An 18-year-old Nigerian-German recording artiste and technology entrepreneur, Georgia Oviesu, professionally known as Gia Réi, has unveiled the first live demonstration of SafeLink, an emergency communication application designed to enable users to send distress messages without internet connectivity.

The Android application uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) mesh technology to allow devices within range to communicate directly with one another without relying on Wi-Fi, mobile networks or internet connectivity.

The app’s features include sending SOS messages to nearby devices, displaying calming messages to survivors, notifying people within the vicinity when a user is in distress, recording information provided by survivors, transmitting a user’s location and coordinates to nearby rescuers, and repeatedly sending emergency messages for up to 30 minutes.

Oviesu explained that users are required to register their details on the application, including their name, age, height and other relevant information, which can be accessed by designated rescuers when an SOS alert is triggered.

Addressing journalists on Saturday during the presentation at the Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos State, the young entrepreneur said she developed the application after identifying a gap between the occurrence of an emergency and the arrival of rescue.

“Every year millions of people around the world lose their lives to natural disasters, kidnappings, building collapse. Why do you ever ask yourself that question?” she asked.

Oviesu cited insecurity and disasters in different parts of the world to underscore the need for faster emergency communication.

“Look at Nigeria. Since 2023, we have had over two million kidnappings. The math is absurd. Valencia, Spain, flash floods that killed 238 people. Brazil, more than 6,000 kidnapping cases since 2023. Philippines recently just had a building collapse, killing 30 civilians. Australia, 2019 to 2020, 479. Somehow, Nigeria was able to triple that amount of people. Why?
“We need to ask ourselves, why? Why are we so conditioned to accepting these deaths?” she queried.

How SafeLink works

Oviesu illustrated the need for the technology through the story of Segun, an average Nigerian father who works to provide for his two daughters.

In the scenario, a building collapses while Segun is at work, leaving him trapped and unable to physically shout or call for help.

The presentation then introduced SafeLink as a possible means of connecting him with people nearby who could respond to the emergency.

The presentation highlighted the potential relevance of the technology to Nigeria, where internet connectivity can be unreliable, as well as to emergencies beyond building collapses, including natural disasters, seizures, heart attacks, strokes and other medical emergencies.

Oviesu appealed to Nigerians and potential partners to support the development and deployment of the application.

“What I need from that right now from Nigeria as a whole, or from the public, is partners, people who want to help, not just for profit of themselves.

“This is meant to help the poor, people who need saving. Most people kidnapped in Nigeria, the people who are suffering, are not the rich. They are the poor”.

“So I do not want to hear, why didn’t I do this? Why didn’t I do that? Because everything I did here today, the functions are for the poor. That is why it is so simplified,” she said.

Why she developed SafeLink

During a question-and-answer session, The Guardian asked Oviesu what incident made her realise that Nigeria needed an emergency communication system that could work without the internet.

She said the idea came from a long-standing desire to help people, combined with her exposure to computer science, coding and computational thinking through the International Baccalaureate programme.

During an internship, she learned Kotlin, the programming language used to build SafeLink.

She subsequently decided to use a compulsory school application project to develop something with potential real-world social impact rather than a conventional student application.

“In my course, we have to create an app, every single one of us, every student in my grade. We have to create an app,” she noted.

Asked by The Guardian how SafeLink could practically be deployed to address insecurity and kidnapping, Oviesu described a community-based emergency response model in which SOS alerts would be broadcast to devices within the user’s vicinity.

“Part of the reason why I created this app was to foster community. I believe that Nigerian community needs to be stronger, we need to be more united. So what did I do? I made it like this.

“Everybody in your vicinity can be able to receive your message, your SOS message.

It’s not hidden. So let’s say someone is in danger, to receive a message. You see that the person two kilometres away from you can see how you’re doing and they call the police. Or even the police receives your message as well.

“The thing is that every single Nigerian can have this app,” she said.

George Uwaifo, IT CTO, Giteksol Solutions Limited, and other participants highlighted Nigeria’s kidnapping and security challenges, particularly in rural communities, and asked how SafeLink could practically assist people in such situations.

Oviesu explained that the application could send emergency messages to nearby devices and potentially connect users with relevant authorities and people within their communities.

The role of government and community partnerships was also discussed, with Oviesu saying she envisioned partnerships with police stations and security agencies so that kidnapping and other emergency alerts could reach authorities.

Developer open to criticism, partnerships
Another issue raised during the presentation was the ownership and protection of the innovation.

Sumbo Ojukotola, Deputy Director, Special Correctional Centre for Girls, asked where Oviesu would draw the line when partnering with government institutions, particularly amid concerns that government agencies or other partners could make suggestions that might eventually lead to them taking control of the innovation.

Responding, Oviesu said she was open to constructive criticism and partnerships.
“Development without criticism is not development. It’s just you withholding your idea.

“I am very young. I’m 18 years old. I can’t know everything.

“I’m very open to criticism,” she said.
Ojukotola also asked how SafeLink could distinguish genuine SOS alerts from fake or false emergencies.

Oviesu advised users not to attempt dangerous rescues themselves, but to alert the appropriate authorities.

She explained that the application has separate registration processes for users and rescuers, meaning emergency alerts can be directed to registered rescuers.

“The young developer stressed that the app has registrations for rescuers and for users. So it means you must be registered as a rescuer or a user. So when the alert comes, it goes to rescuers,” she said.

Data protection and public adoption
The discussion also focused on public acceptance, data protection and how the application would gain users.

Onyeugbo Fanny of Bonnie Media asked how people would discover the application and how users’ personal information would be protected.

Oviesu said user information is stored in the cloud and is accessible only through her specific login.

Participants also encouraged the developer to consider issues beyond the technology itself, including public trust, partnerships, data protection and how the application would function in real-world Nigerian communities.

A live demonstration of how to use SafeLink was witnessed by journalists and participants during the presentation.

Oviesu also called on the Federal Government, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), security agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stakeholders and other relevant authorities to partner with her on the development and deployment of the application.

Beyond technology, Oviesu is the co-founder and vice president of the Bennie Griffins Academy, a free school for underprivileged children in Adiyan, Ogun State.

Her work spans technology, education and music. As Gia Réi, she records Afrobeats-influenced R&B and pop music, with singles including “Cara” and “Taking Your Time.”