Editorial
2011: ICT4D Plan Missing as Politicians Chase Shadows
Election fever is sweeping across the country but presidential aspirants are not talking about how to use information and communications technology (ICT) to underpin Nigeria’s regeneration, proffering instead to focus on the same political gimmicks that now sound like broken records, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now reveal.
Worried ICT professionals described the situation as scary, urging greater focus by the aspirants on ICT to hasten the rebuilding of the country’s economy hobbled by years of mismanagement and neglect.
But politicians seemingly unconcerned have continued to marshal out their governance agenda and leadership qualities and occasionally slinging mud at rivals.
Though all the aspirants anchored their campaigns so far on promises to fight corruption, job creation, improvement on security of lives and properties and the overall improvement in standard of living, none however has said how these would be achieved.
Titi Omo-Ettu, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (Atcon) said that the body will task all presidential aspirants for the 2011 general elections on their plans and agenda for Information Communication Technology in Nigeria.
Omo-Ottu noted that the ICT sector can not be ignored because it offers huge businesses, waiting for Nigerian IT professionals to leverage on. He said that his body will invite the presidential candidates of all political parties for the 2011 elections to address its members on plans they have for ICT.
Welcoming the development, Benson Akuche, ICT and investment expert based in the United States of America said “the aspirants have all got off on the wrong foot. At this stage, there is no mention of specific issues. They should be talking in clear terms how they intend to deliver good governance”.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that lack of attention on details can wreck some of the aspirants’ political campaigns particularly now that Nigerians are tired of their oratory and undelivered promises in the past.
Frank Durumba, a direct marketing consultant said that most of the aspirants have launched high tech campaign strategies to woo voters and sell their candidatures but have not said a word about how to tackle the menace of internet scams that have earned the country notoriety as a fraud haven.
“From day one, the aspirants should have been talking cyber policing, fighting online crime and child protection online and so on,” Durumba said.
Also the issue of the licensing process of 2.3 GHz spectrum band that was expected to boost the telecommunications sector has remained unresolved since 2009 and so far, the aspirants have not talked about it.
“I expect to be hearing how an aspirant intends to make broadband internet, the life wire of development. Broadband is already a basic right in some country but has remained largely under developed in Nigeria, because of the unseriousness of successive governments,” Akuche added.
Elsewhere, taxation on ICT is hurting fresh investment in the only thriving sector and no aspirant has said anything about how to address the indiscriminate quest for internally generated revenue from the telecoms industry by all tiers of government.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunication of Nigeria, (Alton) said even as revenue sources are critical for the development of Nigeria, telecom companies are constantly harassed, their base stations and offices locked indiscriminately by governments.
“With respect, our major challenge stem from the activities of States and Local Governments. Members have brought documents evidencing requests for taxes and levies that are, in our view, outside of what is prescribed by law,” he added.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek also gathered that redesigning the educational curriculum, creation of ICT parks/innovation hubs to create new ICT entrepreneurs capable of leap-frogging the country’s growth should have formed part of the agenda of the aspirants.
According to Deji Kadiri, managing director of ZeeSoft Nigeria Limited, ICT presents Nigeria the rare chance to join the league of the fastest developing countries of the world.
“If the aspirants are not talking about ICT, it is scary in my opinion because this is one area that Nigeria can quickly leverage on to join the league of industrialised nations like South Korea and Singapore. The investment here is minimal compared to setting up a motor manufacturing plant,” Kadiri said.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), has been nominated for the Giovanni Buttarelli Award 2024. The award through the Global Privacy Assembly recognises an individual’s outstanding leadership and exceptional efforts in fostering international collaboration.
Dr Vincent Olatunji
This nomination highlights Dr Vincent’s commitment to driving innovation, expanding global partnerships, and promoting a collaborative approach within the data privacy and protection ecosystem.
Under the visionary leadership of Dr Vincent, the Data Privacy ecosystem in Nigeria has witnessed a remarkable growth through key milestones such as deepening the knowledge of data protection and privacy in all public and private institutions, judicial recognition of adequacy principle in cross-border data transfer, playing key roles in regional and global data privacy ecosystem, commencement of bilateral cooperation with other jurisdictions, licensing of data protection compliance organisations, commencement of national data protection certification process, among others.
