Past governments in Nigeria had made some efforts to launch the country into a digital economy through their ICT policies, unfortunately, those have had little impacts, thus the country still earnestly yearns for ICT revolution. And with a new government in place, the nation’s ICT industry cannot wait to have a clear view of its policy thrusts on this all-important industry; a policy that will build on existing foundations and transform the nation’s economy. SAMSON AKINTARO reports
To Stride Ahead
Nations across the globe have come to realise the crucial role ICTs play in facilitating and accelerating socio-economic development. Based on that, it is not surprising that virtually all countries, either belonging to the developed or developing category are taking conscious steps at transforming their economies with technology. Critical to achieving this, however, is the formulation of an ICT policy, which states the focus, gives the direction and maps out strategies to achieving the set goals.
Such policy defines the position of the government on how it intends to deliver on its mandate using ICT. In India, for example, the government sees ICTs and their deployment for socio-economic development as an area in which the country can quickly establish global dominance and reap tremendous payoffs in creating wealth and generating quality employment. Finland regards the development and use of ICTs in its economy as key to national efforts to improve the quality of life, knowledge, and international competitiveness.
Malaysia’s Vision 2020, which envisages the country as a fully developed nation by year 2020 and Singapore’s vision of transforming the country into an ‘Intelligent Island’ see ICTs as the main engine for promoting accelerated development and growth, and for gaining global competitive advantage. Mauritius, learning from the Singaporean experience has developed a strategic ICT plan that forms an integral part of its overall vision of social and economic development. Mexico also sees ICTs as key to achieving progress in social and economic development.
Placing Nigeria within those milieus, it is yet unclear what direction the country is heading with technology. Obviously, Nigeria has had a number of policies targeting ICTs for development, but none of such has delivered through to its purpose, perhaps mainly due to lack of political will to implement such policies, though some would blame it on change of government and lack of policy continuity.
Of course, that Nigeria currently rates as the largest telecom market in Africa speaks to a nation well entrenched in technology usage, albeit that remains substantially in mobile telephony. Not many Nigerian would forget how the country moved from approximately 400,000 available fixed telephone lines pre-1999 to over 140 million available mobile telephone lines by the second quarter of this year. But one will be tempted to ask: What is Nigeria’s policy thrust on ICT? The answer to that will definitely not be a direct Yes or No as it is in other countries.
Past governments have over the years made several strides to develop the ICT infrastructure so as to bridge the digital divide between Nigeria and the developed world, yet, despite many years of massive investments in ICT infrastructure and ICT capacity building, Nigeria still to a large extent is digitally isolated from the Global Village because it lacks the critical drive and strategies to harness the full potential of ICT for the socio-economic development of the country.
ICT has barely taken a foothold. Computer illiteracy and lack of access to ICT are widely recognised as an increasingly powerful obstacle to the economic, civic, and political development of Africa. According to the UN ICT Task Force, nowhere is the digital divide more pronounced than in countries of the African continent where Nigeria features prominently.
And while past administrations in the country might have done their best with some results—though not satisfactory enough—to point to, the obvious fact that Nigeria still has a long way to go in using ICT for economic development points to a greater task before the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. A look at the last two administration’s ICT policy would reveal strategic plans that fail to achieve its goals. Many have argued that the country’s problem is not due to lack of policy, but the absence of political will to implement it, and this is why the current administration will need to do more than just coming up with a policy or adopting the existing one, but to show strong political will to take ICT to the next level in the country.
Obasanjo’s ‘USE IT’ Policy
In what could be seen as the first realisation of the import of technology as a key to economic growth and sustainability, the Federal Government under the former President Olusegun Obasanjo in March 2000 organised an ICT policy workshop in Abuja, which brought together major stakeholders in ICT such as the Nigerian Computer Society (NCS), Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN), the Computer Professionals of Nigeria (CPN) among others. That workshop culminated in the setting up of several committees which produced a National ICT Policy and approved by the Federal Executive Council in March 2001, with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as the implementing body.
The Policy document titled: National Policy for Information Technology (IT), had a vision statement: “To make Nigeria an IT capable country in Africa and a key player in the Information Society by the year 2005, using IT as the engine for sustainable development and global competitiveness.” Part of the policy objectives are: To ensure that Information Technology resources are readily available to promote efficient national development; To guarantee that the country benefits maximally, and contribute meaningfully by providing the global solutions to the challenges of the Information Age; To empower Nigerians to participate in software and IT development; To encourage local production and manufacture of IT components in a competitive manner; To improve accessibility to public administration for all citizens, bringing transparency to government processes; To establish and develop IT infrastructure and maximize its use nationwide; and To improve judicial procedures and enhance the dispensation of justice, among others.
