24
T H I S D AY Ëž ÍŻÍľËœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡
STAKEHOLDERS FRET OVER 9MOBILE IMBROGLIO The accusation and counteraccusation breed mistrust among both parties, which eventually led to the pullout of Teleology Holdings from the telecoms business deal. Giving the scenario of the once vibrant Nigeria’s national telecoms carrier, NITEL, which technically went under as a result of improper management on the side of government before it was eventually sold out to NATCOM, trading as ntel, stakeholders have called for caution in handling the 9mobile imbroglio. Danbatta, said the commission had already made some moves to address the situation in the interest of 9mobile subscribers and the telecoms industry. REPORT PREDICTS RISE IN GLOBAL IOT CONNECTIVITY IN 2019 moves toward 5G, mobile providers are gravitating toward distributed architectures, which can push computing tasks normally processed in a centralised location or the cloud to the edge of the network. IoT Edge technology applies a similar principle but to the information, relying on connected devices to move various functionalities closer to the points of the network where data is generated. Using an IoT Edge setup, device integration and management, data processing and analytics, and decision making can all be handled at or very near the information-generating end points,� the report said. Though survey respondents seemed eager to take up IoT Edge technology, they flagged a number of concerns and priorities which needed to be addressed before deployments move forward, the report said. It listed the concerns and priorities to include reliability (12 per cent), cost and ecosystem development (11 per cent each). However, security topped the list with 51 per cent of respondents naming it as the primary issue the industry needs to tackle in order to facilitate widespread adoption. Survey respondents’ demand for integrated security was also addressed by the GSMA guidelines, which highlighted the role of embedded SIM technology in securing devices and enhancing identity management.
‘Absence of Framework for Forensic Auditing Portends Danger for Financial System’ Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Auditors of Nigeria (CIFIAN), has said the absence of appropriate legal framework for the regulation of forensic and investigative auditing in Nigeria portends a great danger to the integrity of the Nigerian financial system. The Pro-tem President, Dr. Enape Ayishetu, said CIFIAN Bill which was passed by the Senate since 5th July, 2018, was being unnecessary delayed by the House of Representatives for the past seven months. She clarified that CIFIAN was neither an accountancy body nor was it coming as a duplicate or triplicate of existing accountancy bodies in Nigeria. Ayishetu, stressed that the primary domain of forensic and investigative auditing is to work within the legislative process from the scene of fraud to the court, providing information and evidence for administration of justice; and to ensure that courts are presented with the best evidence and reliable witnesses. According to her, “The absence of the appropriate legal framework for the regulation of forensic and investigative
auditing practice in Nigeria portent great danger to the integrity and safety of the Nigerian financial system. “The noticeable consequence
of such lacuna is that Nigeria currently spends hundreds of millions of her scarce foreign exchange to hire forensic experts to investigate corporate fraud
“To avoid quack practice in forensic audit and investigations in future, we hereby call on the House of Representatives to CIFIAN bill based on its
merit by giving a possible concurrence to it just as it was done by the Senate, and posterity will remember you for doing that.�
REWARDING CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Group Executive, Digital & Consumer Banking, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Anant Rao; OďŹƒcer, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Abideen Onifade; Executive Director, UBA Plc, Liadi Ayoku; Regional Head Lagos, Aminat Tunji-Akinwande; Head, Retail Liabilities, Tomiwa Sotiloye and Marketing Monitoring and Enforcement OďŹƒcer, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Nwanneka Ezeani, at the ďŹ rst quarter draw of the ‘UBA Wise Savers’ promo held in Lagos‌recently
‘NigeriaYet to Harness Gains of Online Travel Booking’ Emma Okonji A travel and tour expert, Mr. Kingsley Alaribe, has said the economic prosperity inherent in travel and tourism are yet to be unlocked in Nigeria, owing predominantly to the vacuum in the online travel booking space. According to recent statistics, only a small proportion of about 13 per cent of Nigerian air travellers currently book travel products online, describing it as a damning statistics for a country boasting a population grossing over 190 million. He listed the four components of the travel and tourism sector to include leisure travel (inbound and domestic), business travel, domestic travel and foreign travel, but stressed that the outlook remained the same, as total contribution of the sector to GDP is nearly three times greater than its direct contribution. Aligned to this, according to
him, was the poor experience of most Nigerians, many of whom have expressed their dissatisfaction with the level of service in the online travel booking space, despite the existence of a glut of players. “For many corporate travellers, a segment that represents the overwhelming majority of online travel service consumers, the prevailing opinion is a glaring lack of real value. Same sentiment dominates among leisure travellers – many of whom are frustrated by sub-standard service and the limited choices of packages/offers available among current players –two of the most recurring pain-points that have drained confidence among customers in the sector,� Alaribe said. According to him, “Considering the nexus between technology and value-offerings in the online travel booking space, there is a growing need for a strong player backed by cutting-edge
