Solomon stated this while joining friends and well-wishers to extend goodwill messages to Pantami, as he adds another year to his life.

In a Press Release by Dr. Walter Duru, the Nigeria Digital ID4D Communications Manager, and made available to newsmen in Abuja, Thursday morning, Solomon paid glowing tributes to the Minister, describing him as a great leader.

According to him, “the Honourable Minister is a leader with humility of heart and fear of God. His digital economy revolution has placed Nigeria on the global map, while occupying a leadership position in Africa.

“His role in promoting the Nigeria Digital Identification project has given us great mileage. As Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, he has shown capacity and competence. He has shown great leadership and we are proud to identify with him.

“As he clocks the golden age of 50, we pray for God’s special blessings upon him.”

He extolled the Pantami for his legacies, especially, in digital identification, which is an important pillar of every digital economy.

Solomon prayed to God to continue to bless him with good health and many more fruitful years, even as he rendered more services to God and humanity.

Another feat which like others preceding it, brings national acclaim and global recognition to Nigeria in particular, and Africa in general. In the last couple of years, he has become the symbol of undeniable change.

In a society where ineptitude, self-aggrandizement, corruption, pretentious discretion, learned lawlessness and senseless resistance to progressive change seem to have a free rein in the most unexpected quarters, HM Pantami came along and disrupted the norm.

The magnitude of change and the impact of his leadership capabilities is a shock to those who are stuck in the doldrums of yesterday.

His Excellency, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami FNCS, FBCS, FIIM, MCPN has just been appointed Chairman of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) 2022 by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

This historically positions him as the first Nigerian to ever serve in this capacity.  In conveying and justifying this appointment, the Secretary General of the International Communications Union (ITU) said “In light of his overall commitment to information and knowledge societies and the active role he has played in WSIS.”

The Professor of Cybersecurity is a catalyst for change and operates an impactful leadership style.

HM Pantami does not hide behind the ease of short term, one-hit-wonder-glories. He conceives strategies that hitherto didn’t exist and follows through from draft to implementation with matchless focus. This article is an attempt to highlight the resounding impact of the Professor’s leadership.

It is not enough to focus on the various novel policies, projects and strategies he has established as in my humble opinion, they limit the scope of his achievements. I shall however mention in passing some of these history-altering strategies to lend credence to my assertions.

I will broadly categorise them into two. First, the re-designation of the Ministry to include the “Digital Economy” nomenclature and secondly, The National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) initiative. These brilliant ideas form the bedrock of HM Pantami’s foundational change.

Within a little over two years in office as the  Digital Economy driver, Nigeria has seen the offshoots of the aforementioned translate into  sixteen policies, some of which are already in full effect and some at various stages of implementation. Nigeria is well on its way to compiling its first comprehensive data base and like it or not, essential services are becoming more accessible, less cumbersome, transparent and efficient.  

Earlier this year, I was flagged down by officers of the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) on my way to work, on one of those mornings when the clock seemed to be on a marathon and everything that could slow you down was in full effect. Within the less than a minute that it took me to park properly and retrieve my vehicle documents, the officer waved me on saying “madam your papers are up to date you can go” I didn’t understand what just happened and in spite of my hurry, I asked how he knew without even looking at them.

Then he pointed to the official vehicle parked a few metres away. “We checked it out on our system” That is what a digital society feels like – efficient, effective and transparent.

Before January 25th 2019, the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) was non-existent. It took the intervention of my boss as the then Director General of NITDA, to initiate a clearly strategic policy and nurture it to a full fledged, functional public parastatal today. (The story of NDPR and the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) is a discourse for another day), but suffice to state here that, that singular action inspired a revolution about data protection in Africa. 

Professor Pantami is a known advocate of skills. Particularly, digital skills and  he has continued to ensure unprecedented investments in digital skills without going cap in hand to anybody but by meticulously and doggedly laying an unshakeable foundation which like a flower in bloom, is attracting the bees. Besides the numerous digital skills training programmes he has initiated for various institutions and individuals, he has ensured sustainability by establishing institutions and policies that  guarantee continuity.

The first of its kind in Africa, functional National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics which has become a breeding ground for innovators and innovations is to his credit. The Nigeria Startup Bill is still generating excitement in the ecosystem just understanding its potential. The National Assembly is dotting the I’s and crossing the t’s (if any) and the most supportive bill yet specifically geared towards the unhindered development of an indigenous ecosystem would be birthed and of course, there is the almighty 5th Generation network deployment.