Key strategies highlighted in achieving those objectives include: Establishing a coordinated program for the development of a National Information Infrastructure (NII), State Information Infrastructure (SII) and Local Information Infrastructure (LII) backbone by using emerging technologies such as satellite including VSAT, fibre optic networks, high speed gateways and broad band/multimedia technologies. Providing adequate connectivity to the Global Information Infrastructure
(GII) and addressing open standards for further liberalization and the fiscal measures including incentives to substantially improve telephone teledensity and make IT more affordable to the citizenry. Others include establishing IT Parks as incubating centres for the development of software applications at national, state and local levels and restructuring the education system at all levels to respond effectively to the challenges and imagined impact of the information age and in particular, the allocation of a special IT development fund to education at all levels.
As part of the strategies, the policy also sought to “encourage massive local and global IT skills acquisitions through training in the public and private sectors with the view to achieving a strategic medium-term milestone of at least 500,000 IT skilled personnel by the year 2004 and also establish national IT awareness machinery at all levels of government and encouraging private sector participation in exposing Nigerians to the features and benefits of IT.”
According to the government then, it recognised IT as a strategic imperative for national development and taking cognisance of its immense benefits, government had resolved to provide considerable national resources, both financial and otherwise for the realisation of the National IT Vision statement.
The first policy statement in the policy document states that: “the nation will endeavour to develop globally competitive quality manpower in IT and related disciplines”. And the strategies included: Making the use of IT mandatory at all levels of educational institutions through adequate financial provision for tools and resources; developing relevant IT curricula for the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. Such curricula will be based on the appropriate national syllabus at the selected level and other global certification syllabi, to tie into key elements of government’s Universal Basic Education (UBE), the proposed digital virtual library scheme, and related educational initiatives; and Establishing facilities for electronic distance learning networks and ensure effective Internet connectivity, which will provide opportunities for educationally disadvantaged areas to educationally leapfrog into the modern era.
The objectives and the strategies sounded great! And one would imagine that with all these strategies put in place about 15 years ago, Nigeria shouldn’t be where it is today in terms of ICT. Of course the policy at that time raised hopes that indeed, Nigeria was on the right track towards bridging technology gap, unfortunately, the verve and political will to implement the policy to the letter wasn’t there.
But today, irrespective of the failures in general ICT development, the Obasanjo’s administration is always fondly remembered for berthing the telecom revolution that puts the country on the global map of successful countries in mobile penetration. The President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) Engr. Lanre Ajayi, also brought this to fore noting that “the Telecoms revolution that puts the telephone in the hands of almost all Nigerians today would probably not have happened if not for the courage of President Olusegun Obasanjo that opted to empower the industry regulator, NCC, and grant it the required independence through the Telecoms Act of 2003 and the faithful implementation of the of the Act by carefully chosen public officers…”
If nothing else, the Obasanjo administration made some impact with the telecom liberalisation policy, which deepened mobile penetration and which is being sustained till today. Whatever is achieved of the government’s ICT policy can only be measured from the growth achieved in the telecom sector. No doubt, the mobile success is now providing leverage for other sectors to thrive, such that banks can now fully go into mobile banking and many other sectors riding on mobile platforms to do their businesses.
Goodluck Jonathan’s Harmonised ICT Policy
Former President Goodluck Jonathan, who succeeded late President Musa Yar’Adua, whose tenure was short-lived due to his untimely death, also tried to make impact in the ICT industry. Significantly, his administration responded to the yearnings of the industry by creating, for the first time, a Ministry of Communication Technology. That single gesture attracted commendations from the industry stakeholders, who felt that with such ministry and a competent expert as supervising Minister, the administration would be able to create a vibrant technology-driven economy for the country.
The excitement in the industry was further raised when on 25th August 2011, the appointed Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, set up an Adhoc Committee to harmonize all the various policies for the different sectors in the ICT industry (Telecommunications, Broadcasting, Information Technology and Postal Services). The Committee was inaugurated on 25th August 2011 by the Minister at the Conference room of the Ministry and given a 6-week timeframe within which to conclude its assignment. The Term of Reference for the Committee was: “To harmonize all existing Policies in the Information and Communications Technology Sector into a Single Information and Communications Technology Policy.” Following considerable input from industry stakeholders, civil societies, and the private sector, the Honourable Minister for Communications Technology inaugurated a Finalization Committee on the 22nd of May 2012 to ensure that the eventual Policy document captures all.
