MDXi, AMS-IX Move to Drive Content Growth in West Africa

Emma Okonji

The Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX) and the MDXi, an Equinix company, have collaborated to drive content growth in West Africa, through the newly established Internet Exchange, AMS-IX Lagos, aimed at expanding customers’ access to connectivity.

They announced the collaboration at a recent webinar hosted by both AMS-IX and MDXi.

The keynote speaker and Vice President, Business Development Manager, AMS-IX, Wouter Ensing, emphasised the importance of establishing a robust connectivity framework to unlock content growth, aggregate demand, and provide wide-reaching access to consumers.

Ensing, acknowledged that while some content providers have already deployed locally in West Africa, particularly in Nigeria, the significant lack of content within the region results in cost inefficiencies, unnecessary latency, and negative impacts on user experience.

To address this challenge, AMS-IX has partnered with MDXi, an Equinix company, to leverage its rich interconnected ecosystem across the entirety of West Africa to advance the region’s connectivity landscape. AMS-IX Lagos has been developed as a regional hub to attract content for access within the region. By creating a network that offers scale to interconnect carriers, internet exchanges, and data centers, AMS-IX Lagos aims to foster growth and advance the region’s connectivity.

Industry experts such as Founder, Tizeti Networks, Kendall Ananyi, and Director, Network Strategy and Interconnection at Edgio, Ben Nicklin, also shared their experiences at a panel session moderated by the Head, Technical Solutions at MainOne, Oluwasayo Oshadami.

To underscore the benefits of the internet exchange, Ananyi stated that his company had accessed more content by peering on AMS-IX Lagos than on IP transit links as the IX has reduced the cost of traffic required to access content that is locally available.

Nicklin, stated that the company enjoyed improved performance by peering at the Internet Exchange.

He highlighted the opportunity to serve other West African countries via peering from Lagos and hoped the AMS-IX Lagos platform would bridge this gap by connecting more networks across the region.

By addressing infrastructure challenges through the collaboration, the region can foster a thriving digital ecosystem and empower its vibrant youth population, Ananyi said.

Shettima: Why Nigerian Engineers Should Handle 90% of In-country Jobs

•COREN seeks exemption from FG’s non-funding policy

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, yesterday argued in favour of local engineers, insisting that they should begin to handle at least 90 per cent of jobs within the country.

Speaking at the 31st Assembly of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), in Abuja, the vice president maintained that this was already the situation in Borno, where over 90 per cent of contracts are executed by Nigerian engineers.

Shettima, who was represented by the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, was the guest of honour at the programme themed: “Entrenching and Strengthening Engineering Practitioners’ Code of Conduct for Resilient Engineering Practice in Nigeria.”

Highlighting the need to incorporate local content as Nigeria aspires to ramp up its infrastructure base, Shettima explained that he was confident that the country has the human resource to get the job done.

The vice president urged practitioners to adhere to the engineering code of conduct and hold on to ethical principles as their successes or failings will reverberate across generations.

“In Borno State, my engineers handle over 90 per cent of projects. I think this is something that we need to do. Engineering practitioners are the problem solvers who turn challenges into opportunities, from the construction of vital infrastructure and the development of technology.

“ In recent times, we have face unprecedented challenges and opportunities and the role of engineering practitioners has become even more critical. It is in this context that the discussion of strengthening the engineering practitioners code of conduct has assumed paramount importance,” he stated.

While advising the regulatory body on self-sustenance, Shettima said that there should be enough political will to drive the very important process for the growth and development of the country.

In his remarks, the President of COREN, Prof Sadiq  Abubakar, recalled the recent federal government’s policy of non-funding of professional and regulatory bodies in Nigeria, effective January 2024.

He stated that while the council is presently studying the government’s directive, it should be noted that COREN is not a professional association but a regulatory agency rendering government function of protecting the general public.

“Let me also stress the fact that the need for engineering regulation is driven by the wish to protect people and society at large from the danger associated with engineering failure. COREN was therefore inaugurated to ensure the highest standards of professionalism in engineering practice in Nigeria and the elimination of quarks.

“The council avoids unnecessary competition among practitioners and prevent them from taking advantage of the people by ways that are illegal or through unfair deals.

“Since quality engineering practice is germane to the country’s quest for development and for the avoidance of the risk associated with engineering failure occurrences, the attendant loss of lives and economy waste, the council wishes to state loudly that it should be exempted from the federal government no-funding directive. As this is the situation in other climes, including developed countries,” he said.

He added that the council has set up task force to review COREN operations, budgets and finances and to develop strategies to be more prudent, transparent, accountable and minimise leakages.

Chairman of the occasion and Managing Director of Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, in his comments, stated that Nigeria was in dire need of world class engineering firms and resources, noting that Nigeria would need about $2.3 trillion to bridge its infrastructure deficit.

Represented by the Deputy MD, Wole Akinleye, he noted that for effectiveness, COREN’s role must be guided by a robust code of conduct that serves as a moral compass to guide every decision.

“By some estimates, Nigeria has an infrastructure deficit of $2.3 trillion. Covering that gap will require political will, fiscal discipline and more importantly, human resources – because without people, it is impossible to drive development,” he stated.

Also, COREN Registrar, Prof. Adisa Bello, said that attendance at the assembly was mandatory for all categories of engineering practitioners as non-attendance will affect the mandatory Continuing Professional Development points required for the issuance of annual practicing licence.

Some others who spoke on the occasion included the Board Chairman of the Engineering Council of Ghana, Senator Iyiola Omisore, among others.