Thanks to the unprecedented level of awareness and consciousness brought about by Pantami’s relentless campaigns and initiatives, nothing is, and will ever remain the same again. Agriculture, Education, Health, Commerce, Finance, Aviation, Entrepreneurship, Manufacturing, Security, Communications and most importantly the business of Governance. Everything is changing. All the elements and factors are keying into the enabler- technologies.

The ripple effects of what I have enumerated thus far, is a game changer for any economy. The World Bank Diagnostic report on the Nigeria Digital Economy expressly states that “As the biggest economy in Africa, Nigeria is well positioned to develop a strong digital economy. This would have a transformational impact on the country”.

Besides potential and resources, the main vehicle for transformational impact is leadership. Focused, intentional, result-oriented leadership. And this is the void Pantami has come to fill and he is doing it like he was born for it.

He is equipped with the capacity to lead, the bravery to chart new courses, the will to insist on doing it right and the resilience required in these peculiar climes to ignore distractions and stay the course. Professor Pantami if nothing else, has shone the light in a very dark tunnel and paved the path to the realisation that a digital economy is the enabler. The awareness has been created and the response has been overwhelming. 

Currently, the focus like never before is on Nigeria’s digital economy and I am talking on a global scale. Thanks to the intentional leadership and vision of the Honourable Minister, the offices of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has become a breeding ground of viable ideas and a Mecca of sorts for egg heads who understand and share the future he is bent on bringing to reality. The world is excited about Pantami. Like a phoenix he rises through the most patriotic actions we have witnessed in these climes.

While we bicker and waste precious time and energy debating on the rather mundane and ridiculous, the world is embracing this symbol of change. On a daily basis, global corporations, tech giants of repute, policy makers of no mean repute, diplomats, royalties, captains of industry, Private sector investors, security chiefs, throng to his office seeking collaborations and partnerships that we had only hitherto read of happening in other climes, with Nigeria.

These are verifiable facts as there are investments which prove renewed faith in the country owing to the breath of fresh air Pantami epitomises.

The world knows that this is a man who must be taken seriously by all accounts. The world sees Professor Pantami as Africa’s game changer and is responding in like manner. Easily the most performing Minister in Nigeria today, he has attracted the most investment through his sector into the country. 

Microsoft for instance, just established the Africa Development Centre in Lagos, Nigeria. This is a multi-million dollar investment that has given impetus to the Minister’s capacity building initiatives. This Centre, is going to be a melting pot of the best innovations Africa can boast of.  At inception, Seven Hundred innovators trained to be trainers were already on ground. On a working visit to the Honourable Minister, on 1st April 2022, the President of Microsoft Corporation Mr Brad Smith said “We are excited about Nigeria in part because of your leadership and your role in the digital economy plan and we are willing to invest in Nigeria because we are confident in your digital economy drive.”

On the 14th of February 2022, the European Union (EU) came calling. Leader of the delegation, Executive Vice President, Her Excellency Margrethe Vestager was excited to announce an Eight Hundred and Twenty Million Euro investment through its Global Gateway Initiative, in the digital economy sector in key areas like digital infrastructure, entrepreneurship, skills and governance because in her words “the leadership of the Honourable Minister has restored confidence in the country’s digital potential.”

The world trade ambassador Dr A.M AbdulHamid on a working visit to HM Pantami  on the 8th of March 2022, said “the purpose of our visit today is to applaud and appreciate you for your role in the transformation agenda which you have introduced into this country. With the transformation you have brought, especially with the introduction of the digital economy, the future of e-commerce in Nigeria is guaranteed.” I have lost count of how many ambassadorial delegations have paid homage to my boss’ office seeking  to ingratiate their countries into his transformational policies through various partnerships and collaborations. 

My Boss HM Pantami is an uncommon leader, the type that a people are blessed with generationally. Patriotic to a fault, unusually selfless and futuristic in his vision. When my boss says “Nigeria is not about West Africa but about the continent as a whole”, I see exactly what he means in his actions. It is easy to recall that Pantami inspired the enactment and implementation of the Data Protection Regulation across Africa. Countries like Ghana, actually sent delegations to interact with us and learn from him how to move forward with data protection in their various domains. When he speaks at global fora, he represents Africa not just Nigeria. Every single personality whom I have been privileged to welcome into my boss’ esteemed offices has attested the the Nigeria Digital Economy Policy and Strategy document as a continental game changer, one way or the other.

