There are jobs that stretch the intellect, and there are jobs that quietly drain the soul. Press Review belongs to both categories.

Every day begins the same way: opening countless tabs, scrolling endlessly, refreshing news sites, hopping from one media platform to another in search of stories that matter to national interest. Daily reviews. Weekly reviews. Monthly reviews. Each with its own format, tone, and unforgiving deadline. What eventually appears neat and polished on paper is, in reality, a tedious maze of mental gymnastics, eye strain, and relentless pressure.

Press Review is not just about studying media contents. It is about monitoring narratives across national dailies, online platforms, and sometimes obscure digital corners of the internet. It means extracting links manually—one after another—verifying accuracy, relevance, and authenticity. It requires repeated searches of the same story across different platforms just to confirm reach, prominence, and consistency of narrative.

Then comes the harder part: content checking. Line after line. Page after page. You digest volumes of information while identifying undertones, policy implications, security angles, reputational risks, and public sentiment. After that comes analysis, comparison, and classification—sorting stories into categories dictated by agency-specific needs: positive, negative, neutral, sensitive, threatening, or strategic. All this must be done with clarity, objectivity, and speed. And speed, in this line of work, is rarely a luxury.

The real nightmare begins at the end of the week and worsens at the end of the month. Deadlines pile up. Expectations rise. Fatigue sets in. Eyes burn from constant screen time; the mind feels overloaded. Yet there is no room for excuses. The report must be comprehensive, structured, insightful—and submitted on time. Every time.
It was in one of those moments—buried under links, summaries, and unfinished analyses—that frustration turned into reflection. We live in a digital world. Artificial intelligence is redefining industries. Automation is changing how we work. So why, I asked myself, are we still trapped in such a manual, energy-draining process? Why should media review—a task rooted in data, patterns, and analysis—remain this stressful?

There had to be an alternative. An app. A software. Something efficient, affordable, and locally grounded. Not outrageously expensive. Not foreign-dependent. Just smart enough to lift the burden.
Then came the shock.

I discovered a software developed right here in Nigeria. Yes—Nigeria. At first, disbelief crept in. But curiosity pushed me forward. The platform is called PRrev, developed by a young tech innovator, Shuaib S. Agaka, a Staff Writer at Tech Digest, a publication of Image Merchants Promotion (IMPR) Limited. I engaged the developer—who happens to be a colleague and friend—and what followed felt like witnessing a quiet revolution unfold.
PRrev is not just a tool; it is a response to a long-standing professional pain. It automates media monitoring, intelligently tracks national-interest stories, aggregates content across platforms, organises links, and supports structured analysis—drastically reducing human stress and time wastage. Tasks that once took days can now be completed with remarkable efficiency.

Beyond personal convenience, the national implications are significant.
This is where the Federal Government and critical institutions must pay attention.

During a visit to the PRNigeria Centre in Kano, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, commended the innovation behind PRrev, describing it as a strong example of indigenous technology aligned with Nigeria’s digital economy agenda. He noted that solutions like PRrev—alongside other locally developed platforms like ‘Schooltra’ demonstrated during the visit—reflect the country’s capacity to build homegrown answers to real institutional challenges.

More importantly, the relevance of such a platform goes far beyond media organisations. Security agencies and strategic institutions increasingly rely on media intelligence, open-source monitoring, and narrative tracking. In an era where threats are shaped online—through misinformation, propaganda, and coordinated digital narratives—efficient press and media review is no longer optional. It is a national security necessity.

A secure, locally developed platform like PRrev offers more than convenience. It strengthens data sovereignty, reduces dependence on foreign software, enhances real-time intelligence gathering, and supports faster, more informed decision-making. Financing, adopting, and scaling such technology would not only empower local innovators but also reinforce Nigeria’s digital and information security architecture

In a world racing toward automation, Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind—especially when solutions already exist within its borders.

What began as my personal frustration with the exhausting ritual of media review has evolved into a broader realisation: the future of work, security, and governance lies in smart, affordable, indigenous technology.

PRrev is not just easing professional stress. It is pointing the way forward.
And perhaps it is finally time we listened.

Haroon Aremu Abiodun, a developmental journalist wrote via Exponentumera@gmail.com.

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has unveiled an ambitious plan to partner with Future map Foundation to transform Northern Nigeria’s creative and digital industry by establishing a world-class film studio and providing specialized capacity-building in emerging technologies.

​Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, announced the intervention during a high-level roundtable with tech innovators and Kannywood stakeholders at the PRNigeria Centre for Research and Development in Kano.

He made the announcement with a reference to the Future Map Foundation roundtable in Kano which concluded with a clear commitment to accelerating Northern Nigeria’s digital transformation.

The initiative is designed to align the region’s creative operations with global best practices, leveraging the power of the digital economy to drive national growth.

