This year’s Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership (ABoICT) Lecture will delve into the critical themes of governance, standardization, and cybersecurity within the evolving artificial intelligence landscape.
The ABoICT Lecture 2025, preceding Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Awards, is scheduled for May 24, 2025, at Four Points by Sheraton. Renowned Cybersecurity and GRC expert, Prof. Adewale Obadare, Chief Visionary Officer at Digital Encode, will deliver the keynote address.
According to Ken Nwogbo, editor-in-chief of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, the organizers, this sixteenth edition is a special “ICT Growth Edition 2025” dedicated to recognizing and celebrating organizations and individuals who have significantly contributed to the growth of the ICT sector. He noted that many of these honorees have consistently been recognized by their readers as leaders in their respective fields.
Nwogbo emphasized the importance of an AI governance framework, explaining that it establishes the necessary policies, principles, and practices for the ethical and responsible development and deployment of AI technologies, ensuring transparency, accountability, and fairness.
He further highlighted the dual-edged impact of AI on cybersecurity: “In the AI era, cybersecurity faces both new threats and opportunities, as AI’s capabilities are leveraged by both defenders and attackers to orchestrate sophisticated attacks and defenses.” This necessitates a proactive approach encompassing AI-powered security tools, robust data security measures, and ethical AI development, with a strong emphasis on real-time monitoring, threat intelligence, and collaboration between cybersecurity professionals and AI researchers.
Nwogbo elaborated on AI’s transformative role in cybersecurity, stating that it “transforms cybersecurity by automating responses to risks, detecting unusual activity, and even foreseeing possible dangers before they occur.” While acknowledging the benefits of AI, such as enhanced efficiency and faster risk identification, he cautioned about potential misuse and errors without proper oversight. “Strong governance and ethical frameworks ensure AI technologies are used responsibly and effectively,” he concluded.
The Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Lecture is designed to explore efforts aimed at positioning Nigeria prominently on the global Information and Communications Technologies map. The lecture series is a platform reserved for distinguished achievers within the ICT sector. Previous distinguished lecturers include Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, former Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Uche Orji, Managing Director/CEO of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO of VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director of Rack Centre Limited; Peter Adedayo Arogundade, Managing Director and CEO of Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited; Dr. Oluseyi Akindeinde, founder of Hyperspace & NeuraL AI; John Obaro, CEO and founder of Systemspecs; and Prof. Isa Pantanmi, former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, among others.