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FG to Focus on Coys, not Codes in Software Development Plan-Johnson

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Omobola Johnson, minister of Communication Technology
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Mrs. Omobola Johnson, minister of Communication Technology, said that an assessment of the nation’s software industry landscape has revealed that dual points of innovation process and companies, not code are the critical aspects to tackle in order to tap into the potentials.

She made the remark at the ISPON 2013 National Software Conference and Competition in Calabar, Cross River State. 

Johnoson regretted that several billions of naira leave the shores of Nigeria every year as licences and other fees to foreign software companies. 

“This doesn’t have to be. Software Strategies for us as a country must be not only about improving productivity because it also provides an avenue for transforming the economy, creating jobs and creating wealth. So we need to tackle the broader challenge of how we take our promising software developers and software engineers and help them to become entrepreneurs that can take advantage of this opportunity?,” Johnson remarked.

While extolling ISPON for this year’s theme, “Software Strategies for Retooling the Workforce”, she added that Software has indeed accelerated productivity in the workplace, “for example the simple word processing tools and spreadsheet tools that we had in the 80’s to the more encompassing office productivity tools such as the Microsoft Office suite .

“From simple accounting packages to the sophisticated Enterprise Resource Planning applications that support the entire organisational functions, HR, Accounting, Finance, Logistics, Billing, Procurement etc’, I am sure you can think of many other examples of the impact that software has made to workplace productivity”. 

She maintained that with an accepted and well documented failure rate of 90% in the software enterpreneurship space, stakeholders must accelerate and scale up the innovation process.

Johnson said: “Silicon Valley and Israel (a country that has earned the appellation of “start up nation’) have literally thousands of companies in the ideation or start up stage at any point in time, the outcome of which is tens of companies that are either acquired by the bigger players or go on to become big players themselves. (Shopping.com acquired by ebay for $620m, face.com a face recognition software acquired by Facebook for $100m.

“We have made some progress in the short time that the Ministry of Communication Technology has been in existence. There is a thriving ecosystem of innovation hubs with the private sector participating well through the Co-Creation Hub, Venia Business Hub and others.

“The government has also intervened with the set up of the iDEA hubs in Lagos and Calabar (with more to come) which aim to cover both the innovation and ideation process as well as accelerating the process from ideation to business creation. Our first cohort of incubates at the iDEA hubs were drawn from the developers that provided solutions adjudged as having potential by the Oil & Gas as well as financial sectors. Our next cohort will be tasked with building solutions for the Agriculture, industry, an effort being designed together with USAID…

“We are open to ideas as to the what solutions should be tackled next as we believe that software solutions that come out of our industry should be designed to meet particular needs, commercial as well as social and of course be exportable to other countries.

“We would do well to benchmark ourselves against other regional economies like Kenya and South Africa. The global success of the Kenyan Ushahidi platform shows we have a long way to go as we do not as yet have the one (or more) software solutions that have international appeal and are instantly recognizable as Nigerian.  The South African software industry, with its exports of homegrown fraud prevention, revenue management solutions, mobile applications as well as an instantly recognized Open Source platform (Ubuntu) drives home this point.

“Ideally, these kinds of hubs should grow organically in Universities, Cyber cafes, libraries as access to the Internet improves but it will be much easier to roll out a clear philosophy through a connected network of hubs started by the government but ultimately will be run by the private sector”.

She added that the philosophy must also instill in the nation’s entrepreneurs the freedom to experiment that will truly free their ideation process. Too many software solutions that are released these days follow the familiar, safe path of former successes in entertainment (for example) or simply put a Nigerian twist on solutions that have succeeded elsewhere.

“While addressing the structural issues that should encourage our entrepreneurs to concentrate on “Companies, not code”, we must also ensure we do not take the technical requirements of this industry for granted.

“Many of our software developers are self-taught and while this is admirable, it also means that any errors in coding can be carried over for several “generations” of developers. To guard against this, the setup of coding schools will be encouraged and supported where necessary by the government – similar to our support and interventions in the innovation hubs/accelerators.

“This is an intense process that requires the all the proverbial hands to be on deck and I call on ISPON to collaborate intensely with us on all these initiatives to achieve their ultimate vision of a vibrant, competitive and world class software industry,” she noted. 

 

 

 


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ATU, AFRINIC Urge Governments, Regulators to Develop Internet Resilience Framework

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As Africa continues to face internet disruptions, telecom leaders have urged governments and regulators to embrace and implement a Model Framework for Building Regional Internet Resilience.

The African Telecommunications Union (ATU), Internet Society, and African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) have all endorsed the framework.

