People From Nigeria

"The hardship of living in a refugee camp made me psychologically strong. It is called learning from the school of hard knocks. It made me street smart. It equipped me with a greater sense of determination and vision."

"It is very easy to become motivated if you lived in one of the harshest places in the world and become aware that a good education offers an opportunity for a better life."

"The greatest advancements in science and technology are achieved through perseverance and dedication."

"Big data, artificial intelligence and data science are all on the table and ready for integration. However, we must move away from our reliance on oil to embrace digitalisation and open up more space online. There has been a spike in cybercrime activity which has, of course, made a bad name for the internet when overall it is a force for good. Nigeria’s journey requires people, processes and systems to build bridges to a more digital world. We now have more pieces to the jigsaw puzzle, we just need to put them together."

"There is no shortage of investor interest in Nigeria, as shown by large-scale investments in wet data capacity around Lagos. Facebook and Google’s plans ¬–Project Simba and Equiano, respectively – are further evidence that Lagos is on the map. We welcome the arrival of these companies; it opens up competition and keeps traditional players on their toes. However, despite such interest around Lagos, increasing capacity in the hinterlands at an affordable cost remains an issue."

"Virtual learning has been the norm among the affluent since the beginning, and this model is in line with the western mindset that is increasingly prevalent. However, there is still some reluctance to engage with digital skills in the capital. A large part of that reluctance is due to inadequate equipment; some workers did not have a computer to work from home during the pandemic and therefore found it impossible to connect. Furthermore, in the public sector, some information is still stored on paper rather than in digital databases."

"Network congestion has become the norm this year, but there have been no network outages. Although many people and strategic sectors have struggled because they were not prepared for a crisis like Covid-19, telecoms companies have benefitted strongly. Nonetheless, the longer the lockdowns persist, the greater the impact on consumers’ propensity to spend money and therefore purchase network credit. The third quarter saw growth begin to flatline, and tighter margins are on the horizon, even for the largest companies."

"The telecoms sector saw an initial spike in activity when everyone shifted to online activities due to the lockdown, but growth has plateaued more recently. With the help of the government, industry players were able to ensure rights of passage and keep networks running despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic."

"Online access is still a privilege and not yet a right in the country, as we would like it to become. We are, however, close to being able to offer affordable internet services to customers nationwide. The target of 2% of monthly GNI for 1 GB of data is within reach."

"The Nigerian Broadband Plan 2020-25 is now in place, and the Broadband Implementation Steering Committee seeks to provide solutions for low-income populations. Establishing community networks – whereby low-tech solutions can help to prevent white elephant projects – is another point of consideration. Ultimately, the sector needs to adopt sustainable practices and include local communities in the development strategy. In practice, this means understanding how multilateral organisations that work on a peer-to-peer basis can hand work over to local people who are trained to run projects."

"Nigeria remains a 2G mobile landscape, and we are still expanding and reacting. Covid-19 has exposed the hurdles of corruption, infrastructure deficits and other pre-existing problems that we may now find solutions to through digital means. The country has the opportunity to correct some bad habits and think in a different way. Thanks to the pandemic, there is now more discussion on digital topics as governments around the world increasingly appreciate and consider new areas for development."

"It is imperative to implement peace-building mechanisms that address the root causes of communal conflicts and geopolitical discontent, paving the way for sustainable peace and shared prosperity."

"In our journey, we’ve fine-tuned our technology over the past few years through collaboration with linguists and collective intelligence. This involves gathering people who truly speak the language to ensure contextual correctness. While Google and similar systems may provide 100% translations, captions, and speech recognition, our focus is on contextual accuracy, currently at 85%, with ongoing efforts to enhance it further. Our commitment extends to supporting generative AI, empowering individuals to create content in their local language."

"Sustainability for us is in two ways — sustainability is being able to create a self-sustaining company and one that can create jobs which is why we don’t run after every time of investment so we can create a sustainable company."

"Recognising that the Nigerian Gender Gap is the most significant dimension of exclusion, achieving social inclusion necessitates gender inclusion. Overcoming barriers to the freedoms of girls, young women, and women requires more than traditional policy tools and approaches; it calls for deep social reengineering led by gender-intelligent and competent organisations."

"By building a cohesive society where every individual feels valued and has a stake in the nation’s development, Nigeria can foster an environment of inclusivity, leading to sustainable peace and shared prosperity for all."

"Technological advancements and their increasing adoption offer glimpses of what can be achieved with the proper mechanisms."

"“These challenges are worsened by an uneven allocation of resources, macroeconomic instability and institutional deficiencies."

"”With population growth outpacing poverty reduction, Nigeria’s current trajectory highlights the critical need to prioritise long-term development and shared prosperity,"

"This year’s summit theme hints at Nigeria’s potential for sustainable development, leveraging innovative policies, robust institutions, strategic infrastructural investments and human capital development."

