In order to tackle the surge in cyber attacks in Nigeria and the need to bridge the information gap, Galaxy Backbone (GBB), an agency under the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, organized a training workshop for journalists , under the auspices of the Nigerian Association of Information Technology Journalists (NITRA) in Abuja.
The two-day capacity-building workshop which was held between Thursday 13 and Friday 14 October 2022, aimed not only to equip journalists with the skills to report professionally on the IT world, but also to advance awareness cybersecurity among vulnerable Nigerians.
Galaxy Backbone is the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Information Technology and Shared Services Provider.
Speaking at the workshop, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Muhammed Abubakar said the partnership between the company and the media is mutually beneficial as it helps the GBB spread its “Development information especially about Nigeria driving the digital economy to the public”.
Represented by a senior executive of the company, Mr. Ifedayo Balogun, the boss of GBB was pleased with the depth of knowledge transfer during the workshop.
“You’ve been here for a few days and I’m sure you already know some of the things we do and the services we provide, and I can also see a lot of knowledge sharing and transfer, questions and answers provided.
“I have to say thank you very much for your attention and we believe that this will certainly not be the end of our relationship and our partnership because it is only the beginning,” he said.
In his vote of thanks, the President of NITRA, Abuja Chapter, Mr. Blessing Olaifa thanked the GBB MD and the wonderful staff for the rare opportunity to be trained.
He said the training exposed other statutory responsibilities and achievements of GBB which were hitherto hidden due to insufficient publicity, hence urged GBB management to do more in this regard.
“There is no training in this digital age in ICT which is little above all the quantum of knowledge acquisition that has been impacted on us journalists.
“For example, some of the updated modules taught have been eye-opening and we are delighted with that.
“We also came to know of other statutory responsibilities that we initially thought were the responsibility of other agencies.
“I will appeal that there is a need for more publicity from the GBB side, especially on the unique and essential services they render, especially to deliver on the vision and mission of the economy roadmap federal government digital.
“We were impressed with what the agency is doing to stop and mitigate attacks against cyberspace,” he said.
Galaxy Backbone provides quality IT infrastructure and shared services for the federal government as well as the private sector.