Nigeria generates over N730b from gaming yearly

National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, has said that Nigeria generates over N730 billion from the gaming industry yearly.

He said this at the maiden National Symposium for the Nigeria Gaming Industry organised by Velex Advisory in partnership with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) and NDPB, held in Lagos on Thursday.

Olatunji said the gaming industry was becoming a major driver of the country’s economy, providing jobs to thousands of citizens. Quoting research findings, he said the global industry reached nearly $465 billion in 2020, having grown at a compound yearly growth rate of 2.1 per cent since 2015.

According to him, the market is expected to hit $674 billion in 2025 at a compound growth rate of 7.7 per cent. The figure could reach $895 billion in 2030.

He said over 60 million Nigerians, aged between 18 and 40, are involved in sport betting, with the operators paying taxes to the government and engaging young people who would have been jobless.

“The growth is driven by passion. People who play games or bet do so out of the passion they have for the sport, football in particular,” he said.

While delivering a paper titled, ‘Gaming and Data Protection Compliance – Implication for Regulators, Operators and Stakers: the Future of Cyber Security, the expert said the quality of data on the gaming industry has increased tremendously in recent years.

He, however, warned operators that data protection and privacy are key in safeguarding their businesses.

Velex Advisory executives said that Nigeria has the most attractive gambling industry with favourable regulations, huge gambling population and an increase in Internet penetration.

“We establish and sustain a good relationship with the regulators providing an advisory role to promote compliance and ensure the growth of existing gaming business in the industry,” the executive noted.

The Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Lanre Gbajabiamila, noted: “The gaming market in Nigeria is experiencing progressive evolution; punters can conveniently place their bets on different platforms using various media access available.

“Also, Nigerian punters can access a variety of regulated digital games like sports betting, lotteries, slots, table games like poker and blackjack through both domestic and international commercial gaming operators.”

Gbajabiamila said one out of every 23 digital gaming transactions is fraudulent, with attack rates for account creation and payment transactions estimated at 5.6 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively.

Suppliers must, therefore, implement robust cybersecurity measures to lessen the risk of fraud and network security vulnerability, he said.

On his part, the Chief Technology Officer, Infoprive Limited, Gbolabo Awelewa, said it is important to know the actual number of people that are involved in gaming, which is the reason data management is key.

By Michael Akinadewo

The Guardian

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Nigeria To Fine Airlines That Don't Sell Tickets In Local Currency

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced airlines selling plane tickets in a currency different from the local one, the Naira, will be fined. Let's look closely at why the country has made such a dramatic decision.
 

Nigeria's shortage of foreign currency

Hadi Sirika, Nigeria's Minister of Aviation, announced that foreign carriers can no longer sell plane tickets in a currency different from the Naira.

The decision stems from a shortage of foreign currency Nigeria is currently facing. Although the country's primary source of export is oil, Nigeria has not managed to take advantage of the product's current high price efficiently. The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) linked the country's inability to exploit its natural resource to low production rates, pipeline thefts, and acts of vandalism.

Consequently, Nigeria is implementing harsh measures to prevent foreign currencies from pouring out of the country. For example, foreign currency funds of several airlines, for instance, deriving from selling tickets in US Dollars or Euros, have been frozen. Upon this decision, many carriers have canceled flights to Nigeria, including Emirates.

The international response

In front of Nigeria's measures to prevent foreign currencies from flowing out of the country, the international response has been just as harsh.

Indeed, Nigeria was forced to unblock $265 million the country owed to foreign airlines. This sum represents 57% of the $464 million Nigeria withheld in July 2022. As a consequence, foreign carriers have progressively resumed flights to Nigeria. From their side, airlines must now commit themselves to selling tickets in Naira. Commenting on those airlines that refuse to do so, Nigeria's Minister for Aviation stated:

This is a violation of our local laws and will not be tolerated. Those airlines that will not abide by this measure will be punished.
 

The Nigerian Aviation market

According to Minister Sirika, in 2016, $600 million of the total $1.1 billion generated by airlines in Nigeria belonged to foreign carriers.

Given the relevance of the Nigerian aviation market, the Minister underlined how important it is for the country to have a national carrier, which is expected to start operations in 2023. According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), the airline operating the most frequencies to Nigeria in 2019 was Air Peace, based in the country's capital, Lagos. Air Peace also ranked first in terms of capacity, with 2 billion seats offered to/from Nigeria in 2019, and the scenario is the same for 2022. Among the Gulf carriers, Qatar is particularly strong in Nigeria, ranking 6th in 2022 in terms of capacity, with 659,236 seats offered to/from the country. Regarding Europe, Lufthansa is the 9th carrier for capacity deployed to/from Nigeria, while Turkish Airlines places 10th.

In terms of traffic, the Nigerian market is predominantly domestic, with almost 3 million passengers estimated in 2022 and a market share of 74%. The busiest international origin is the UK, representing a market share of 4% and an estimated number of passengers of 146,628. The busiest connecting airport for Nigerian Origin&Destination (O&D) traffic is Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (ABV), serving the Nigerian city of Abuja, whereas Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH) is the busiest international connecting airport for traffic bound for Nigeria. 

