National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (Notap) has challenged stakeholders in the ICT sector to rally behind the proposed ‘African Technology, Science and Innovation Corridor’ aimed at ensuring Nigeria forges ahead in the provision of global IT products and services.
To achieve the objective, Notap said it would host a workshop before the end of Q1, 2013 aimed at enlightening stakeholders on the ideas and concept of the IT corridor in the country.
Dr. Umar Buba Bindir, director general of Notap told New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the “IT Corridor Workshop is also aimed at motivating some of the resource persons that will be invited to sell the concept towards ensuring that Nigerians understand the opportunities embedded in the corridor.”
“The area should be dedicated with a special name to make sure that Science and Technology in Nigeria are visible and the country among those forging ahead to provide international products and services to the rest of the world,” said Bindir.
He added that another aim of the workshop is to ensure people see the extent of work that science and technology has done in Nigeria. “The workshop will also sell the idea to various stakeholders and getting in return their opinions on the idea.”
Bindir said that the corridor already existed and the reason why it was proposed was because the corridor is literally a resource centre that needed to be tapped.
“We hope it would get to a point when we had to develop and establish the corridor by law which meant that the area would be demarcated and rules and regulations put in place.”
He explained that the local ICT vendor policy has yielded positive dividends as several young Nigerians now find opportunities in the sector.
“So many Nigerians are getting the opportunity not only to be employed but also to upgrade their skills to venture into the provision of ICT both locally and internationally. The policy had been a very good one and we had a workshop last year to review it so that it would be more effective. We will continue to promote the idea that local content in the software industry has to be fully-established,” Bindir enthused.