I am personally exhausted with the maxim that “a prophet is not recognised in his own home”. Let us be the country and the generation that recognises and honours and supports its “prophets”. Before HM Pantami’s incursion into the Nigerian public sector, we all dreamt and yearned for a messianic figure who can bring about the much needed change.

There is no spirit-like being who will descend on wings to come and perform magic. The change makers are human, they are living, breathing, ordinary humans like our HM Pantami. What sets them apart is what they do and how they do it. Now we have Pantami. It is up to us to recognise, support and honour our own before the world snatches him away from us. When we were unaware we had an asset of this valuable magnitude, it was forgivable to be blissfully ignorant. But now that we know, it will be unforgivable to lose him to any other country in the world.

And trust me, the world is watching, waiting and hungry for that opportunity.

*UWA SULEIMAN is the Spokesperson to the Honourable Minister

ASUU faulted the process of the promotion and declared it as “illegal”.

This was declared at a press conference addressed by Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the President of ASUU, today, according to this report,

He said, “You cannot be a minister and a lecturer in a university. It is an encouragement of illegality.

“Pantami has to quit as a minister and be tried for doing double jobs within the same federal system. He is not qualified. Pantami should not be treated as a professor.”

In September 2021, Pantami, alongside seven academics were elevated by the council of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri to the position of professorship at the council’s 186th meeting.

The minister’s elevation has generated controversy, with many faulting FUTO on the promotion of the minister, who was not teaching in the university and whose highest academic attainment was reportedly a lecturer before he ventured into politics.

But, a five-man panel set up by the ASUU had confirmed that Pantami went through rigorous processes before his appointment as a Professor of Cybersecurity in the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).

The FUTO chapter of ASUU said Pantami’s application scaled six hurdles before it was ratified by the Governing Council.

The panel clarified that external assessors were engaged to examine the Minister’s publications to earn the academic position.

The internal inquiry confirmed that due process was followed by both the Governing Council and the management of FUTO to appoint Pantami a Professor of Cybersecurity in the School of Information and Communication Technology (SICT).

The conclusions of the FUTO chapter of ASUU were contained in the report of a five-man probe panel, which was set up by the union.

The investigation was commissioned by the Congress of FUTO chapter of ASUU at its session on September 22nd, 2021.

Members of the committee are:

• M. S. Nwakaudu (Chairman);
• A. Anyanwu;
• E. Orji;
• O.P. Onyewuchi; and
• I. N. Ezejiofor (Member/Secretary).

According to a document, Pantami’s appointment was not a shelf job.

Mr. Tunde Balogun, CEO of DSPL, in a statement today in Lagos, said both the creation of the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) to manage Nigeria’s burgeoning data protection industry and the appointment of Olatunji, a veteran public sector administrator, will help to positively accelerate required development of the nascent data sector.

“Government has initiated profound, practical steps to administer the steady growth of the data industry while the march towards legislation through an Act of Parliament is still progressively on course. This is highly commendable on the part of President Buhari and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.

“We expect operators and other stakeholders to critically look at how to leverage the new window for opportunities and collaborations,” said Balogun.

Earlier today, the ministry in statement released in the Abuja announced that, “the NDPB has been established in line with global best practice and will focus on data protection and privacy for the country, among others.

The statement further reads: “The successful implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria has significantly increased the adoption of data platforms and accelerated the datafication of our society. This has increased the importance of having an institution that focuses on data protection and privacy.

“Furthermore, the issuance of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) in January 2019, as a subsidiary legislation to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Act 2007, has increased awareness about the need for data protection and privacy. The Bureau will be responsible for consolidating the gains of the NDPR and supporting the process for the development of a primary legislation for data protection and privacy.”

“President Buhari also approves the recommendation of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Pantami, for Dr. Vincent Olatunji to serve as the National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of the Bureau. Dr. Olatunji hails from Ekiti State and, at the time of his appointment, was the Director of the eGovernment Development and Regulations Department at NITDA. The appointment takes effect immediately.”

