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Nigerian cc-TLD (.ng domains) – Something is definitely wrong

Oluniyi D. Ajao

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It’s now crystal clear to me that there is something certainly wrong with the Nigerian Country Code Top Level Domain (cc-TLD), the .ng domain registry.

It is bad enough that for the past 3 weeks, I have had 5 domains in the final stages of registration, but no action has been taken by NIRA and the domains are still pending. Who is NIRA? According to NIRA’s website:

About NiRA
The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) was established on 23rd March 2005 as a Private Sector led Organization, charged with the management of the Nigerian Country Top Level Domain Name (Dot-NG).

NIRA’s establishment was the end of a long period of inactivity and dispute on the appropriate management of this important National Resource. Coordinated by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Stakeholders within Nigeria’s Internet community participated in its formation.

Emmanuel Oluwatosin, the owner of yemma.com.ng I blogged about a few weeks ago, was chatting with me online yesterday and told me he believed his domain name (also pending re-registration for several weeks now) was going to be re-registered yesterday. His information was that the fellow in charge of the final registrations had travelled thus the long delay in .ng domain registration. I really didn’t want to believe that because I didn’t want to believe Nigeria could have sinked to this level.

But then, in the early hours of this morning, another friend who is also a .ng domain holder told me his domain had also been deleted. I quickly checked mine and alas, it wasn’t working. A quick check revealed that all .ng domains were down! At time of blogging, I can confirm that they have all been down for at least 6 hours now. This is incredible.

  • The official website of the Federal Government of Nigeria – nigeria.gov.ng
  • Federal Minsitry of Finance – finance.gov.ng
  • Obafemi Awolowo University – oauife.edu.ng
  • Nigerian Tribune (leading newspaper in Ibadan)  – tribune.com.ng
  • and so many other websites using .ng domains

How do we expect to be respected in the world when we cannot manage anything that has to do with us, effectively. Nothing seems to work in Nigeria, except corruption. This is very very shameful.

What do you think? Please share your thoughts now by posting your comment.

Oluniyi D. Ajao Avatar
Oluniyi D. Ajao
Oluniyi D. Ajao is an Internet Entrepreneur and Tech Enthusiast. Follow him on X (fka Twitter) @niyyie for more tech updates.

Comments

  1. Yomi Adegboye Avatar
    Yomi Adegboye

    What I think? I think the whole .ng project is a farce. I walked away from it months ago, and I am glad that I did. Customers are usually not receptive to long grammar about why their sites are not working. Bad for business. Bad for pleasure.

    Reply
  2. Seun Osewa Avatar
    Seun Osewa

    Heh, the domains went down the moment Nigerians laid hands on them. Just shows that NIRA was not prepared for the responsibility.

    Personally, I think we should host our domain names abroad until we have reliable high speed fiber-optic links and power becomes reliable. That is, until hell freezes over. Even if you’re using a generator, what do you do when a strike is called over the price of fuel? Even generators use fuel!

    Reply
  3. Oluniyi David Ajao Avatar
    Oluniyi David Ajao

    😀 😀 Thanks Seun. Always as humorous as ever. It is indeed true that things fell apart the moment Nigerians laid their hands on managing the national asset, themselves. It is very sad for me that this is happening. 😳

    I am hoping that the suggestion that someone made to me is not true. That is, the domains have all been deleted, “accidentally” or for whatever reason. 🙄

    Reply
  4. Ugo Daniels Avatar
    Ugo Daniels

    It goes on to show that we still have a very very long way to go in terms of competing fully in the fast tracking world of I.T The funny and sad thing about thing is that ‘The Nigerian Factor’ lives on. I can’t imagine that saomeone responsible for such a sensitive task could leave it unattended and go on vacation…dats str8 up bullshit. I just don’t understand why such things can’t work in NIgeria but works everywhere else. Are we doomed as a people or what!?

