COLU @ CONCEPTS

Facebook disrupts suspected spam operation Facebook on Friday said it disrupted an international fake account operation that was firing off inauthentic “likes” and bogus comments to win friends it would then pound with spam. Facebook’s security team spent six months fighting to neutralize what they saw as a coordinated campaign, according to Shabnam Shaik, a company security manager. “Our systems were able to identify a large portion of this illegitimate activity — and to remove a substantial number of inauthentic likes,” Shaik said in a blog post. “By disrupting the campaign now, we expect that we will prevent this network of spammers from reaching its end goal of sending inauthentic material to large numbers of people.” The ring used accounts in a number of countries including Bangladesh, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. The group tried to mask its activities with tactics like connecting with the social network through “proxy” servers to disguise where “likes,” posts or other com...

Time for Nigeria to stand up for Africa A  CALAMITY hit Africa late March. A conference, crucial to its immediate needs, was slated from March 23-28, 2017. It was primarily for African development, and involved all African Ministers for Finance, Planning and Economic Development as well as development partners and Civil society groups. Organised by the African Union,  AU, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, it was to discuss the issues of ‘Growth, Inequality and Unemployment’ in the continent and what actions can be carried out. Nigeria’s  Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo was slated to deliver the major Adedeji Lecture as part of the Conference. His paper was to discuss the repositioning of Nigeria. The Pre-Ministerial meetings were on at the King Fahd Palace (former Le Meridien Hotel) in Dakar, Senegal, when Morocco threw spanner in the works. It held the meetings up over the participation of fellow AU member, the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (We...

Africa is at a tipping point Mo Ibrahim Africa is at a tipping point. Whether it continues rising or falls back depends, above all else, on whether the continent creates the conditions in which its greatest resource — its young people — can shine. Already six out of 10 of Africa’s people are under 25. Between 2015 and 2050, Africa’s youth population will almost double, growing from almost 230m to 452m. Their potential to drive Africa’s progress goes far beyond numbers. As a group, they are more adventurous, more entrepreneurial and spend longer in school than past generations. They also have set their sights higher, wanting to emulate their counterparts in other continents rather than achieve goals set by their parents. But this demographic dividend is in danger of turning sour. Nothing better highlights the problem than the fact that the more time young people in Africa spend in education, the more likely they are to be unemployed. It is a failure, which draws a...