The framework organises Africa’s internet resilience challenge around three interdependent focus areas: networks and internet service providers (ISPs), critical infrastructure such as power grids and cables, and market conditions that influence affordability and demand, according to the organisations in a joint statement.

Once implemented, entities or operators responsible for an important part of a country’s internet ecosystem, such as electricity utilities, mobile network operators, ISPs, internet exchange points, or a country-code top-level domain registry, must develop a resilience plan within one year of the framework’s official adoption.

The statement also mentions several past disruptions that hampered communication, such as the West Africa Cable System failure in March 2024, which cut off 13 countries for days.

They went on to explain that the plan must be evaluated and updated on an annual basis and be compatible with the entity or operator’s continuity and reconstitution plans.

It (framework) should also specify how the organisation intends to incorporate the resilience features of redundancy, resourcefulness, rapid recovery—all of which are critical components of achieving overall robustness—into its operations.

ATU has warned that every blackout is a flashing red warning, and that the framework would act as an insurance policy against outages.

“Connectivity remains Africa’s nervous system and when it stutters, schools, hospitals and markets stutter too. This framework is our insurance policy against digital darkness”, said John Omo, secretary general of ATU.

Arthur Carindal, AFRINIC’s head of stakeholder engagement, commended the institutions for their coordinated efforts.

He said: “It is a great honour for AFRINIC to collaborate with ATU and ISOC in transformative initiative enabling all stakeholders to participate in developing Africa’s internet resilience model framework, which highlights key policy recommendations and best practices for strengthening internet infrastructure in Africa.”

 


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NCC Rallies Stakeholder Support to Protect Telecom Infrastructure

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Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reiterated its commitment to the full operationalisation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Executive Order on Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII), which designates telecommunications facilities as critical national assets deserving optimal protection.

This comes on the heels of a successful mediation led by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), in collaboration with the Commission, which resulted in the suspension of a planned strike by the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA).

The strike, if carried out, would have disrupted the supply of diesel to telecommunications sites nationwide, severely affecting network operators’ ability to power their diesel-driven generators and maintain uninterrupted connectivity.

In the days leading up to the resolution, the ONSA, under the leadership of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, held strategic engagements with NOGASA’s leadership, with the Commission providing technical and regulatory guidance to highlight the potential implications of service disruptions on national security, the economy, and everyday life.

The discussions culminated in an agreement to call off the industrial action, averting what could have been a nationwide disruption of telecom services.

“Telecommunications infrastructure is the backbone of our connectivity and digital economy. Any disruption, whether through vandalism, accidental damage during construction work, theft of equipment, denial of access to maintenance teams, or interruptions in the supply of essential operational materials, has far-reaching implications for service delivery, economic stability, and national security,” the NSA said.

The Commission expressed appreciation to the ONSA for its leadership and dedication to protecting national assets and commended the maturity and understanding demonstrated by relevant stakeholders in recognising the national importance of telecommunications services.

Commenting on the development, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Dr. Aminu Maida, stated: “We will continue to enforce strict compliance by our licensees with technical standards for the deployment and maintenance of telecommunications infrastructure, while working closely with relevant stakeholders to strengthen awareness and cooperation on their protection.

“We also recognise mediation as an effective tool for building consensus among stakeholders. This resolution underscores the importance of dialogue in preventing avoidable service disruptions. Ultimately, we call on all Nigerians to regard telecom infrastructure as a shared national asset, one that underpins our ability to connect with loved ones, transact businesses, access healthcare, pursue education, and participate in the global digital economy.”

The Commission reaffirmed that it would continue to coordinate with security agencies, industry stakeholders, and the public to ensure that Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure remains protected, resilient, and reliable for all.


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Nigeria’s Internet Subscriptions Dip Slightly in June, But Data Demand Hits New High

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Active internet subscriptions across mobile, fixed, and VOIP networks in Nigeria dropped to 141.1 million in June, representing a 0.3% decline from the 141.5 million recorded in May, according to the latest statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Mobile network operators MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile maintained their dominance with a combined 140.6 million subscriptions, leaving Internet Service Providers and others with 528,633 subscriptions at the end of June.

Despite the slight drop in subscriptions, data consumption continued to grow. Nigerians used 1.044 million terabytes of data in June, marginally higher than the 1.043 million terabytes recorded in May, which had been the highest monthly usage since January 2023.

Telecom operators say this surge in data usage is driven by the rapid growth of Nigerian cities, especially Lagos, where more people, businesses, and devices are fueling record bandwidth consumption. In response, operators are expanding capacity to meet the rising demand.


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