Some concerned citizens including media and corporate affairs practitioners have appealed to Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Banks, Dangote Foundation, MTN Foundation and other notable organizations and citizens to help provide  financial assistance for Kolawole Kuforiji, a Nigerian journalist who requires Deep Brain Stimulation surgery that is expected to cost  $35,000 (USD) about N57 million in Turkey.

Specifically, friends of Kola Kuforiji that initiated moves to seek financial support from concerned organisations and citizens  have so far sent SOS For Journalist Kola Kuforiji requesting for financial assistance to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Dangote Foundation, MTN Foundation, All Nigerian Banks through the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB), NNPC Foundation, Chevron Nigeria Foundation, Guinness Nigeria Foundation, Nigerian Breweries Foundation, Shell Nigeria Foundation, Total E&P Nigeria Foundation and  Babcock University.

Beside the calls for institutional supports to save the life of Kola Kuforiji, the group of friends have opened an bank account with Polaris Bank (Name of Account: SOS FOR JOURNALIST KOLA KUFORIJI/ Account Number: 1790322317) and have started making individual donations.

Donations to the fund from as little as N1,000 donor to N150,000 donors has rising to N842,940.00 from the last count.

The life of Kola, a 54-year-old husband and father of two, who had worked for about two decades with Rhythm FM (Sliverbird Group) reporting business  was turned upside down when he was diagnosed with a drug-resistant, Parkinson’s disease with pronounced difficulty in walking and tremor has been very ill for more than two years and the severity and debilitating nature of his illness has depleted the  finances of his family.

He was initially treated at   Ikorodu General Hospital, Lagos, where a presumptive diagnosis of his medical condition was made.

He was over a year ago referred to LASUTH, but there has been little improvement in his health.

Medical treatment abroad now offers the best option for his recovery with a recommendation from  Atasehir Medicana International Hospital – Atasehir / Istanbul, Turkey confirming that he will need a Deep Brain Stimulation surgery.

Over the years  Kola has explored his media platform as a strong tool to drive financial inclusion and expanding frontier of knowledge of Nigerians on the activities and stride of the energy, banking and finance sectors at large to national development.

Despite his illness, Kola remains hopeful and determined to overcome.

Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced that Teresa Anania has joined the company as Chief Customer Officer (CCO).

Anania will play a key role in accelerating Sophos’ customer and partner success initiatives to maximize value of Sophos’ portfolio of cybersecurity solutions and services, including Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services and endpoint, network, email, and cloud security.

Anania has more than 25 years of experience in leading customer satisfaction and sales growth across public and private sectors, excelling in both direct and indirect sales channels.

Joining Sophos from Zendesk, Anania was responsible for the management and development of its global client base of more than 110,000 customers from small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB) to enterprises. During her time at Zendesk, Anania led all post-sales functions, including Professional Services, Customer Support, Customer Service, Customer Success and Renewals, to deliver top line growth and measurable impact for customers. Anania has extensive experience specializing in scaling post-sales customer engagement for enterprise, commercial, and volume segments, delivering significant Return on Investment (ROI) and driving revenue.

As CCO, Anania will be responsible for developing a stronger customer-centric culture, working together with channel partners and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to deliver a seamless experience for Sophos’ growing customer base of more than 600,000 organizations worldwide. This vision also provides assurance that smaller customers, which are a prime target for attackers, have access to the same innovative security solutions and industry-leading threat intelligence as their larger counterparts, a critical overall mission for Sophos in 2024 and beyond.

“Sophos is in an exciting phase of its business growth, and I am eager to bring my career success building positive customer experiences to the company,” said Anania. “Sophos has a stellar reputation for continually innovating cybersecurity technology and managed security services that help organizations defend their businesses against ransomware, data breaches and other potentially business-ending cyberattacks. I will be working closely with channel partners, MSPs, and the global team, to advocate for Sophos’ customers and their security defenses and to drive value for partners from Sophos’ entire portfolio of solutions and services.”

“The threat landscape is always changing, and organizations need regular, interactive assessments of their overall IT environments to determine how to most efficiently and effectively adapt to defeat active attackers. To help facilitate this, security vendors need to take responsibility to ensure that customer investments in their products and services are providing real value to them, which requires engagement throughout contract lifecycles. This also requires world-class customer experience (CX) for renewals and upgrades to the most relevant and appropriate technologies and services, and an awareness of the full potential already available in existing licenses. The best tool is of little value without the right operation, so these components are critical to properly and consistently defending against modern attacks,” said Joe Levy, CEO of Sophos. “To provide this pathway, we’ve hired Teresa, who has an impressive track record building post-sales relationships and delivering experiences that increase customer satisfaction and drive topline growth. Her knowledge and expertise will allow us to further put customers at the center of our business, alongside our channel partners and MSPs. Most importantly, Teresa’s new role will help keep our customers as secure as possible, which is always our top priority. We are delighted to welcome Teresa to the Sophos team.”

Ijesha Digital Innovation Hub has announced the graduation ceremony of its first cohort of trainees.

The landmark event will take place on Monday, July 8th, 2024, starting promptly at 2:00 PM at the Royal Park Hotel on the beautiful campus of Olashore International School, Iloko-Ijesa.

In a press statement on Friday, Dr Adewale Alonge, Vice President, IGAD, said that after six months of intensive and globally benchmarked courses of study, “the hub is proud to graduate 48 trainees who have completed rigorous programs leading to certification in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, and UI/UX Design. The graduating class includes 10 trainees in UI/UX Design, 23 in Cybersecurity, and 15 in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning”.

The ceremony will feature a keynote address by Sir Aladekomo, Chairman of SmartCity Resorts Plc and Founder of Chams Plc, a pioneer in the Nigerian tech industry.

“The event will be chaired by Asiwaju Yinka Fasuyi, the esteemed Asiwaju of Ijeshaland, who will also deliver remarks celebrating the achievements of the graduates and the impact of the Innovation Hub.

“The media is invited to cover this significant event, which marks a new chapter for the 48 graduates as they embark on their professional journeys equipped with cutting-edge skills and knowledge. This graduation is a testament to the hub’s commitment to providing skills development training today so that participants can build tomorrow”, Dr. Alonge said.

The Ijesha Digital Innovation Hub, an initiative of the Ijesha Global Alliance for Development (IGAD), is dedicated to advancing the social, economic, and industrial development of Ijesaland in Nigeria. IGAD, a Florida, US-registered tax-exempt non-profit organization, mobilizes the resources and talents of Ijesas across the globe to foster the development of their homeland.

About Ijesha Digital Innovation Hub

The Ijesha Digital Innovation Hub is committed to equipping individuals with the skills necessary to thrive in the digital age. Our mission is encapsulated in our motto: “We provide skills development training today, so that you can build tomorrow.” #WeGuideTodaySoThatYouCanBuildTomorrow

About Ijesha Global Alliance for Development (IGAD)

IGAD’s mission is to mobilize the resources and talents of Ijesas across the globe to promote the social, economic, and industrial development of Ijesaland. IGAD is a registered tax-exempt, non-profit organization based in Florida, USA. IGAD’s Board of Directors, is chaired by Prince Bimbo Olashore, and it includes: Dr. Adewale Alonge, Pastor Laitan Obileye, Dr. Babatunde Ojo, Alhaji Lateef A. Bakare, Sir Ademola Aladekomo and Professor Olowookere.