News
ITU Ranks Nigeria High in Digital Transformation Readiness
A new report of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), has ranked Nigeria very high at 71 per cent, in comparative legal, policy and governance frameworks towards G5 – advanced state of readiness for digital transformation known as G5 with Germany, Finland and Singapore leading the global chart.
In the report conducted by the ITU, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and unveiled by Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani in Abuja on Monday, Nigeria was ranked among Africa’s top seven BEMECS 5G Readiness Index, which represents the country’s readiness to deploy and adopt mass-market 5G networks.
Titled, Collaborative Regulation: Accelerating Nigeria’s Digital Transformation, and presented at the Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja by ITU’s Kagwira Nkonge, the report, among other things, presented a case study for ‘collaborative regulation review to assess and support Nigeria’s transition towards collaborative digital governance, evidence-based policy making and agile regulation in the digital economy”.
The report, which was presented to a cross section of key industry stakeholders including service providers, government agencies, representatives of multilateral institutions, West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA), Africa Telecommunications Union (ATU), among others, was also designed to complement existing cross-country benchmarks in which features of countries policy and regulatory environment are assessed.
The features of countries policy and regulatory environment are assessed according to the pillars of the Generations of Regulation frameworks which tracks telecom regulatory maturity towards digital transformation readiness, designated at G5 Advanced State of Readiness”, and for which Nigeria currently stands at G4.
Advanced State of Readiness is benchmarked against four critical levels of accomplishments which include national collaborative governance, policy design principles, digital development toolbox, digital economic policy agenda, with Nigeria scoring 91 per cent in regulatory capacity; 82 per cent in Market Rules; 81 per cent in Collaborative Governance; 76 per cent in Legal Instruments for ICT/Telecom markets; 69 per cent in National Digital Agenda Policy, among other benchmarks.
Dr. Tijani, in his remarks at the event, commended the ITU and partner agencies and consultants that actualised the report; and expressed Federal Government’s commitment “to utilise this report as a navigational aid towards attainment of our regulatory objectives and policies outlines towards achieving a robust digital economy”.
“That is what we will continue to do as a government, ensuring that we can put ourselves in a place to have cutting-edge modern regulations in place to ensure that business is done properly in our sector and to ensure that, where possible, increase the local content of the sector as well,” he said.
Dr. Tijani noted that NCC has adapted over the years in response to how its role and mandate have changed. He explained, “Fifteen, twenty years ago, NCC was just regulating the telecommunications sector, today, NCC regulates the foundation for which any economy would be prosperous.”
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, who hosted the presentation, welcomed the indicators that promote effective regulation, attraction of greater investment, and development of innovative models for broader digital inclusion.
He emphasised that collaborative regulation would support Nigeria’s transition towards effective digital governance, evidence-based policy making and agile regulation in the nation’s digital economy.
News
18 States Move To Block Trump’s Order Ending Birthright Citizenship For Immigrant Children In US
A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday to block President Trump’s executive order aimed at eliminating birthright citizenship.
Shortly after taking office on Monday, Trump used presidential powers to initiate his long-promised immigration crackdown. His executive actions included an order directing the federal government to stop issuing passports, citizenship certificates, and other documents to many children born in the U.S. whose mothers are in the country illegally or whose parents are not legal permanent residents.
According to CBS News, the lawsuit, filed by 18 states in federal court in Massachusetts, argues that Mr. Trump’s initiative violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which has long been interpreted by the federal government to grant citizenship to those born on American soil.
The cities of San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have also joined the suit.
The 14th Amendment says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
“The great promise of our nation is that everyone born here is a citizen of the United States, able to achieve the American dream,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement to CBS News.
“This fundamental right to birthright citizenship, rooted in the 14th Amendment and born from the ashes of slavery, is a cornerstone of our nation’s commitment to justice.”
The lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction to stop the enforcement of the executive order and ultimately aims to have it invalidated.
The states participating in the suit include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
“The President’s executive order attempting to rescind birthright citizenship is blatantly unconstitutional and quite frankly, un-American,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
The states are asking the court to immediately block the order from taking effect.
Mr. Trump directed that his order should be enforced in 30 days.
In a historic attempt to decolonise the country’s judiciary, President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso has formally banned judges from wearing wigs from the British and French colonial eras.
President Traoré emphasised in his announcement the importance of eschewing colonial-era traditions and implementing customs that respect Burkina Faso’s cultural identity.
The action is in line with his larger plan to fortify national identity and declare the nation’s autonomy from outside influences. The colonial wigs, which have traditionally stood for outside authority in African legal systems, are gradually being abandoned.
Covenant University (CU) has again been listed as Nigeria’s overall best university in Times Higher Education (THE) 2025 Rankings.
In the 2025 rankings, the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria came second, displacing the University of Ibadan which occupied the position for the 2024 ccrankings.
The Times Higher Education World Rankings is a comprehensive global ranking of universities published annually.
The 2025 rankings THE said it ranked more than 2,000 institutions from 115 countries and territories.
Globally, Oxford holds on to the top spot for the ninth consecutive year, bolstered by significant improvements in industry engagement and teaching. MIT rises to second place, overtaking Stanford, which drops to sixth.
The ratings were done based on 18 carefully calibrated performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across five areas: teaching, research environment, research quality, industry, and international outlook.
University of Oxford
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Princeton University
University of Cambridge
Stanford University
California Institute of Technology
University of California, Berkeley
Imperial College London
Yale University
Top ranked Nigerian universities
1. Covenant University
2. Ahmadu Bello University
3. Landmark University
4. University of Ibadan
5. University of Lagos
6. Bayero University
7. Federal University of Technology Akure
8. Federal University of Technology, Minna
9. University of Benin
10. University of Ilorin
11. University of Nigeria Nsukka
12. Ekiti State University
13. Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta
14. Federal University of Technology, Owerri
15. Federal University Oye-Ekiti
16. Ladoke Akintola University of Technology
17. Lagos State University
18. Nnamdi Azikiwe University
19. Obafemi Awolowo University
20. University of Port Harcourt
21. Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto
22. Abia State University
23. Akwa Ibom State University
24. Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike
25. Ambrose Alli University
26. Baze University
27. Bells University of Technology
28. Benson Idahosa University
29. Bowen University
30. Delta State University, Abraka
31. Evangel University, Akaeze
32. Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun
33. Godfrey Okoye University
34. Lagos State University of Education
35. Lagos State University of Science and Technology
36. Nasarawa State University, Keffi
37. Niger Delta University
38. Nile University of Nigeria
39. Osun State University
40. Rivers State University
41. Thomas Adewumi University
42. University of Cross River State
43. University of Maiduguri
44. Veritas University, Abuja
18 States Move To Block Trump’s Order Ending Birthright Citizenship For Immigrant Children In US
Burkina Faso outlaws colonial-era judicial wigs to embrace cultural identity
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