Nigeria’s IT Literacy is Poor –Olufuye

Dr. Jimson Olufuye, IT Specialist/Consultant with over 20years experience is a man of a man of integrity and honour. He has undying love for ICT.Olufuye, president, Information Technology (Industry) Association of Nigeria (Itan) and MD/CEO, Kontemporary Komputers Limited rings a bell in the ICT sector.Olufuye spoke to john ikpea in Abuja on a wide range of issues.

About Itan and Olufeye’s Presidency

Information Technology (Industry) Association of Nigeria (Itan) is the umbrella body of all other associations of IT companies in Nigeria. We are major stakeholder in the Nigeria computer society and also in the computer professional registration council of Nigeria. Our vision is a actually to engender a new Nigeria driven by information and technology and our mission is to use every means possible to ensure that these things are championed to its conclusion.

As the president of ITAN my responsibilities include over seeing day to day activities of the association and to protect members’ interest where necessary and also to ensure that the objective of the constitution is not only implemented but committed to drive it to its conclusion

Challenges

The challenges we face are not different from the conventional ones other corporate Nigerian companies are facing. It is the issue of leadership with clear vision and appropriate strategy to implement set objectives. So far, with the privilege I have as the ITAN president and knowing what to do as well and in the right time, we have been able to put our vision in the right perspective and with appropriate mission objective to drive it. The goal is clear, that is, we want to see a Nigeria that is powered by IT and we are working very hard to mobilize all stakeholders to be involved.

In my opinion, Nigerians are looking for leader and when they see a good one they follow and I am happy that many of our members have good level of trust in my leadership and they give all the cooperation I need. So, I want to use this opportunity to encourage all those IT companies sitting on the fence to come down and lets together move this nation to the next plateau.

Kontemporary Komputers

It is an IT solution and consulting company based in Abuja. The company started operation in 1995 and since then we have been into training and rendering capacity reports. We give oral IT solution to corporations for software and design for networking and of late we started rendering IP services through the provision of middle conferencing solution.

We also consult on electronic document management to high profile companies, and our cliente include ECOWAS, EU, World Bank, federal government of Nigeria through the Ministry of Science and Technology and office of the auditor-general of the federation.

We are cutting edge IT solution company and we have in Lagos, Kano, Dubai, US, Malaysia, UK and Canada. As a matter of fact, we have technical partners around the world. This is to ensure that we provide cutting edge services in the West Coast of Africa.

R&D in the ICT in Nigeria

Thanks so much for that question. It is a critical one. There is a provision in the NITDA Act to have an IT development fund and I believe if this fund is well appropriated towards the promotion of R&D in the ICT field in the country, in our research institutions, institutions of higher learning and in other sectors of the economy that are cut from R&D like Itan where we are taking the issue very seriously, it will be well for all of us.

It is a general knowledge that without R&D no nation can grow economically and otherwise and one can always see the result of R&D only if both are available. On the local perspective, if you don’t do as much as cutting edge product, that shows that our level of R&D and innovation is very low.

R&D requires a lot of funding. It is not something individual or low capital corporation can do alone without government intervention. There has to be specific grant to ensure that this is done and done well. A graphic example is our university system, if you look at the products of our universities it does not measure up sufficiently which is as a result of very low of R&D because if there is sound R&D it will be seen in the products that comes from the universities.

Telecoms & Investment

Well, if there is any success story that the last administration would readily jubilate over, it is the issue of success in the Telecoms sector. Without any doubt, there has been sufficient foreign director investments, though we cannot see it around but the challenges are enormous, yet I can see something outstanding happening in the sector and that is a lesson for us; that based on the right policy investors were able to come in and invested their money despite the infrastructural problem such as the challenges of power, the players were also able to do their utmost best and today we have Telecom ratio climbing so high in the country.

In my opinion, I think there is a lesson for the other sectors from Telecoms sector where level of investments is quite high and that is encouraging, but government has to do more to ensure that sound infrastructure are put in place such as energy which is very important too. Government should solve these problems so that within the next seven years Nigerians can, at least, see the penetration of good Telecoms services with the poor infrastructure we have on ground and we if we are able to put in place sound infrastructure within same period that means we will be able to short-tackle the development circle, with that achieved, then we can then start talking about realization of Vision 2020, which I doubt will ever see the light of the day in the absence of IT.

Nitel

This is my personal opinion. Actually it was a costly mistake trying to do police somersault. Any government which share the view that there is nothing called continuity of policy no investor will take such government seriously.

If actually there as flaw in the negotiation, it is unfortunate. As it is sold let it be, because in the era of Nitel we never achieved anything significant in Telecom. We never did. So, lets take it as bad investment. Let it go off. Let private people, private managers, investors that can turn it round let them do it. But it is high time government should steer of Nitel and allow those who bought it to do their work.

1-Gov.net

It is a right step in the right direction. That is the way it should be done if you are actually serious about fast-tracking development, that is, government supporting a single network for e-government.

What I will want to counsel against in this circumstance, is the driver sleeping. We are always in a process of when we start a project like the one we are talking about, we go to sleep. We don’t make provision for the energy, intellectual and well withal required and the resources needed to ensure that it worked.

However, the initiative is good and if the project is supported financially and with excellent strategy, with great technical backing it has the potentials of fast-tracking e-government and e-business and ensuring that we get services from government at a faster rate.

IT Literacy

The federal government has not done enough. It has not taken the bull by the horn as it should as regards to IT in the grassroots and empowering the youths. IT literacy in Nigeria is still very low even in the civil service. But the process has just begun with the presence of 1-Gov.net in place. With regard to the youths, we have to back to the basis, primary and secondary schools should be computerized and not just having one computer but computer in education for teaching, for studying and is the way to go.When people are exposed to IT they are equally exposed to its infrastructure and tools and the facilities like the Internet, they will be able to acquire a lot of information and with the information so acquired there would be knowledge which will eventually bring about knowledge economy.

Majority of Nigerian youth are still devoid of IT knowledge and it’s a serious matter. Let me give you another illustration. We have NYSC scheme in this country but there is no ground design to ensure that part of the period of that camping is used to train the youth in IT.