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The General Manager of Cisco Nigeria and West African Countries, Mr. Olakunle Oloruntimehin, has analysed the latest rating of Nigeria by the World Economic Forum (WEF), at 7.9 out of 25 levels to digital maturity as an opportunity for the country to deepen investment and grow.
In an interview, he explained that “If you take a look at the data being released from the WEF, you look at things from the digital readiness point of view, digital readiness index, measured from the 0 to 25, Nigeria is currently within 7.9 and they look at stages within that index”.
According to him, “The three main stages are activation, acceleration and amplification. We are at the level of activation, which is the starting point”.
Continuing, Oloruntimehin said “I tend to align with what the WEF is saying. I see it not as a problem but an opportunity for us to grow and be deliberate about our own growth. There is no country in the world that does not have its own problems”.
“Some of those countries are further ahead of us, and we also deal with the problem of legacy because technology evolves all the time. In some cases, they need to deal with those legacy problems and change infrastructure or mind set to be able to cope with the change required. Having said that, we are at the infancy level if I can put that mildly, to activate in my opinion, we have an opportunity.
“Now what we need to do is double down on accelerating. The ideal situation is for us to move from 7.9 to 25 in a few years and I think it’s about making sure the policies are in place not just policies but we ensure that we adjudicate on those policies and ensure that the regulatory frame work and ecosystem is encouraging.
The Cisco boss for Nigeria and West Africa averred that granted more strategic policies are implemented by the government with supporting private sector investments, “In few years’ time, when the WEF comes out with new set of facts, Nigeria would have moved up the rank”.