Nigeria’s Position in MINT Economy Revolves Round IT-Experts

Information Technology (IT) experts unanimously agreed that Nigeria can leverage on its position in the MINT economy by exploring all aspects of information technology and intelligence.

Addressing guests at the Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition in Lagos, on Monday, Mrs Omobola Johsnon, minister of Communication technology, said the national ICT policy reflects the countries yawning to play at the global stage in the IT/ICT sector.

The Minister represented by Engineer Peter Jack, director general of NITDA, said that various policies articulated by the Ministry since its establishment in 2011 are geared towards opening the sector for the public and private sectors to jointly articulate projects that will reflect global trends in the ICT industry.

Dr. Evans Woherem, executive chairman, Digital Africa Global Consults, while welcoming guests to Conference and Exhibition, said there is socio-economic dimension of the exponential growth in IT.

He said, for example, in the nearest future more and more robots will take away not only jobs by blue collar workers but even the jobs of white collar workers including managers and professionals.

“As this happen, it means that capital is becoming labour thus blurring the demarcation between capital and labour.  In fact, the prediction that Nigeria is part of the MINT nations is largely based on our population size. So, what if IT or robots in particular also become labour by working and displacing humans, then it means that some of the advantages provided by labour has been eroded. So where lies the population advantage of countries like Nigeria?

“We have an exponential world. How do we ride it, or shape it, instead of merely reacting to it, to how it unfolds? My argument has always been that Africa should not sit idly by while the future of the world it will participate in, live in, is created elsewhere. Africa should be part of the debate or discourse on how to shape the exponential technologies to provide us a desired future.

“The idea of the exponential new techs is that they seem unbelievable and products of science fiction and yet they are already here with us. Africa should note them as they denote some of the revolutionary products out there that we have to take into consideration as we play catch up.

“I am suggesting that Africa needs Techshops. They are places with all the materials, to produce things, e.g., cutting and shaping machines, as well as the laboratory or factory environment that anybody requires to make anything imaginable. Many people in Africa, especially the youth have numerous ideas of what they want to make but for the fact that there are no Techshops that can assist them to do so.

“Africa needs either through the private sector or public sector, to own Techshops here in Africa. It will unleash a season of creativity and innovation in Africa. This is a pure case of democratization of technology and knowledge.

On his part, Mr Folusho Philips, chairman of the occasion said, said the African market must be unlocked to enable individuals and countries harness the potentials the market posses.

He said that Nigeria and African IT experts must be focused on developing models that will enable the continuity in achieving digital singularities.

He added that the industry needs to develop platforms for keen enthusiasts of IT unleash development in all sectors of the economy.

He added that the Conference portends something very positive for the IT industry in the country, for IT diffusion both in private and public sector organisations and for eGovernance.

The event tagged, “Towards Digital Singularity in Africa,” is expected to raise though provoking topics to address quantum of developmental challenges facing Africa, that lags behind other continents of the world in technology acquisition.

Other continents, especially the Americas, Europe and Asia seem to be on steroids in acquiring and adopting new technologies.

However, in Africa, there is no sense of urgency in this regard at all.

The experts re-emphasized that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is changing the world; transforming governance, agriculture, health, oil and gas, and financial services, among other sectors, by driving effective and efficient performance largely for the benefit of the governed, consumers and corporations.

Picture: a cross section of delegates to the Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition which commenced in Lagos yesterday.