    Legal actions should be taken against them. People are losing money whenever the site goes down. It’s issues like this that i LOVE the states sooo much. By now, they would be coughing out close to millions of dollars in damages. It’s an open and shut case… 😡 😡 🙁

    Reply
  5. Emmanuel Avatar
    Emmanuel

    Hm… I don’t really know where to start from. I agree with everyone that we are not ready to manage the .ng TLD in-house. My domain http://www.yemma.com.ng has been down now for 5 weeks and nobody seems to understand when it is going to come back.

    I really wish one can sue these people. Anyway, let’s hope they do something fast. I have stopped recommending .ng to clients and friends.

    Reply
  6. imnakoya Avatar
    imnakoya

    Ng domian is down? I’m not surprised…and no one should!

    Reply
  7. Edward Popoola Avatar
    Edward Popoola

    I got a call today about it from someone that needed answers, I could’nt imagine at first and my first conclusion was that it must be a host issue. Now I know the .ng has gone on a break 🙂

    Reply
  8. Oluniyi David Ajao Avatar
    Oluniyi David Ajao

    Punch, a leading Nigerian daily, also carried the news. See http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20070628233245

    Reply
  9. Akinbo A. A. Cornerstone Avatar
    Akinbo A. A. Cornerstone

    How many of you started walking the day you were born ? How much do you know about NiRA ? What is it about comparing a Nation that has failed over a hundred years to realize what nationality means to a Nation within a Nation that is just absorbing democracy and development in the Information Technology ?

    NiRA is just two years old…it got registered of recent with the Corporate Affairs and is willing to grow. Domain registration is still free and still fine tunning itself for stardom and all we can do is tear it apart with words ? I believe we can do better than words of destructive analysis but constructive notions that should put us side by side with South Africa.

    On this note, if you feel you understand how it should be run, the technology needed to sustain the domination and consistent stability of all domain, speak out ! We have a site that takes care of such complaints which i feel will further strengthen our backbone.

    I am a youth…a member of the Nigeria iNTERNET Registration Association (NiRA), a true born of the west of of Africa and a citizen of Nigeria. Am Black and proud, what about you ?

    Akinbo A. A. Cornestone
    Continental Director, SCN-Africa,
    Save Children Now.

    http://www.savechildrennow.org
    [email protected]
    +2348064464545

    http://profiles.takingitglobal.org/pscornerstone

    Reply
  10. » Yemma is back! – Oluniyi D. Ajao » Blog Archive

    […] but not yet on his old .ng domain – yemma.com.ng His blog has been down for months now because the .ng registry threw it into the wilderness after deleting his domain […]

    Reply
  11. Cyril Robinson Avatar
    Cyril Robinson

    If I may be right, NIRA is just a body without the tool for national empowerment, operating from a boys-quarters:mrgreen:. I can not imagine in the whole wide world of information technology era where priority of unseriousness are placed above national assignment. If it not going to work, why all the noice about free .ng for. Would it not rather be made all publice test-run affair before it’s national awareness?.

    Can you imaging Akinbo A. A. C who claimed to be a member of NIRA talk; Man, you should be flogged 🙄 seriously, 😀 I am not joking. Yes! you need some cover-up for NIRA but not in this acidic situation when almost all our national websites are down. I am not surprise. I watched the clarion call for .ng for free registration and I rates the service with ‘additional epileptic service that will not work.

    Nigerian TLD manned by NIRA and Coordinated by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) should device immediate alternative means to make all domains that went down start working without any further delay and be advised to have emergency backup in the case of future occurrence.

    This a national issue and should be handled with utmost care as not to be seen as unserious nation.

    Reply
  12. GoldOasis Blog

    .ng domains registration suspended temporarily

    Web4Africa has been offering .ng domain name registration since 2006. Unfortunately, we’re forced to stop registering .ng domain names at this time due to the gross inefficiency on the part of the .ng registry.
    Domains submitted for registration …

    Reply
  13. obi Avatar
    obi

    i’m happy i’m not the only one complaining about the .ng domain. it’s been over 7 weeks and i cant even get a reply over the registration/handover of my domain name. i have even gone to NITDA in Abuja and yet nothing was done on it. i even called the professor himself on his mobile phone and to this moment not even a phone call or a text message signifying any sort of response was or has been sent to muy phone. it’s really embarrassing!

    Reply

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