Ndukwe to Deliver Inaugural Lecture at African Telecom Hall of Fame

Engr. Ernest Ndukwu, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), will deliver inaugural lecture at African Telecom Hall of Fame schedule to hold on November 20, 2009. The lecture will delve into the history of Africa’s troubled telecom industry, provide an overview of the current situation; and more importantly, signpost the future of an industry that has already offered Africa so much, yet, which still holds promise for more.
Engr. Ndukwe’s Keynote address, flowing from the theme of the Inaugural Lecture, The African Telecom Industry; Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow – Potentials, Challenges and Prospects Going Forward, will provide an intellectual platform for a wider discourse that will envelope and occupy the continent’s quest for a functional, people-oriented and economically emancipating telecommunications infrastructure and services.
The African Telecom Hall of Fame Lecture Series was initiated by Africa’s foremost Information and Communications magazine, IT & Telecom Digest, as the veritable platform to critically examine issues on a wide scale through the insights, skills and experiences of experts who are not only familiar with the African environment; but who are also committed to the development of the continent and the sustenance of the telecommunications industry, which is already touted as the last hope for putting Africa on the global map economically, socially and politically.
Commenting on the choice of Engr. Ndukwe as keynote speaker for the inaugural African Telecom Hall of Fame Lecture, Mkpe Abang, editor-in-chief of the magazine said: “For a man whom the world has come to acclaim as the best regulator from out of Africa, for a man who has through foresight, commitment to the telecom cause and patriotic zeal, brought the Nigerian telecom industry from out of the woods to become the talk of the world, and for a man whom the entire African continent relies on to provide direction for her telecom sector, there could not have been a better choice.”
Abang added that it is in recognition of Ndukwe’s expertise in, knowledge and thorough understanding of telecommunications as an instrument for social cohesion, good governance and political emancipation, economic growth and grassroots empowerment, among others; and given his dedication and commitment to the total growth of the African telecom industry, that he has been invited to deliver the keynote address at the Inaugural Lecture in the African Telecom Hall of Fame Lecture Series.
The inaugural lecture will kick-start and flow into the eight Nigerian Information Technology and Telecom Awards (NITTA 2009). Both events happening at the same time at the Grand Ballroom of the Eko Hotel, Lagos, from 5pm on that November 20, are set to provide an atmosphere never before experienced, in that operators, ranking government officials, subscribers and key professionals will use the opportunity of the twin-events to take stock of the year going to a close, which has been a particularly challenging one, and thinker the best direction for the coming years.
Already, the Nigerian ICT industry is agog with suspense and is in a rare feverish mood as operators and professionals hold their breath in expectations of which companies, products, personalities and institutions will be honoured with prestigious awards at NITTA 2009.
Already in its eighth year, NITTA, Nigeria’s foremost and really prestigious awards, is recognised by industry, governments and experts across Africa as the ultimate lever and benchmark for measuring and rewarding hard work, enterprise, initiation, innovation and investment foresight in a market that remains the toast of all and sundry globally.