Nigeria’s aspiration to become a digital economy could be realised through massive investments in information and communications technologies (ICTs) tools, infrastructures deployments, skills development and knowledge creation.
The country popularly referred to as the giant of Africa has come under serious searchlight as its influence on the continent continues to dwindle despite having the largest population.

Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritius and South Africa are now far ahead of Nigeria in the ICT Development Index. To prove that we are still far behind our peers, Lagos was ranked bottom of the largest cities in the world on the use of ICT to better the lives of its citizens in a research conducted by Arthur D. Little Institute and Ericsson.

Making Nigeria a digital economy has become the singsong of government since President Goodluck Jonathan won the presidential election in April 2011. Last week, the Minister of Communications, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, went a step further by coming out with a roadmap which if religiously followed, would the lead the country to the Promised Land.

Broadband for all

Broadband is really about getting fast internet all over Nigeria in both urban, semi urban and rural areas, according to Johnson. USA, Britain, Japan, Sweden, Norway and Singapore are digital economies courtesy of massive broadband investments. Johnson since assuming office has nudged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to come up with broadband policy to take internet to all rural communities in the country.

According to her, government was “Working to enable fibre optic deployment, complemented by Microwave and Satellite to enable access to core underserved areas. NigComSat 1R that was launched in China is an important milestone and a key part of the resources that we will have and will compliment fibre optic and micro wave infrastructure that we have in the country particularly to get internet to underserved and semi urban and rural areas that we have in this country today.”

The priority according to her is to get fibre to Universities and Schools and ensure they are connected to high speed broadband. “We believe that if we can get fast broadband to every university in this country, we will have an explosion in terms of research that can be done and knowledge that can be captured and innovation and creativity that come with accessed resources”

Digital Creativity
Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh, chairman, Zinox Technologies Limited, said government needs to invest about N750 billion in the ICT broadband internet connectivity through terrestrial fibre optic infrastructure, ICT tools and training such as computers, tablets, internet facilities for primary and secondary schools in the country.

The investment should subsidise computers for students, workers and development of internet access through building of wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) and municipal internet coverage across major cities, schools and public institutions at very affordable rates for users. This way, the government will make ICT available, accessible and affordable to millions of Nigerians thereby raising the IT literacy level, equipping the youth and the unemployed with skills to be self sufficient and employers of labour themselves. “Government should create digital activity that would educate Nigerians through PC and Internet subsidies. We can wipe out poverty through software and hardware skills development, IT outsourcing and others,” said Ekeh.

Developing IT Parks
Already, the ministry is looking at harnessing software skills of young Nigerians through the development of IT parks in the country. “We will build IT parks, but for now in setting up IT parks, we are looking at places where there is already infrastructure and we see that in a number of places.”

Already, NITDA is set to sign an MoU with the Cross River State Government to leverage its Tinapa infrastructure to develop a knowledge city in Calabar, Cross River state. Nigeria can achieve greatness by replicating the success made in the telecom sector in other sectors of the economy.

Source:http://www.leadership.ng/nga/articles/11639/2011/12/27/digital_economy_why_fg_should_leverage_ict_sector.html