Only tailored ICT policies can position sector to match oil industry in GDP–ATCON
The second Vice President of Association of telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Engr Muyiwa Ogungboye has called for appealing development policies tailored to situate the nation’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for massive investments that will deepen growth.
Speaking in a paper titled: “LOCAL CONTENT DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA’S ICT SECTOR: STIMULANT FOR NATIONAL ECONOMIC RECOVERY” he presented during the recent Media Forum by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA) in Lagos, he argued that “In order for the ICT sector to supplement or replace the Oil and Gas sector, policies which favour the sector must be put in place”.
According to the managing director of e.Stream Networks Limited, “It should be emphasized that the petroleum industry which used to be the cash cow for our nation (from a foreign exchange earning perspective) is not doing so well right now and this is a global issue that will take some time to recover. The direct implication of this is that we may not be able to finance our budget without resorting to further government borrowing. ICT can as a matter of fact serve as the new cash cow for the country provided the right polices are put in place”.
Ogunbgoye argued further that “The benefits of liberalizing the telecom and ICT sector would not accrue to Nigerian teeming population until the necessary action is taking by the Nigerian government at all levels. Many years back, Nigeria as a nation embarked on indigenization policy to increase the stake of Nigerians as well as solve the challenge of unemployment but this policy did not last because of lack of tenacious vision and dogged implementation on the part of the federal government.
“To reduce or eradicate the continuous unemployment of Nigerian youth (skilled and unskilled) there is an urgent need to reintroduce the indigenization policy in the form of local contents policy and our government should as a matter of urgency encourage knowledge and the skills (the know-how) transfer.
Giving a case study with Ghana, he recalled that Ghana has one of the most protective policy for her citizen in terms of employment and investment and majority of the developed countries do not play lip service to the issue of employment of their citizens. As a matter of fact, they make sure that their nationality is considered for any employment opportunity before any other nationality is considered as goes for South Africa.
To him, Nigeria as a nation needs to quickly stop the idea of her citizenry not being given the first consideration even in their own land. And Nigeria should rework her investment and employment policies.
The ATCON official stressed that “The liberalization of the sector has attracted some Large investments to the country but the country needs to develop the sector by making it less import dependent and to do this, the then Minister of Communication Technology, Dr Mrs. Omobola Johnson created an office under NITDA called the office of the Nigeria Local Content which is charged with the responsibility of making the ICT and Telecommunication sector less dependent on importation”.
He listed critical steps to be taken to herald the sector as a leading grower of Gross Domestic product (GDP) to include drawing a plan to comprehensively develop the ICT sector, speeding up implementation of the plan, creation of Evaluation, Monitoring and Enforcement Unit, establishment of ICT Park to continue the training of ICT startups.