"”The change in political leadership also brings the opportunity for fresh ideas and the rectification of economic policies that have weakened the fiscal system.”"

"”Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2022 revealed that approximately 62.9% of the population live in multidimensional poverty, threatening the development of a vibrant middle class."

"Isidore is a brilliant entrepreneur who I have been keeping tabs on for a while. The conversations leading to this were entirely organic as Treepz and Stabus innovated public transportation using technology. Our combined expertise would make a greater impact and help us discover new consumer insights."

"In 23 months, we have been able to complete 490,000+ rides and register over 960 vehicles on our platform. We plan to double these numbers with our Nigerian and Ghana operations, then replicate our existing model across 6 other African cities."

"Our ambition at Treepz is to build the largest shared mobility platform on the African continent, starting with West Africa."

"There are no necessary connections with the acquisition of Stabus Ghana, which will now be known as Treepz Ghana. But after a successful seed round, we immediately started thinking of how scaleable the indigenous name Plentywaka would be around Africa and the rest of the world."

"Our acquisition of Stabus, one of Ghana’s leading mobility startups, is a step to further our ambition of building the largest shared mobility platform in Africa. Over the next two years, we have a Pan-African growth plan which has started, and we plan to expand into 6 African countries in that time."

"We knew we needed a less complex name for the business so that eventually, it’s easy to pronounce and widely accepted by all, irrespective of language and culture."

"My sincere interest is to see a Nigeria that grows and optimises resources for the benefits of all Nigerians."

"We are like the civic infrastructure for Nigeria. We build stuff and people build on top of that."

"We also track public projects, for which we have a platform called Traackr. Then we also have institutional support. We help public institutions, media, society build and do civic products."

"We work with four major categories of people. One is digitally active citizens."

"My loyalty to the good cause of our nation, Nigeria compelled me to accept the call to provide technical skills and this experience has more than strengthened it."

"Connect with people that can add value to you, connect with people that can take you to your promise, share notes with them, get encouragement from them."

"We’re more on the side of citizens and individuals than institutions, definitely. We see ourselves as a platform. Even though we’ve been a long advocate, we increasingly see ourselves as a platform. That we build solutions, data, civic infrastructure."

"And citizens cannot act on the basis of that infrastructure. So take action and do what they’re supposed to do. That’s what it means for us.."

"Our goal in the end is to see the quality of life of citizens improve through efficient service delivery. We majorly work in five key areas. One is on budget access and research. The team will break down the budget into basics, and simplify it, and make sure everyone can understand it."

"The key goal for us is that our work is centered on evidence. And it’s centered on data.We are not an investigative journalist platform. We just want to make sure that we continue to advocate, or demand, or build strategies for supply of public data. So that’s our first key goal. Getting public data to be held there. As much as we can find. Then also figuring out the way to build platforms to simplify and to ease the access to that level of data. So that’s what’s unique too. We are building this constellation of data, technology, and storytelling."

"I will not be minister forever, but I will do the right thing."

"Let them go and bring that man in Abuja (President Muhammadu Buhari). I will send him to his ancestors with only few punches."

"If they want war, we will fight, but I will make sure my people are protected from coronavirus."

"I had challenges with teaching the boys who had never been to school, but believe me, they learnt at an incredible pace. What would take a master a year to learn was learnt by them in a month."

"I was a very curious kid, so I asked what this was, and he said it was a chess set. I’d never seen one before, but I was fascinated by the way the pieces were carved, so I told him to teach me because I wanted to learn how to play because I would see him just sit down and talk to himself all right and it would say crazy stuff like well if you play this game you’ll be very intelligent, you’ll be very smart, and I told him to please teach me, and he said no I was too young and he didn’t teach me."

"The biggest risk to economic recovery is the lack of growth; and sustainable growth is impossible without investment in education."

"My Social Studies and Government class teachers helped shape my thought process on advocating for justice and a better world. Since then, I have been involved in advocacy and activism, from Boy Scouts to leading debates and pro-governance dialogues from a young age and now as a Social Accountability Activist. It’s been an interesting journey."

"Social media, smartphone usage, and the growth of digital platforms are the main causes of the rapid changes in Africa’s media and technology landscape."

"Now, we are in a phase where we are thinking about building an endowment. The succession plan is the biggest elephant in the room.I want to leave the organisation in such a way that they have a lot of resources, both human capital and financial, but most importantly, something to always fall back to."

"I am honoured that the Gothenburg Sustainability Award recognises our efforts in this regard."

"My experience over the last ten years championing education campaigns has proven that young people play pivotal roles in canvassing increased education funding and also influence education policies and planning. These roles include continuous government engagement from the budgeting stage to implementation."

"Many people now find it difficult to discern between reliable and unreliable information due to misinformation, fake news, and the emergence of deepfakes."