NCS is the umbrella body for all IT professionals, interest groups, and stakeholders in Nigeria, boasting approximately 20,000 members across the nation’s 36 states.

With specialised groups such as ISPON, ITAN, NiWIIT, ITSSP, AITP, NITPCS, and structural organs including the College of Fellows, Chapters, and NACOS, NCS is dedicated to fostering innovation, professional excellence, and sustainable IT development in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the NCS Cybersecurity Forum is an annual top assembly of policymakers, academics, and industry leaders to discuss collaborative strategies for safeguarding Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.

Opening the Forum, Dr. Muhammad Sirajo Aliyu, president of NCS, underscored the urgency of addressing Nigeria’s cybersecurity challenges through multilateral cooperation.

The forum combined technical workshops, networking sessions, and knowledge-sharing platforms aimed at empowering stakeholders with tools to protect cyberspace and foster local innovation.

In a landmark keynote address, Professor Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju, MD/CEO of Galaxy Backbone, delivered a strategic vision for achieving cyber sovereignty.

He emphasized the need for homegrown digital solutions, robust data protection frameworks, and reduced reliance on foreign infrastructure to secure the nation’s digital independence.

Continuing at the event, Dr. Aliyu outlined critical focus areas for national progress:

• Reinforcing Legal and Regulatory Frameworks: Aligning cybersecurity laws with global standards to protect vital digital assets.
• Prioritizing Cyber Talent Development: Expanding training programs, certifications, and academic support to build a resilient cyber workforce.
• Fostering Public-Private Synergy: Creating trusted channels for sharing threat intelligence and responding to cyber incidents swiftly.
• Cultivating a Cybersecurity Culture: Promoting widespread awareness and responsible digital behaviour across all sectors.
• Anticipating Emerging Threats: Evaluating risks associated with rapidly evolving technologies such as AI, IoT, and cloud computing.

As the conference drew to a close, NCS announced initiatives to amplify cybersecurity efforts nationwide—through policy advocacy, advanced training, and an upcoming national threat intelligence platform.

These measures, according to Dr. Aliyu, will ensure that Nigeria not only secures its digital assets but also positions itself as a continental leader in cybersecurity resilience.

What Lies Ahead?

According to Dr. Aliyu, the NCS plans to scale its engagement at future forums and workshops nationwide, developing specialized cybersecurity training, advocating policy refinement, and launching an information-sharing platform for industry players.

As Nigeria deepens its digital transformation, Dr. Aliyu believes strategic action and coordinated efforts will position the country as a cybersecurity-ready global hub.

A Pivotal Moment

The 2025 forum represents a shift: from reacting to threats to building a resilient digital foundation.

For Nigeria, it signals a bold step toward digital sovereignty—where data, infrastructure, and security lie firmly in national hands.

Keyword: Digital (Cybersecurity)  sovereignty

Cybersecurity sovereignty refers to a nation’s capacity to autonomously safeguard its digital infrastructure, data, and technologies from cyber threats.

This idea encompasses minimizing reliance on foreign entities for crucial cybersecurity components and services, allowing a nation to defend itself without unduly depending on foreign technological resources and innovations.

At a well-attended NACOS annual conference that took place at Nile University on the 11th of October 2023, NACOS leadership described Mr. Akano as one of the “major pillars in the ICT transformation in Nigeria, especially with regards to the Youth empowerment and Jobs creation”.

NACOS President, Comr. Chihurumnanya Nwanevu appreciated the New Horizons CEO for his pioneering role in integrating ICT certification-based training into the university academic curriculum about 18 years ago. This decision has changed the Technology Map of Nigeria forever”. The New Horizons initiative that empowers over 100,000 youths across Nigeria universities was described by NACOS President as “incredibly rewarding, and a game changer for the youths”.

Mr Tim Akano is equally commended for setting up One Africa Initiatives Academy, a Pan Africa NGO focusing on building the generation of African leaders that will rebuild Africa OAI Academy focuses on upgrading the skills of African Youths in four areas: Entrepreneurship, Technology, Leadership, and Good Citizenship.

One Africa Initiatives Academy consists of over 10,000 youths from 50 African countries. Members of the Academy have opportunities to attend free Masterclasses organized by OAI once a month online.

New Horizons Nigeria is a franchise of New Horizons International, the World’s largest ICT training organization with offices in 90 countries. New Horizons Nigeria trains over 100,000 students yearly from different universities, and schools and also trains more students in Technical courses in more locations than any training companies in Nigeria.

In the last 15 years, Mr Tim Akano has been awarded over 150 national, continental, and international awards for his relentless roles in Youth empowerment and the digital economy and the promotion of technology skills. Mr Akano has been honored by the Federal government of Nigeria through the NYSC three times in the past three years.

In his response, Mr Tim Akano appreciated the current NACOS leadership for a well-organized and attended event.

