THERE are many spin-off success stories and
sub-plots to the unfolding technological
revolution unfolding in Osun State. State
Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has described the
ICT journey his state embarked upon last year
in partnership with emerging tech giant, RLG
Global, as “a historic monument to the power of
vision”.
The RLG Adulawo Technological City, which is
the first fruit of that public-private
partnership, launched last year in the state as
an assembly plant for all kinds of technological
devices and gadgets ranging from mobile
phones to accessories, tabs, laptops, PDAs and
more.
Adulawo is modelled after America’s fabled
Silicon Valley as a hub for tech talents to
thrive, be tracked and tutored.
It provides sufficient proof of what is
possible when visionary public leadership
meets and marries the ingenuity of the private
sector, not just for pecuniary gains, but most
importantly, for the public good.
The laudable initiative is a hymn to an emerging
concept in global business, known as impact
investing.
Simply put, RLG Global is deploying significant
investment capital into Osun State with a dual
endgame in mind – to significantly address the
state’s domestic social challenge of
unemployment while also growing its own
bottomline as a business.
Beyond these two primary triggers, RLG is
liberalising knowledge by kitting and
empowering locals with the skill sets required
to drive innovation and to engineer a
resounding technological revolution not just in
Osun, but in Nigeria as a whole, thus lifting
many out of poverty.
RLG Communications Nigeria Ltd., like its peer
subsidiaries across the West-African sub-
region and Asia, is playing out the script of the
altruistic and visionary mind of Group
Chairman, Roland Agambire.
Agambire, who has been the subject of a battle
of appellations in terms of which designation
best suits the tech entrepreneur – whether
Africa’s Steve Jobs or Africa’s Bill Gates – is
the maestro behind the revolutionary tech
music playing in Osun.
An avantgardist who has demonstrated a
perfect understanding of the unique challenges
and peculiar problems confronting the African
continent, he has continued to offer himself,
his vast business experience and his immense
resources, as a change agent, to power his
vision for an Africa empowered and
transformed through technology.
The magnificent “technopolis” named Hope
City, a first-of-its-kind tech mecca, which he is
constructing in Accra, Ghana, is a monument to
that enduring commitment.
The Nigerian division of Agambire’s growing
conglomerate was established with a lot of
promise, given the vast and expanding local ICT
market and immense potential that Africa’s
largest market economy and most populous
nation boasts. RLG Nigeria is already
translating some of that vast potential into
performance.
They talked the talk last year when they
launched, they’ve spent the past year working
the work and now they’re walking the talk, even
exceeding their most sanguine expectations
within just one year of launching.
Having dug into the dirt to lay the groundwork
for current successes, they have positioned
themselves perfectly on the path to
successfully establishing a global commercial
profile.
This reality was brought gloriously to the fore
when the Nigerian division of the world’s
fourth largest telecom company, Airtel, showed
faith in RLG and ordered 50,000 pieces of RLG
manufactured and locally assembled mobile
devices, to be marketed to their own
customers.
Remarkably, those mobile devices were
assembled at the Adulawo Tech City by
graduates of the Osun Youth Empowerment
Technology (OYESTECH) scheme, who of
course had been trained by RLG. Airtel
Nigeria’s patronage was a commitment on the
part of a multinational to encourage the
development of Nigeria’s capacity to produce
consumables locally.
Nigeria’s leading and most significant
indigenous telecommunications company,
Globacom, has also followed suit with orders of
its own.
Speaking at RLG’s Product Discovery Day held
at the expansive tech city where RLG launched
a new range of innovative products, Airtel
Nigeria MD/CEO, Segun Ogunsanya said, “It’s
a testimony of what we believe in at Airtel.
We believe in supporting local content We don’t
have a choice but to support that which is
manufactured locally. We believe firmly in this
project to create more jobs and to create
more knowledge.”
On his part, Governor Aregbesola, waxed
lyrical as he revealed the tremendous impact of
the tech initiative on his state and people and
how it had helped to address the problem of
youth unemployment in the state.
Describing the multi-million dollar initiative as a
historic monument to the power of vision, the
Governor revealed that the tech city had, in
the last one year, provided direct employment
to 150 Osun indigenes and is poised, within the
next phase of its operations, to provide
employment to 1,500 persons.
Referencing National Communications
Commission (NCC) data, he noted, “As at
February this year, there were 142.5 million
active mobile telephone lines in Nigeria. Every
year, not less than 10 million lines are added to
existing ones in an ever-expanding national
tele-density.