By Giacomo Amati

Simple Flying

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Armed Men Release Dozens of Worshippers Kidnapped in Northwest Nigeria

Nigerian police said 43 people who were abducted from a mosque in northwestern Zamfara state have been released, while one died in captivity after being tortured. Police say they are still searching for armed men responsible, who disguised themselves as fellow worshippers when they invaded the mosque last week during Friday prayers.

Zamfara State Police spokesperson Mohammed Shehu confirmed to VOA in a phone call Thursday the release of the abductees.

He said police authorities have deployed officers around the state to prevent more attacks from taking place. Shehu did not comment, though, on whether a ransom was paid to secure their release of the abductees.

"They were released,” Shehu said. “We have deployed our operatives everywhere, and they're working tirelessly to ensure that we contain the activity of armed banditry and kidnapping."

The worshippers were kidnapped on September 2 as they gathered for the weekly juma'at prayer in the village of Zugu.

Gunmen disguised as fellow worshippers invaded the mosque, shot sporadically and herded them into the bush.

Relatives and local residents of the Zugu village said they jointly raised and paid the kidnappers the equivalent of $12,000, and they also gave them many gallons of petrol before the captives were released.

Saidu Umar, a relative of one of the released abductees, said that initially the abductors asked for about $82,000, or 35 million naira.

But, Umar said, residents bargained and gave the abductors 5 million naira, and the worshippers were then released. Umar said some of the captives were wounded and unable to walk, so the residents went to the mosque with motorbikes to carry them away.

Nigerian authorities have been trying to stem violence and kidnapping in the country’s northwestern and central states for years and strongly oppose making ransom payments.

Deployment of troops in the affected regions has stretched security forces thin. But the government said it is making some progress. In March, authorities said air bombardments that lasted three days killed more than 200 bandits in Niger State.

Last month, the Nigerian Air Force said another 55 bandits were killed across central and northwestern states.

However, Patrick Agbambu, founder of Security Watch Africa Initiatives, said authorities cannot rest on previous victories.

"Crime business is a dynamic business. It changes forms at any given time,” Agbambu said. “While you're recording some success, the criminals are trying to devise other means to outwit you, so as we celebrate these successes it also calls for more vigilance from the security agencies."

Agbambu also said citizens must take caution against paying ransom to kidnappers.

"Nobody wants to experience such,” he said. “I understand the desperation of the relatives of these victims in wanting to pay ransom, but the more ransoms are paid, the more kidnapping or abduction will continue because it becomes a lucrative business."

For now, the released abductees will try to recover from their experience, while the village and authorities remain more vigilant.

By Timothy Obiezu 

VOA

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Nigeria seizes donkey penises to be smuggled to Hong Kong

Nigerian officials have seized thousands of donkey penises that were about to be exported to Hong Kong, an official said on Thursday.

Sacks of the donkey male genitals were seized at the international airport in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, Sambo Dangaladima, the Nigeria Customs Service area commander, told reporters.

The consignment was “falsely declared … as cow male genitals (but) after due examination, my export officers discovered they were donkey male genitals,” said Dangaladima. A total of 16 sacks of the genitals were seized, he said.

An investigation has been launched to find out more information about the seized items, the customs service said.

Although the seizure of donkey genitals meant for export from Nigeria is rare, donkey skins are known to be frequently exported or smuggled out of the country. In July, the Nigerian customs seized $116,000 worth of donkey skins being smuggled into the country from neighboring Niger.

Nigeria is trying to curb the export of donkey skins which has drastically diminished the country’s population of the work animals, particularly in the north. Nigerian senators in 2021 proposed to ban the killing of donkeys and the export of their skins.

The lawmakers said such a ban on killing donkeys would further curb the export of donkey skins and genitals — which Nigeria prohibits — to countries like China where the skins are used in popular traditional medicines. That proposed legislation has not yet been passed into law.

“The major beneficiary in this trade is the donkey (skin) merchants in China,” Muhammad Datti, one of the federal lawmakers supporting the proposed ban, has said. “This animal is facing extinction (in Nigeria) and it is an animal you cannot breed in large numbers because of the very low rate of fertility.”

By Chinedu Asadu

AP

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Video - Will Nigeria's ban on foreign models help bolster local talent?

Nigeria has become the first country in the world to announce a ban on foreign models and voiceover actors in advertisements. The move, which takes effect on October 1st, is intended to bolster homegrown talent and the local economy, according to the country's advertising regulatory council. Foreign faces are a common sight in Nigerian advertisements, and voiceovers often feature British accents. But proponents of the ban say there has been a cultural shift among young Nigerians who want to see more representation on-screen and on-air. Steve Babaeko, the president of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, explained: "People will tell you, 'There are about 200 million of us. Are you telling me you could not find indigenous models for this commercial?'" Reactions remain mixed. Many Nigerians support the idea of seeing more of their countrymen and women on the air. But some worry that the ban will inspire other countries to enact similar protectionist measures. In this episode of The Stream, we'll talk to industry experts about the ban and its intentions, why a change is needed and if the strategy will work.

Al Jazeera