Nokia last week revealed that consistent media campaign and other related activities in the Nigerian mobile market has significantly checkmated the spread pf counterfeit mobile phones dropping the market share from 15 percent in July 2010 to 6 percent by July 2011.

If there are few people whose views should be taken seriously in the Nigerian ICT sector, one of them is Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem. A former President of the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria, ATCON, past President of Nigeria Internet Group, NIG, and the CEO of Teledom Group, an indigenous conglomerate company with expertise in broadband ICT infrastructure development, deployment and software development, he can be said to have seen it all in terms of versatility, expertise and experience. In this interview, Ekuwem stressed the need for local content policy in the ICT sector, just like the case in the downstream sector of petroleum industry. According to him, this will bring about direct investment in ICT manufacturing and assembling, and create jobs for the teeming young Nigerians. Excerpts:

Existing shareholders of Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc stand to gain more than any of the rescued banks, according to the exchange ratios and other details of the schemes of arrangement of the four quoted rescued banks.

In recent times, Nigeria has witnessed series of natural disasters, but the insurance industry has played little or no part in assuaging the losses suffered by victims affected by these disasters. The presence of the sector is yet to be felt in the recent flooding experienced in some parts of the country and a major reason for that is the fact that most of the victims do not have insurance cover.

Sony Ericsson has dramatically made a come back in the Nigerian mobile market. This time around the company says it has come to stay even as it vowed to give the existing market leaders a run for their market share.

The Association of Rural Telephony Operators of Nigeria (ARTON), has explained position on the first phase of the National Rural Telephony Project, dismissing as baseless, a story by one of the Nigerian newspapers linking the project with fraud.

Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State has said that Nigerians can address all national challenges facing the nation by submitting to good reason and dialogue.

I am not quite sold to the idea making the rounds that majority of Nigeria’s Northern Moslems or their leaders do not subscribe to the Boko Haram ideology of Sharia rule in Nigeria’s Muslim states in the North and the concomitant rejection of Western education for which the group is known.

While Nigeria’s crotch bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, continues to hallucinate in faraway USA that Osama bin Ladin is still alive, the rest of Nigeria remains trapped by the not-too-different disease, caused by fear, that seeks to place Boko Haram, the murderous fringe group that engages in the deadly but cowardly game of bomb throwing- we do, by our act of spreading foolish urban myths, become captive worshippers in the temple of lies built by Boko Haram. And this boko nonsense just needs to stop!

United Nigeria Textiles Plc (UNTL) has sought for Federal Government’s approval to diversify into the cement sector of the economy.

NICON Insurance plc has assured insurance brokers of prompt payment of their commissions.

I am open to correction but I believe from my study of Nigeria’s serving federal legislators that the former NTA , Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa is about one of the most accomplished of the lot. She has, in my opinion, followed in the path of some other professional journalists like Chief Nduka Irabor and Senator Smart Adeyemi in representing their constituents and making a landmark in the National Assembly.

Grand Petroleum Limited has called on the Federal Government to intensify fight against adulteration of petroleum product s in the country.

Last Wednesday, my phone beeped; a text message had arrived, but it wasn’t the first time that day. Picking the phone, the message read: “Pls be careful in receiving calls, espacially (sic) new numbers. Over 10 people lost their lives in Wukari LGA Adamawa state 2day in answering calls. Dis are d no (sic) 091411 only 5 digit (sic). Past (sic) it 2 others pls 2 save lives.”

Airtel Africa, Standard Chartered Bank and MasterCard Worldwide have announced the commercial launch of the world’s first virtual card that operates off a mobile wallet linked to Airtel’s mobile commerce offering – Airtel money. While initially launched in Kenya, this product will soon be available across Africa.