This means that if a mobile phone has an
average lifespan of three years, in the next
three years, there’ll be a demand for 142.5
million phones, in addition to the new lines that
would have been activated then.”
“While it is practically impossible, in a capitalist
world, for one manufacturer to corner this
humongous market, we have the comparative
advantage to capture a sizeable portion of it.
No country in Europe, except Russia, has a
market this big. This was our vision when we
went into talks with RLG and we are happy
today that the effort is bearing fruits,” the
Governor added.
The Governor thanked specially, the Managing
Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel
Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya for “boldly
identifying with RLG and agreeing to do
business with us.
Airtel is the fourth biggest telecommunications
company in the world and must have considered
RLG’s products capable of competing with
global brands in the market and is willing to
stake its reputation with us.”
He continued, “Our vision is that this company
will bridge the gap, not only to assemble
electronic gadgets locally but also to increase
local content until it becomes a manufacturer of
finished products and supplier of basic
components like panels and semi-conductors to
other manufacturers.”
The Governor expressed immense gratitude to
the chairman of RLG Global, Mr. Roland
Agambire, for his unwavering confidence in his
state.
He also acknowledged and appreciated the
representative role played by the Bola
Oyebamiji-led Osun State Investment
Corporation Limited (OSICOL)- the investment
and business arm of the State Government – in
the RLG Partnership.
At the Product Discovery Day, a range of
innovative and competitive RLG devices were
unveiled by the CEO of RLG Global, Alex Lu.
They included the Educational Laptop EL3 also
known as the Opon Imo (which operates both
on Windows and Android platforms), the Smart
Projector, the K12F e-Reader, the Trolley as
well as three flagship mobile products and an
accessory including the Uhuru Titan, Uhuru
Accu, Easy 95 and Smart Charger 4.
The educational laptop EL3, designated “Opon
Imo” in Yoruba” which has been adopted by
several schools in Osun state and across the
country, comes pre-loaded with textbooks
covering a wide range of subjects, providing
students with multiple learning options that
deliver visual representations of theoretical
lessons learned in class.
The EL3 monitor is detachable from its
keyboard, and can double as a tablet. Also it is
built with water resistant technology and can
withstand an accidental 50cm drop without
damage. It also has an inbuilt censor that
regulates the websites accessible by students.
The Smart Projector can perform the same
functions as a computer. It operates on android
technology and can be used to access the
internet without connection to a PC. The K12F
e-Reader is easy on the eye, lighter than a
paperback and reads like a printed page.
With the Trolley charging device, between 32
to 60 laptops and other mobile devices can be
charged at the same time.
The Uhuru Titan which ranks alongside the
Samsung S-series phones and latest i-Phone
models, is the thinnest mobile phone in the
world and has the world’s highest cell density
with 25hours standby, 14hours talking time,
11hours video time and 24hours internet
surfing time.
The phone which has many attractive features
and innovative applications, has a 13megapixels
back camera, supports 2G, 3G, 4G and 4G LTE
next generation wireless technology which
guarantees 40mbps upload speed and 150mbps
download speed.
While acknowledging Nigeria’s population
advantage and geographical size, Lu lamented
the country’s shortfall in infrastructure and
industrialisation, pointing out that Nigeria’s
path to economic growth lies not with what he
called its “demographic bonus” but with its
“talent bonus” achievable through the education
of its massive population.
Lu also told journalists after the event that the
Adulawo initiative is one with rich rewards for
the entire nation: “It is a shared advantage
between RLG, Airtel, the Osun Government and
Nigeria as a whole. We are now collaborating in
leading the change of bringing technology to
Nigeria to increase the number of units
manufactured locally for the local market and
creating jobs for the local economy.”
The vast amounts of untapped embedded
potentials in the ICT sector considered and the
immense promise held by way of job creation
and empowerment for many unemployed
Nigerians as well as the resultant impetus to
the local economy, provides all parties involved
with a lot to cheer, as confirmed by RLG
Regional Director, Ilesanmi Tosin when he said:
“We’ve not even begun to scratch the surface.
There are several business to business (B2B)
and business to customer (B2C) opportunities
yet to be leveraged.”
“We’re hoping that by way of favourable
policies, government can begin to look inward
and encourage more Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEMs) which will in turn
multiply the impact you’re seeing now,” he
added.
Chief Executive Officer, RLG Global, Alex
Lu (left); Governor Rauf Aregbesola of
Osun State and, RLG Regional Director,
West Africa, Tosin Ilesanmi, testing
functions of one of phones made in Ilesha,
Osun State

Great news.....Africa is Moving!!!!!