By June 2012, a National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy was released by the Ministry of Communication Technology. In the background to the policy, the Ministry noted that over the years, the Federal Government of Nigeria had initiated or adopted several related policies and laws aimed at guiding the development of the ICT sector and harnessing its huge potential for national development. “But Nigeria, like other nations, faces the inevitability of the fast technological and market convergence of the global ICT industry, and must therefore continue to evolve new ICT policy frameworks to accommodate convergence and maximize the potential of ICT tools for national development. The reality of ICT convergence has not yet been reflected in Nigeria where the institutions that regulate and/or develop the ICT sector still function as distinct actors in the industry, without much coordination. Though there have been significant gains over the last decade, especially with regard to mobile telephony, the lack of industry convergence in the Nigerian ICT sector has resulted in fragmentation and inefficient management of resources.”
It added that “the goal of this National ICT Policy therefore is to provide a framework for streamlining the ICT sector, and enhancing its ability to catalyze and sustain socioeconomic development critical to Nigeria’s vision of becoming a top 20 economy by the year 2020. Concurrently, the policy thrusts will facilitate the transformation Nigeria into a knowledge-based economy and will be used to develop action plans, sub-sectorial policies and specific implementation guidelines as appropriate.”
National Broadband Plan
In line with the objectives of the ICT policy, President Jonathan had set up a Presidential Committee to develop a broadband strategy and roadmap for the country. The high-powered team, which was co-chaired by the ex-Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Ernest Ndukwe and Chairman, Visafone, Jim Ovia, soon submitted their report which formed the National Broadband Plan 2013-2018.
With its unveiling late 2012, the National Broadband Plan 2013-2018 details a five-year plan with a target of achieving five-fold penetration by the year 2018. This is expected to address some of the challenges facing operators in taking broadband service to the hinterlands.
During the five years Broadband implementation plan, the country sets to achieve the following amongst others: License seven Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) to rollout metropolitan fibre across the country; auction available slots in the 2.3GHz, 2.6GHz and 700MHz band for wireless broadband access; implement cost based pricing model and price caps for leased transmission capacity to drive affordability; implement cost based pricing model and price caps for leased transmission capacity to drive affordability; implement open non-discriminatory access to broadband infrastructure for all service providers; open new high capacity spectrum bands for licensing (70/80GHz); interconnect all Internet Exchange Points in Nigeria with fibre optic cable transmission; provide incentives to drive the rollout of broadband infrastructure; and increase wireless broadband access across the country.
The National Broadband Plans were meant to address most of the challenges facing broadband deployment in the country, which has left her struggling with less than 10 per cent broadband penetration despite the landing of major international submarine cables on the shores of the country. The NBP, no doubt, spells good omen for the country if properly implemented. However, prior to the expiration of the Jonathan’s administration, the industry stakeholders, who hailed the release of the policy, were already sceptical of its feasibility, especially regarding its target of 30 per cent broadband penetration by 2018. And their doubt was not unconnected with the pace of the implementation, which was described as rather too slow.
Today, with the National ICT Policy and the National Broadband plan, not much has been achieved in the Nigerian ICT landscape. The economy is in dire need of a vibrant ICT policy with strong political will to implement.
From Communication Technology to Communication Ministry: What Hope?
The clamour in the Nigerian ICT industry, especially, experts with wider knowledge of the scope and applications of technology, has always been that without a special ministry and a key expert as Minister of Technology, the digital divide in the country may continue to get wider. And it was in response to such agitation and request from the industry that the immediate past administration created the Ministry of Communication Technology and made technology, which had hitherto been under the ministry of information to stand on its own with an expert as a Minister.
With that, the administration was seen to have taken the right step and subsequent actions of the Ministry appeared to have proven the stakeholders right. The Communication Technology Ministry was created by the Jonathan’s administration “to foster a knowledge based economy and information society in Nigeria. The Ministry was created to facilitate ICT as a key tool in the transformation agenda for Nigeria in the areas of job creation, economic growth and transparency of governance.” As the pioneer minister of the Ministry, Mrs Omobola Johnson, was to supervise a Ministry that would create and formulate policies that will propel the Nigerian economy to a digitised economy.
