Experts Task Government on Electronic Sphere

Experts in the information and communication technology space have called on the government to play active role in the electronic frontier by formulating the right policies for information technology to be embraced on a large scale in Nigeria.
The experts spoke at the September edition of information value chain breakfast forum hosted by Digital Jewels in Lagos.
Emmanuel Onyeje, country manager, Microsoft Anglophone West Africa, emphasized that increasing the volume of technology in the country could only be achieved through a knowledge based economy where everybody would be able to contribute immensely.
He said technology can only be productive if technology is seen as capable of changing the way “we work and live”. Onyeje added that Nigeria needs to employ the changing face of technology in order to compete favourably with developed economies around the globe.
“The country has seriously grown in the areas of technology, especially in the telecoms sector. We are definitely measuring up. We use 3G network. We use same software for mobile phones being used by other people in the world-database and windows,” he said.
According to him, there had been significant growth in technology development from the development of television sets to mobile phones usage in the country. He noted that the key thing might be volume. However, “we need to ask ourselves; are we really measuring up with other developed countries in the areas of infrastructure? We support the idea of sharing infrastructure and this will save cost of operation by different companies as well as give quality services.”
In the same vein, Adedoyin Odunfa, the chief executive officer of Digital Jewels said technology could create good or bad opportunity whichever depends on the way technology is applied. “The internet is available for everybody. What you do on the internet depends on you. Some people use it for research, while others use it to watch pornography. People must be mindful of this so that they can avoid the negative sides of the internet. However, the benefits far outweigh the negative consequences.”
Odunfa further added that to balance the negative and positive side of technology, government has an important role to play in the electronic frontier. She noted that government has two roles to play. “Government must create an enabling environment as well as create the legal and regulatory framework to ensure that electronic frontier is enlarged,” she said.