He said:

“I truly appreciate NACOS for this special recognition given to me in appreciation of the multidimensional roles being played by New Horizons and OAI Academy in the areas of entrepreneurship, technology, and empowerment. I pledge to continue to be available to lift not only the Nigeria youths but youths across Africa”

At the close of the event, Mr Akano pledged to empower the entire 300,000 NACOS students in any of the seven hottest 4.0 skills at a most discounted price.

In conclusion, Akano advised the youths that since India dominates the software space, South Korea dominates the electronics, and Israel dominates the Cyber security space while America and China dominate the Platform Economy, “It is my ambition to get Africa youths to dominate the 4.0 Technology space, so that in the next five years, the best Artificial intelligence Engineer, greatest DevOps engineer, best Data Scientists will all be Africans, but not only Africans but the youths I have mentored”.

The event was aimed at bridging the digital gap and promoting gender equality in the information technology space in Nigeria.

This partnership provided 100 female undergraduates across tertiary institutions in Nigeria with access to the latest technology and training, equipping them with the skills needed to succeed in the ever-growing tech industry.

During the one-day training program; a Learn-athon-Learning-Marathon, the female students learned while solving real-world challenges. They collaborated and took practical steps to ideate, discover, critically analyze, and improve their subject area knowledge in software engineering.

“We are committed to empowering women in technology and providing them with the skills and opportunities they need to succeed,” said Akanni Omotolani, NACOS, National Vice President “Our partnership with Microsoft ADC and Microsoft Leap brought together some of the brightest female minds in technology to provide hands-on training and mentorship to the next generation of female technology leaders.”

“At Microsoft, we are on a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, and this requires finding and developing great talent that represents our diverse communities and cultures. We share NACOS ’s commitment to empowering women in technology, and their participation in the training program brought a wealth of experience and expertise to the program.

“The training program will also provide a unique opportunity for attendees to network with technology professionals and learn from their experiences”.

ALSO READ: NiRA Wins NACOS Internet Enabler Award

“We believe that empowering women in technology is key to driving innovation and progress in Africa,” said Oluwasefunmi Wande-Durojaye, Head, Ecosystem and Development at Microsoft ADC. “Our partnership with NACOS and Microsoft Leap helped to bridge the gender gap in technology and provide women with the skills and support they need to succeed.”

Post the training, the participants were given a project task which was to build rest API endpoints for a book library, they were given endpoints, as well as mock data to input in their database and submit their codes to the Microsoft ADC GitHub page for review by mentors. On submission of the project task, participants would be issued a badge for participation.

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The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has received the Nigeria Association of Computing Students (NACOS) National Honours Award under the “Internet Enabler Award of the Year” Category.

The award is for NiRA’s outstanding contributions to the development of the Nigerian IT industry.

The award was presented during NACOS National Women’s Conference on the 26th of January 2023 at Bells University, Ota, Ogun State Nigeria.

NiRA is the registry for the .ng country code top-level domain (ccTLD) in Nigeria and is responsible for the management and administration of .ng domain names.

NiRA has played a vital role in promoting the use of the .ng domain, and in ensuring that the .ng domain registration process is seamless and efficient through its Accredited Registrars.

The award recognises NiRA’s efforts to promote the use of the .ng domain, as well as its contributions to the growth and development of the Nigerian IT industry.

The award also recognises NiRA’s commitment to accredit more registrars, ensure that the registration process for .ng domains is simple and easy, thereby facilitating the Nigerian identity online. Most of all, the award recognises NiRA’s role in internet governance, internet policy development and internet safety specifically for Nigeria but also for the continent of Africa.

NiRA’s efforts have led to a significant increase in the number of .ng domain names registered, which promotes the growth of the country’s digital economy, leading to increased visibility of Nigerian businesses and organizations on the internet.

In accepting the award, Mrs. Eyitayo Iyortim, NiRA’s Chief Operating Officer, represented by the Head of Business Development, Mrs Chioma Keke stated that the award was a testament to the hard work and dedication of NiRA and its Accredited Registrars. She also stated that the award was a great encouragement to continue working to promote the use and adoption of the .ng domain for internet presence and to support the growth and development of the Nigerian IT industry.

She expressed NiRA’s commitment to continue to support the initiatives of the NACOS Exco while congratulating the Association for their efforts in promoting computing skills in Nigerian institutions.

The NACOS National Honours Awards is an annual event that recognizes outstanding contributions to the Nigerian IT industry.

The awards are presented to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the development of the industry and have helped to promote the use of IT in Nigeria.

[Source: NiRA]

As an association with Local Chapters across Nigeria’s 36 States, NACOS hopes to train more students in the rural areas to achieve a digital literacy, prioritizing technology and innovation as globally developed countries do, ultimately leading the country to prosperity.

NACOS and Domineum call upon ICT Stakeholders to support organizing innovative skill acquisition programs that will empower Nigerian youths to become world-class ICT personnel.