ICT as Engine of Growth

The Nigerian economy is in bad shape, dragged down by corruption, inefficiency and militant insurgencies.
If there is a bright side, it is that the re-vegetation of the economy and it must be deliberate. It must also be backed by strong political will.
It means movement away from the over dependence on oil and gas.
Nigeria should therefore start thinking of digital economy as an engine for economic recovery and growth.
If handled with the seriousness it deserves, the local information and communications technologies (ICTs) sector is likely to grow faster than the overall economy.
Presently, the nation is at the outskirts of the lucrative ICT market simply because of her inapt administrators who are still in the Dark Age.
For instance, local companies have been shut out of the software market estimated at some $1 trillion annually.
Instead, Nigeria is making pointless expenditure of over $250 million every year on the importation of foreign software solutions.
Most federal government departments and agencies are also using foreign software unlike other countries which are fostering fair trade practices in the software industry.
Even the directive by the federal government that preference be given to software produced in the country is not being implemented.
Users of foreign software in the country cite the lack of international certification for local software as reasons for not patronizing such products
Moreover, local digital or electronic content is often very limited but crucial to unleash local skills and assets.
The over dependence on foreign software has been draining the country’s foreign reserve as several millions of dollars are paid annually as license fee for foreign software used by organizations.
The good news is that National Information Technology Development Agency (Nitda) has risen to address the anomaly with plans to establish a software testing centre to authenticate locally developed software to ensure that they meet international standard.
The move is a core strategy and policy intervention that will help embed Nigerian made software for domestic uses.
It is also expected to help in the implementation as well as monitoring of government directives on local software, boost local software market while enhancing research and development
Chris Uwaje, president, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) projected that the country’s software technology, if well retooled and strategically positioned for global competitiveness could earn about $10 billion annually from foreign software exchange.
The major challenge is for the present administration to create the needed enabling environment for local capacity.
Government must be made to realize that investments in IT in many cases lead to important improvements in the quality of life and improvements in society.