Dr Vincent’s strategic and innovative initiatives has been instrumental in forging strong international partnerships, driving sustainable growth, fostering a culture of collaboration which has not only propelled the NDPC to new heights but also set a benchmark for international cooperation and industry standards.
The Giovanni Buttarelli Award celebrates leaders who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and/or promoted collaboration at a regional or international level in the field of data privacy and protection.
Nominees are evaluated based on their contributions to projects that has led to the development of innovative concepts or practices, which have significantly impacted the thinking in the international data protection and privacy community, partnerships, and initiatives that enhance global cooperation and development.
In his response to his nomination, Dr Vincent Olatunji expressed his gratitude and emphasised on the importance of collective effort in achieving global progress. “I am deeply honored to be nominated for the Giovanni Buttarelli Award 2024” said Dr Vincent.
“This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team at NDPC. It underscores the power of collaboration and the remarkable outcomes we can achieve when we work together across borders.
“I am excited to continue our journey, driving innovation and fostering partnerships that make a positive impact globally,” he said.
Telecoms operators including MTN, Airtel and Globacom have pushed for cost-reflective tariff in view of extant economic realities.
This was contained in a statement jointly released by the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) on Thursday.
The statement was co-signed by Gbenga Adebayo; chairman, ALTON and Tony Emoekpere, president, ATCON.
The telcos called upon the government to take decisive action in addressing the numerous challenges confronting the telecommunications industry.
The telcos said telecommunications infrastructure development requires substantial investments in network expansion, maintenance, and technology upgrades.
“Despite the adverse economic headwinds, the telecommunications industry remains the only industry yet to review its general service pricing framework upward in the last (11) years, primarily due to regulatory constraints.
“For a fully liberalized and deregulated sector, the current price control mechanism, which is not aligned with economic realities, threatens the industry’s sustainability and can erode investors’ confidence.
“ATCON and ALTON call upon the government to facilitate a constructive dialogue with industry stakeholders to address pricing challenges and establish a framework that balances consumers’ affordability with operators’ financial viability,” the statement partly read.
Regarding the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telcos also said regulatory neutrality and independence are crucial to ensuring a thriving telecommunications sector.
“Statutory provisions lend credence to this notion, as a lack of an impartial regulator will lead to a failure to maintain public confidence in the objectivity and independence of its decisions,” the statement added.
The federal government has reiterated its commitment to achieving all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to promote economic growth and eliminate poverty in Nigeria.
The Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Senator George Akume, gave the assurance at a news conference on Tuesday, in Abuja ahead of the “Inaugural Partnership Economy Summit”, scheduled for September 14 and 15.
According to Akume, the primary purpose of the summit is to diversify the economy, promote rural growth, as well as generate sustainable jobs for the youths.
Achieving this, the minister emphasised on partnership with other stakeholders as it was the responsibility of his ministry to achieve the aim of its mission and the creation.
“The framework for the upcoming summit, guided by the principles of Public Social Private Partnership (PSPP) is being designed to develop, promote a multi-Iayered collaborative socio-economic platform for the government, the business sector as well as the civil society.
“In order to achieve this, President Muhammadu Buhari established the ministry with the mandate to develop and implement policies, programmes and projects for the effective and efficient delivery of the gains of Economic Growth and Recovery Plan,” Akume said.
He said the ministry was also charged with the mandate of collaborating with the private sector to create employment for a large number of Nigerian youths, adding that it is also meant to implement a strategy towards the realisation of the president’s June 12 promise to take 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years.
“Nigeria is among the countries in the UN that signed a pact to implement the SDGs by 2030, in the words of Ban Ki-Moon, former Secretary-General of UN in 2016.
“Nigeria is not left out in its plan towards achieving the SDGs, and how far has Nigeria gone to achieving the 806 goals is part of the questions that the upcoming summit seeks to address,” Akume explained.
He stated that to tackle the issue of poverty and unemployment, the ministry is in partnership with a number of stakeholders, including the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment; and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria.
Others are Raw Materials Research and Development Council, National Orientation Agency, Association of Local Government of Nigeria and SDGs Nigeria as well as MYK Psymmons Solutions Limited to come up with achievable solutions to all the challenges.
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