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​Addressing the influential Kannywood film industry, Inuwa highlighted that filmmakers often wield more power in shaping public perception and behavioral change than political actors. He urged producers to move beyond profit-seeking and create content that inspires the next generation of tech builders.

​The NITDA boss pledged that the agency would provide advanced infrastructure through a modern studio, incubation centers for emerging technologies, and training to enhance content quality.

The President of the Professional Film Directors Association of Nigeria, Nasiru B. Muhammad, welcomed the news, noting that the industry has struggled with an “unfriendly operational environment.” He specifically requested NITDA’s assistance in developing AI-driven translation and subtitling software to help Kannywood films break into international markets.

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​The event also served as a platform for local digital innovators to showcase home-grown software solutions. Two major presentations caught the DG’s attention: PRev, a human-augmented media intelligence software developed by Shuaib S. Agaka for news monitoring, and SchoolTra, an educational technology platform by Abdullahi Sani Mahuta designed for managing student records.

​Inuwa commended the developers, urging them to collaborate with other experts to increase the visibility and marketability of their products on a national scale. He explained that this intervention forms part of a broader strategy to leverage technology to grow the creative industry and strengthen the country’s digital economy.

​Impact and Future Outlook for 2026

​The roundtable underscored a long-standing partnership between NITDA and the PRNigeria Centre. Malam Yushau A. Shuaib, CEO of Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), revealed that the centre has trained over 2,500 beneficiaries in digital skills since 2021. This group includes journalists and students from universities, polytechnics, and secondary schools across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

​As part of the 2026 roadmap, Shuaib announced plans to expand these training programs to focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications. By integrating these high-tech tools into the creative and media sectors, NITDA aims to solidify Nigeria’s position as a leader in the African digital landscape.

Meanwhile, at the previous event by futuremap foundation, ​stakeholders agreed on practical steps to strengthen innovation ecosystems, expand digital skills, support startups, and deepen collaboration between government, academia, and industry. The event ended with a shared resolve to position the region as a competitive hub for technology and future‑ready talent.

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Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), the award-winning publisher of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, has honoured Shuaibu Imam Agaka as its 2025 Staff of the Year for developing an innovative software solution that automates complex media-monitoring and press-review operations.

Agaka, a staff writer with Tech Digest, received a ₦250,000 cash prize at the IMPR Annual Staff Retreat held in Kano. The award recognises his development of PRrev, a cross-platform application that curates, structures and analyses media content across print, online, television and social media in real time.

Unveiling the software to staff and industry observers, Agaka said the idea was inspired by the ICT facilities provided by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) at the PRNigeria Centre. He explained that before PRrev, media intelligence teams relied on labour-intensive manual searches that were slow, error-prone and exhausting.

“Every day, teams had to manually scan hundreds of links across platforms. It was inefficient and led to burnout,” Agaka said. “PRrev automates that process and allows professionals to focus on analysis and strategic insight rather than data gathering.”

The software deploys a rule-based parsing system that automates URL collection, headline and byline extraction, date tagging and summarisation, before organising results into structured, decision-ready reports. According to IMPR, the tool has significantly improved turnaround time and accuracy in media intelligence delivery.

Presenting the award, Chairman of the IMPR Board, Dr. Sule Ya’u Sule, described press review as a critical pillar of modern public relations and marketing, adding that PRrev represents a major indigenous contribution to the sector. “This innovation will greatly enhance how media coverage is compiled and analysed. We are proud of this home-grown solution,” he said.

IMPR Chief Executive Officer, Yushau Shuaib, said the organisation has deliberately repositioned its workforce through artificial intelligence and advanced ICT training, noting that Agaka personally trained 57 trainees this year on latest digital skills.

Shuaib also highlighted IMPR’s resilience amid economic headwinds, revealing that the company has diversified into event management, book publishing and high-level capacity building—steps that have helped retain staff across its Abuja, Kano and Ilorin centres.

He listed key achievements in the outgoing year, including the continued success of the Economic Confidential Lecture, PRNigeria Young Communication Fellowship, Security and Emergency Management Awards (SAEMA), National Spokespersons Awards (NSAwards) and Arewa Stars Awards, alongside new initiatives such as the Kannywood Roundtable on Reputation Management and the formal endorsement of IMPR’s PR events by the International Public Relations Association (IPRA).

The week-long retreat featured intensive training sessions led by senior media executives, including the Editor-in-Chief of Daily Trust, Mallam Hamza Idris, and BusinessDay’s General Manager, Mr. Bashir Hassan, who guided staff on modern editorial standards and market-driven media strategies. The programme also marked the inauguration of a newly built PRNigeria chalet, while participants engaged in team-bonding activities, quizzes and recreational events.

As the retreat concluded, staff across IMPR’s titles—Politics Digest, Spokespersons Digest, Emergency Digest and Arewa Agenda—pledged renewed commitment to innovation and editorial excellence as the organisation positions itself for the 2026 business year.

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