By Sunny Anderson Osiebe
President
of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki,
has stressed the importance of Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) in transforming Nigeria’s economy and creating more job
opportunities for the nation’s youth.
In
a press statement signed by his Special Adviser
on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki in a discussion with
some visiting foreign dignitaries stated that developing an open and
competitive ICT marketplace in Nigeria has the potential of contributing
billions of dollars to our nation’s GDP.
“Nigeria’s
ICT sector accounted for
only 11 percent of our GDP in 2014. In an era where we are looking to
diversify the foundation of our economy, in 2017, ICT can be a key
source of potential revenue and livelihoods for millions of our
enterprising youth. But the only way this will be possible
is if we augment the regulatory and political attention that we devote
to the sector,” the
Senate President said.
“Nigerians
are keen to adopt new
information and communications technology in their workplaces and
homes, to make life easier, better and more productive for them,” Saraki
said, “Nigeria’s
ICT space is fast-evolving and is the largest in Africa. With 86
million Nigerians online, the increasing proliferation of tech clusters
and the growth of cross-border ICT services, we need to change the way
that we think about ICT in Nigeria. We can’t stop thinking locally, but
we need to start acting globally.”
“We
need to figure out how to push
more Nigerian tech companies -- many of whom are run by young men and
women -- to be competitive in the global marketplace. We also need to
increase access to cheaper ICT solutions to our MSMEs that contribute 47
percent to our nation’s GDP. Most importantly,
we need to develop our human resources by strengthening our school
curriculum to reinforce Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM) learning and adoption. There are many issues to be solved, but
will sufficient cooperation, all stakeholders,
public and private, can work together to harness the potential of ICT
in Nigeria,” he
said.
The
Senate President also emphasised the need to
build on Nigeria’s current ICT foundation, in order to utilize ICT and
ICT services in order to positively make impact on the daily lives of
everyday Nigerian.
In June 2017, the Senate President's
Office is scheduled to host a CEO Roundtable featuring Nigeria's leading ICT executives,
where the discussion will focus on issues that are particular to Nigeria’s ICT development.
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