technology to fill the vacuum in the sector and take the industry to the next level. “Further justifying this need is the undoubted influence of a world-class online platform and innovation in service delivery which has transformed the entire value chain of an allied sector such as e-Commerce in Nigeria, as seen in the rise and dominance of strong local players such as Konga which has re-defined the scope of offerings and customer experience in the industry.� The global travel and tourism industry is a multi-billion-dollar establishment which relies heavily on innovative technology and world-class customer experience in delivering a wide range of value offerings to all classes of travellers. Nigeria is due for this disruption which has the potential of growing the sector’s contribution to GDP, he said. Looking at the current statistics in Nigeria’s travel and
tourism industry, he said the industry remained in a state of near-misses and failed projections occasioned by the glaring gap and huge vacuum in the online travel booking space. According to available statistics, the direct contribution of Travel and Tourism to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was N2,29 billion, approximately 1.9 per cent of total GDP in 2017 – a figure that is expected to rise by 2.9 per cent in 2018 and 4.3 per cent per annum from 2018-2028, to N3,605.7 billion effectively representing 1.9 per cent of total GDP in 2028. On the other hand, the total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP was N6,205.8 billion, representing 5.1 per cent of GDP in 2017 and is forecast to rise by 1.6 per cent in 2018 and 4.8 per cent per annum to N10,094.5 billion from 2018-2018, representing 5.4 per cent of GDP in 2028. Alaribe, said while the
figures appeared promising, it was worth considering where the Nigerian travel industry stands in the global scheme of things. Ranked on a global list of 185 countries, Nigeria presently stands at positions 48 in total contribution and 163 in relative contribution respectively to GDP from the Travel and Tourism sector. In terms of expected real growth in the sector, Nigeria stands at a poorly 168 position and 59 in long-term growth forecast (2018-2028) in the sector. Compared with global indices, Travel and Tourism represents 10.4 per cent of global GDP while one-tenth of jobs worldwide are supported by the industry, representing 9.9 per cent of global employment. He said “It is an open secret that travel and tourism is an important global economic activity, with the potential to contribute significantly to a nation’s GDP.�
Group Business Editor
How Digital Tools Can Transform Mental Healthcare
Capital Market Editor
Emma Okonji
Obinna Chima Goddy Egene
AgriBusiness/Industry Editor
Ă™Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ äĂ? Comms/e-Business Editor
Emma Okonji
Senior Correspondent
Ă‹Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă— Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ĂŒĂ™Ă–Ă&#x; (Advertising) Correspondents
Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) Linda Eroke (Labour) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Cap Mkt) ÔÓÙĂ?Ă™Ăœ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? (Energy) Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă?ÔÙ (Nation’s Capital) Reporters
Ă&#x;Ă—Ă? Ă•Ă?Ă‘Ă’Ă? (Money Market) Ă™Ă?Ă‹ Ă–Ă?Ă•Ă’Ă&#x;ÙÑÓĂ? (Maritime)
Technology experts have introduced new measures on how to use digital technology tools to transform mental healthcare. According to them, the global burden of mental illness, both in terms of human suffering and economic loss, was catastrophic and rapidly growing. Forward-thinking members of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Neurotechnologies recently convened to explore the many ways that rapid advances in
telecommunications, big data analytics, including machine learning, mobile technologies and biosensors – loosely grouped together under the umbrella term “digital technologies� – are poised to have a profound impact on diverse aspects of mental healthcare and treatment, the report stated. “Worldwide, mental health conditions affect more than a third of the world’s population. Just two conditions alone – depression and anxiety – result in a staggering estimated $1 trillion in lost economic productivity.
“When committing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, world leaders emphasised the importance of promoting mental health and well-being worldwide. Yet three years later, the situation remains grim. “Every year, 800,000 lives are lost due to suicide. In the United States alone, one in five people is living with a mental illness, and 60 per cent of them receive no treatment. “The situation is far worse in many low- and middle-income countries, Nigeria inclusive,� the experts said in a statement.
According to them, international organisations like International Telecoms Union (ITU) and World Health Organisation (WHO) are re-doubling their efforts on this issue. According to a recent report, technology experts said digitalbased mental health interventions have already been shown to work in experimental settings and, in some cases, have been successfully scaled for use in larger populations. The first wave of digital interventions has been based on the web-based administration of cognitive behavioural therapy
(CBT). This is often assisted by trained psychologists, and is increasingly delivered by autonomous AI-powered chatbots that offer personalized counselling and psychosocial interventions through highly scalable platforms with minimal incremental costs. The report said simple and readily accessible technologies such as mobile phone-based interactive voice response systems have already been used in some of the most impoverished communities in Pakistan to identify and assist the families of children with developmental disorders.