The Ministry’s mission statement was to: “Facilitate universal, ubiquitous and cost effective access to communications infrastructure throughout the country. Promote the utilization of ICT in all spheres of life to optimize the communications infrastructure – digital content creation, domestic software applications and the delivery of private and public services over the internet. Promote and facilitate the development of the ICT industry and increase the contribution of the ICT industry to GDP. Utilize ICT to drive transparency in governance and improve the quality and cost effectiveness of public service delivery in Nigeria.”
Efforts of Comtech Ministry
Since its establishment, the ministry is believed to have raised the stake in ICT development through its many initiatives. One of such was the Ministry’s ”Getting Government Online” initiative, which was geared at ensuring that government deploys technology as a mechanism to transform the way government operates and enhance the effectiveness of government service delivery and public administration for the benefit of its citizens. To facilitate government to citizen engagement, the ministry also launched the Government Service Portal in April 2013.
The Ministry was also said to have been implementing initiatives to build local capacity to engage in ICT sector jobs, under which it was partnering with multinationals to increase supply of local highly skilled talents in the nation’s fast growing ICT sector e.g. SAP program to train unemployed graduates in business management and ICT skills, Hauwei providing vocational ICT training to 1000 girls and partnership with Cisco to build Cisco Academy for highest certification.
In championing the patronage of made in Nigeria product, the ministry in 2012 launched a student’s computer ownership scheme to not only ensures access to devices amongst students to foster innovation but to also provide captive markets for local manufacturers of ICT products. Local content in the ICT sector was taken as a primary area of focus and the ministry was collaborating with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to facilitate the development of a national local content agenda.
The collaboration was said to have yielded positive results with RLG Communications setting up a $20 million handset, PC and Tablet factory in Osun State. With the mindset that the only way to empower indigenous participation is by making sure that citizens’ benefit from the resources available in their local environment, the Ministry had developed local content guidelines to foster indigenous participation in the ICT industry. The supervising Minister was also said to be working to ensure that the import duty regime favours locally manufactured ICT products to encourage local manufacturing which will stimulate employment opportunities and bring about input of local raw materials.
New Communication Ministry
Certainly, it came as shock to many stakeholders in the ICT industry when President Buhari inaugurated his Ministers with their portfolios and ministry of communication technology was not part of the ministries. But it later became clear that the technology ministry has metamorphosed into Communication ministry under the new administration.
And with that, imaginations of the past when ICT used to be under the supervision of Minister of Information and Communication ran wild, the difference now being that the communication has been separated from Information Ministry. According to an industry analyst, though it might be viewed as a mere nomenclature, the obvious fact , which first reflected in the name change is that every new government in Nigeria wants to do things its own way and in most cases different from what the predecessors had done. And that again points to why the current administration may deviate from existing ICT policy and probably come up with its own version.
But for the President of Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Prof. Adesola Aderounmu, “The name of the Ministry does not matter. What are important are activities in the Ministry. What is more important is how to use IT to drive the economy. “We call for urgent deployment of IT to tackle Boko Haram and terrorism in Nigeria. NCS is ready to provide practical solutions using IT to solve the problem.”
Awaiting Buhari’s ICT Policy Focus
Among several economic issues that the new administration will need to tackle, the ICT industry deserves a special attention as technology is the pillar of the 21st century economies. The early realisation of this has been the driving force behind the successes world’s leading economies today.
And this is why even before he was sworn in stakeholders have embarked on agenda setting for the President. Before now, the industry call had been on the need for the President to appoint the right person to supervise the communication technology ministry now Communication Ministry, and now that there is a substantive minister—albeit not a reflection of industry’s agitation for a ’round peg in a round hole’—the expectation is that work must begin in earnest by releasing a policy thrust that will be a guide for the industry.
Broadband
Already on the front burner before the expiration of last administration’s tenure was the issue of broadband. A National Broadband plan had already been drafted and implementation process in progress before the transition and the expectation now is that the present administration will consolidate on efforts of the past and deliver broadband to Nigerians.
Stressing its economic importance, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) had declared that investments in broadband infrastructure and broadband-enabled applications and services facilitate long-term sustainable economic development, economic productivity and growth, and job creation, and generate significant returns. It stressed that investments in broadband are necessary if developing countries are to eradicate poverty and take part in the digital economy of the 21st century. The World Bank also found a direct correlation between a rise in broadband penetration and increased economic growth, citing China, where a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration boosted GDP growth by 2.5 per cent. As a matter of fact, the United Nations has declared access to Broadband as a fundamental right of every living being.
