A 400 level of the University of
Benin, Benin City, Edo State, Nyeneokpon Emmanuel Ekanem has emerged the 2013
winner of the DigitalSENSE Africa Media Students Essay Contest.
Disclosing this at the weekend, Executive Director,
Operations, DigitalSENSE Africa Media, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke said that Ekanem,
who hails from Akwa-Ibom, scored the highest over-all marks among all the
contests for the year as submitted by panel of judges made up of eminent
Internet Governance crusaders in Nigeria.
She gave the names of the judges to include the Executive
Director, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), Mr. Gbenga Sesan, Head, Internet
Governance Unit, National IT Development Agency (NITDA) Mr. Emmanuel Edet and
chairperson of the judges, Mrs. Titilayo Akinsanmi, Google Policy and
Government Relations Manager, based on the annual theme of Nigeria DigitalSENSE
Forum on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) which held in Lagos last
March, tagged “Internet Governance and Cybersecurity in Nigeria.”
Mrs. Nweke, while commending the judges, congratulated Emmanuel
Ekanem for this feat, and said that as the winner for 2013, Ekanem
would attend the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) holding in Abuja on
Tuesday, June 18 at Musa Yar’Adua Centre, as DigitalSENSE Student Ambassador on
Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) 2013.
She explained that Ekanem’s roles at NIGF 2013, would centre on
championing the crusade based on this initiative to be more meaningful in
Nigeria and for Nigerians as a shining example to other youth, mostly in the
Youths Forum and Plenary at NIGF this year.
One of the judges, Mr. Sesan, described Ekanem’s essay as a demonstration
of knowledge of the theme and offers good connection between improving access
to the Internet in Nigeria, cybercrime activities, need for Internet
Governance, and a great call for caution to avoid hurting Internet freedom.
Reacting on his emergence, Ekanem said he was indeed very
excited to learn that I had emerged the overall winner of that highly
competitive essay contest. In fact, at first, it sounded very unbelievable, but
now, it is here and true and I am very grateful to the organizers and judges of
the essay contest for a job well done.
He promised to focus on acquiring more knowledge at the
Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) on how to expand internet connectivity
to millions who currently lack access to such without compromising the
integrity and security of such.
“I will also make contributions based on my experiences, on
how broadband infrastructure could be extended to remote communities and rural
settlements to ensure that they too positively and advantageously harness the
huge potential of the information superhighway to improve their lives,” he
said.
He added that Internet governance in Nigeria, though
commendable when compared with other African countries, leaves a lot to be
desired. Citing cyber security as an issue of concern, for instance, lamented
that more Nigerians fall prey to cyber criminals.
Ekanem, therefore, suggested that some deliberate effort
should be expedited to ensure that the inputs of all stakeholders in internet
business are synergized and directed towards enthroning a secured cyberspace.
He further advised Nigerian youths specifically on internet
usage noting that internet has both positive and negative sides and people are
at liberty to choose which side becomes relevant to them.
“The internet can make the next president as well as the next
world acclaimed terrorist. It can also create a utopian society as well as a
tumultuous society. All depends on the application. Therefore, youths should exploit the
advantageous aspect of the internet to develop their capacities and relevance
in the marketplace,” he said.
Maintaining that the youths should desist from
all acts capable of undermining the internet`s credibility or harm a fellow
user of the internet. This is the only way the positive gains of the internet
can be made available to all global citizens.
correspondent/DigitalSENSE Business News
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