. Float (2016) consists of twenty-two chapbooks that readers can approach in any order. Wrong Norma (2024) brings together varied prose pieces, extending her interest in the possibilities of short, loosely connected forms.
Carson has also collaborated with visual artists, choreographers and theatre and opera directors. These projects carry her writing into performance and establish connections between literature and other arts.
The award recognises a career devoted to close attention to language and continual experimentation with form. Through translation, poetry and collaboration, Carson has made classical literature an active part of contemporary writing.
Souce:Classic Books.
Abia State governor, Alex Otti, and Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, have expressed sadness over the death of Abia-born Squadron Leader Ahamefule Aham Man-Ugwueje, one of the pilots of the Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft, NAF 931, which crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, on Monday.
Governor Otti, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, described Squadron Leader Man-Ugwueje’s death and those of other military personnel aboard the Nigerian Air Force plane as painful and devastating.
“This accident is both painful and devastating, because it has brought untold sorrow and anguish to the victims’ families, their friends and loved ones, the Nigerian Air Force, and the nation at large.”
Governor Otti regretted that Squadron Leader Man-Ugwueje perished in the air disaster barely two weeks after he wedded his beloved wife, Flight Lieutenant Damilola Adekunle, in Abuja, a sad development he said has robbed the couple of the opportunity of spending their lives together as husband and wife.
The governor, on behalf of his family, the government and people of Abia State, commiserated with the families of the victims, the people of Umuahia where Squadron Leader Man-Ugwueje hailed from, the Nigerian Air Force and the Federal Government of Nigeria, and prays for the peaceful repose of their souls in God’s bosom.
In his own message, Senator Kalu commiserated with the Nigerian Air Force over the loss of the Air Force personnel and others in the Ondo plane crash.
The former governor of Abia State, while expressing sadness over the loss, extended his heartfelt sympathy to the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, the entire Nigerian Air Force and the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic incident.Describing the incident as painful and heartbreaking, Kalu said the death of personnel who devoted themselves to the service of the country is a huge loss to the Nigerian Air Force and the nation.
“I extend my heartfelt sympathy to the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, and the entire Nigerian Air Force over this painful loss.
“My thoughts and prayers are especially with the families who have lost their loved ones. Losing men and women who dedicated themselves to serving and protecting our country is indeed a tragedy for all Nigerians.
“At this difficult moment, I pray that God comforts their families, colleagues and loved ones, and gives them the strength to bear this irreparable loss.
“May the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Kalu said.
He urged the Nigerian Air Force to remain strong in the face of the tragedy, noting that the sacrifices of its personnel in the service of the country would always be remembered.
President Bola Tinubu has sent warm greetings to the Executive Secretary/CEO of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan, on the occasion of his 50th birthday on October 6, 2026.
In a statement released by the Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy), Bayo Onanuga, the President indicated acknowledged Dr. Ogunsan’s commitment to institution-building and promoting partnerships among government, the private sector, and other stakeholders to advance security and development.
Tinubu also commended the celebrant for his dedication to serving Lagos State and his contributions toward strengthening the security architecture, public safety, and public confidence through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund.
Before becoming the Executive Secretary/CEO, Dr. Ogunsan served on the Board of Trustees of the LSSTF. He has held other significant responsibilities in the security and community-safety space, including as Chairman of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), Lagos State, and Patron of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC).
The President noted that under Dr. Ogunsan’s leadership, the Trust Fund has continued to play an important role in supporting security agencies with critical equipment, infrastructure and other resources necessary to enhance their effectiveness in protecting lives and property.
“As you mark this significant milestone, I urge you to sustain your dedication to the security and progress of Lagos State and Nigeria. I wish you many more years of good health, wisdom and fulfilment, as well as continued success in your service to humanity and our nation,” the President charged.