Olatunji hails from Ekiti State and, at the time of his appointment, was the Director of the e-Government Development and Regulations Department at National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). The department was responsible for NDPR related issues and the had oversight responsibilities over all DCPOs.

DSPL is one of  Nigeria’s top DPCOs with a firm grip in both public and private sectors. DSPL has provided NDPR compliant services and trainings for Oyo and Plateau governments.

In Plateau,, central Nigeria, it has helped to guide the Plateau State Internal Revenue Service (PSIRS) to meet the NDPR compliance requirements and has offered extensive training suites for about eight ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) in Oyo state.

It currently has the intellectual proprietary right on the NDPR Compliant Visitors’ Book which was recently unveiled in Abuja by the NITDA.

He made this remark during his address at the launch of the National Policy on Fifth Generation Networks for Nigeria’s Digital Economy, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday 25th January 2022.

The Minister in his presentation to the President, emphasized that “5G network is a viable platform for security institutions to leverage on, in tackling the security challenges that have bedeviled the country, by harnessing the potential of digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Robotics etc. which explore real time information for maximum efficiency.”

Pantami further disclosed that the “5G Network will enhance transparency and economic development as its potential for job creation is unprecedented.”

The Minister who expressed gratitude to the President for the immense support enjoyed by the Digital Economy sector, also disclosed that the National Policy on 5G will achieve numerous goals, including the security of the ecosystem and the protection of data, ensuring that international best practice and globally accepted standards and specifications are entrenched in Nigeria’s ecosystem.

The formal launch of the 5G Network in Nigeria on Tuesday is in furtherance of the Federal Government’s commitment to develop a thriving digital economy.

Recall that the National Policy on 5G Networks was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on the 8th of September 2021 after a series of trials and multi stakeholder engagements eliminated perceived health risks.

Professor Pantami was speaking as the Special Guest of Honour during a virtual workshop organized by the World Bank on Digital Skills Roadmap.

The Minister remarked that “we are championing a paradigm shift with emphasis on skills, particularly digital skills over merely having degrees without skills.

A Digital Economy cannot be developed in silos and that is why the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has entered into mutually beneficial partnerships with global technology giants and institutions in order to empower our citizens, with the requisite skills to become employers, rather than employees in the long run”.

The Minister, according to a statement by his Spokesperson, Uwa Suleiman, also disclosed that over 500,000 Nigerians have so far benefitted from digital skills empowerment programmes at various levels, initiated and driven by the Ministry and the parastatals under its purview.

The collaboration between the two institutions will provide technical assistance to the Nigerian Government to advance its quest for digital skill as captured in the second pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) document.

It will be recalled that the World Bank has been in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, in the development of Nigeria’s digital economy since President Muhammadu Buhari launched the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) document in November of 2019.

Intimating the Minister of his emergence, the Editor in-Chief, Hilary Damissah, praised the efforts and initiatives of the Minister and the gains recorded which according to him have given Nigeria some competitive bargain in the innovation and Information Communications industry.

He added that “Pantami choice was based on his unparalleled leadership in growing the Nigerian digital enterprise and innovation”.

Dr Bayero Agabi, the president and chairman of DigiVation Editorial Board, highlighted that the Minister has demonstrated leadership and commitment to repositioning the Nigeria digital economy sector to now become the poster boy of the economy.

In his response, Prof. Pantami, the Minister, expressed his gratitude to the Management of DigiVation Global Network and the organisation’s contributions to nation building.

He assured that the recognition will further spur him and his team to continue to do better. The award instituted four years ago has had four  previous winners with the first being Austin Okere founder Computer Warehouse Group, followed by Dr Akwasi Agyeman Executive Director/CEO, Ghana Tourism Authority, while from East Africa the only woman to have won it was Rwanda’s Minister of ICT and Innovation Paula Ingabire and for 2021, DigiVation Global Network announced the award winner as Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Ali Patami as the DigiVation Man of the Year.

Accordingly to the foremost IT media organisation, the emergence of the relentless Pantami was arrived at through a rigorous research process carried out by our team of reporters and industry stakeholders to name him as the eventual winner.

Digivation Global Network is a multimedia organization with interest in content production, events across Africa, Europe and America.

DigiVation has also huge online media presence, radio and television with well over 100 awards.

It’s the only media and tech outfit to have won the prestigious United Nations Economic Commission for Africa/Africa Information Society Merit Award twice for balance report and research.