Thus, aside the economic gains, it is now incumbent on governments to ensure that their citizens enjoy this right. And interestingly, the Broadband revolution has taken its root in Nigeria, albeit slow-paced. Far beyond the capabilities of mobile, this revolution is expected to usher in a new dispensation where virtually everything can be done electronically through the internet; talk of e-Governance; e-Health; e-Banking; e-Education; telemedicine e-Security and the likes.
As part of economic gains, it is believed that easy access to broadband will allow Nigerians employ themselves on the back of the immense opportunities the Internet is capable of offering. Availability of robust Internet service, according to analysts, is also expected to allow skilled diaspora Nigerians contribute to national development. Besides, they have also posited that broadband will lower the cost of real estate as people will be able to work from anywhere, without necessarily converging in urban areas and needing to commute.
In setting the digital agenda for the Buhari administration, stakeholders in the Nigerian IT ecosystem while pushing for expedited implementation of broadband plan have noted among other things that the government must leverage on the efforts of the immediate past government to further transform the country to digital economy. Specifically, the President of Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria, ATCON, Engr. Lanre Ajayi, and the new Minister must expedite action in the implementation of the Broadband plan. “We would expect that the minister sustains existing policies and ensures rapid implementation”, he added.
To drive home the broadband quest, the stakeholders would also want the Buhari’s administration to make firm policy against the current challenge of multiple taxation in the ICT industry, which is believed to be stifling efforts of industry players at investing in broadband infrastructure. In the words of Dr Jimson Olufuye:“the issue of multiple taxation and right of way, quality of service, smart regulations and cybercrime should be of concern as well. Support for bottom-up multi-stakeholder approach to policy development and implementation is key along with full and constructive engagement at the African and International ICT ecosystem”, he said.
Certainly, time is running fast for the administration and the time to stamp its feet on the ground is now, given the urgency with which things must be done in the ICT industry for the country to catch up with the technology world, which is moving at speed of light.
Eyes on Communication Minister, Adebayo Shittu
…Will He Rise to the Occasion?
Until his appointment as Minister, Mr Adebayo Shittu, the new Communication Minister might be very popular in the political arena of Oyo State where he had featured prominently as a major player, and also among legal practitioners in the country, but definitely not in the ICT industry where little or nothing was known about him. But today, he sits atop a Ministry that will dictate the pace of ICT progress or otherwise in the next three years plus.
To say that many stakeholders were shocked at his announcement as Minister of Communication will be an understatement, being someone with no ICT background, but they have come to accept the fact that the President has the right to appoint whoever he deems fit to head any ministry. As such, all eyes are now on Shittu to see how he will navigate the ICT terrain successfully as a minister. But while the only grouse many stakeholders may be having against the new Communication Minister is that he is not an expert from the industry, he has the opportunity to prove them wrong that having no background knowledge of an industry is not a barrier to his performance as a minister in this all-important ministry.
The Communications ministry formerly Communications Technology ministry was created in July 2011 and it is a product of many years of agitation by professionals for a ministry that will be backed by enough political will to move Nigeria into the knowledge age. And that is why stakeholders in the industry would want the new minister to come out smoking hot and determined to face the litany of problems facing the Nigerian ICT industry. But he must be open to learn and must draw a circle of industry eggheads nearer.
According to stakeholders, Shittu’s major task will be to consolidate on the modest achievements recorded by Omobola Johnson, the immediate past minister of communications technology includes; facilitating universal, ubiquitous and cost effective access to communications infrastructure that includes a national fibre optic backbone; promoting the utilization of ICT in all spheres of life to optimize the communications infrastructure.
Shittu will also need to muster enough political will to enforce the use of .ng email domains for all governments Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to give emails and correspondences emanating from them authority and security. He is also expected to drive the e-government initiative embarked upon by the previous minister further to make all government services available online
The Man Shittu
Adebayo Shittu, minister Of Communication is an astute lawyer and a distinguished Nigerian. He is described as patient, loyal and trustworthy. Armed with a first degree in Law from the University of Ife now known as Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, he became at the age 26, the youngest member of the Oyo State House of Assembly when he served from October 1979 to September 1983.
Shittu was also the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Home Affairs (in the Olunloyo administration) between October and December, 1983; and the attorney General and Oyo State Commissioner for Justice (in the Ladoja government). He has a fine political credentials but he must not confuse that with running the communications industry, arguably the most vital ministry in a functioning of society.