IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Commissioner for Health Lagos State, Prof. Akin Abayomi, and the Guest speaker at the Youth Consultation on Digital Health Technology programme, held in Ikeja, Lagos, Njideka Ngeli, have explored how to use digital technology to accelerate universal healthcare coverage.

Abayomi said: “This is opportunity to engage our digital entrepreneurs to help us in delivering healthcare to Nigerians especially at the primary healthcare level. We are tired of using old methods in information dissemination in healthcare system for instance, using files to keep information sometimes file got missing and it makes things very slow and we find it difficult to get useful information but this is time for us to digital.”

It is no news that many young people only see white-collar jobs as being prestigious. But then, agriculture can provide decent and gainful work too, especially when ICT is applied to add value to the business. Young farmers are able to master ICT skills and tools, such as geographic information systems (GIS), to analyse and adjust farming practices to cope with prevailing climatic conditions, and ultimately increase profits.

A statement from the commission’s Head of Media, Mr. Folu Olamiti, quoted the ICPC Chairman, Ekpo Nta, as saying in a recent television interview that their operatives were already in the fields visiting various banks to check whether the “person whose name is on the nominal roll and on the pay roll in a particular ministry is the same person receiving it in the bank.”

The president and chairman of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), Mrs Uto Ukpanah, has emphasised the critical need for Nigeria to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) not merely as a technological tool, but as a transformational force in governance and public administration.

This assertion was made at ICSAN's 49th Annual Conference held in Lagos, where AI's role in modern governance was a focal point of discussion.

The "Digital Heavy Wind" is at the door! As we wind down the rest nanoseconds of 2015, there is need to reflect on how the IT sector has performed over the years. First, it is instructive to state and emphasize that the current Nigeria development Model may not yield appropriate meaningful fruit and indeed may not be productive or sustainable without the conscious domestication of Information Technology Software at the centre of its leadership and development. The Information and Communications Technology Development Index (IDI) 2015 where Nigeria is ranked 134 out of 167 says it all! It is clear that we are going nowhere within the context of 21st Century development, without Software Innovation and disruptive creative strategy.

A significant part of our national IT challenge is our unconscious and very simplified behavioral response to IT development without critical perspective on global IT Ecosystem. Above all, amidst this lethal knowledge ocean, the unfathomable contradiction is that while we confusingly glorify other out-of-state failed and repackaged digital knowhow, we languish and crucify Nigeria developed Software at all levels! Is this attitudinal mismatch the bane of the lost heritage of our traditional knowledge?

Information Technology (IT) has been promoted as an important tool in ensuring that marginalized groups, particularly women are included in the development of the global information society. The importance of danger mainstreaming in national and organizational information and communication technology (ICT) policies and strategies cannot be overstated.

Managing Director and Chief Executive of Galaxy Backbone, Mr. Gerrald Ilukwe, reiterated the importance of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), while receiving the 2014 Cyber Africa Innovation Award for “Excellence in Government Process Re-Engineering”.

Johnson told newsmen in Lagos that though Nigeria has had tremendous success in the telecoms industry due to the liberalisation of the sector, the ICT accounted for only 3.5 per cent of GDP, compared with 10 per cent for South Africa.

Mr Jide Awe, the Chairman Conference Committee, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) on Wednesday said proper implementation of government policies would aid digital inclusion in the country.

Awe, an ICT expert made this known in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.

He said that apart from the country’s present policies being improperly implemented, some of them were not in tune with current realities as such it had not meaningfully impacted the populace.

The Honourable Minister of Communications, Dr Adebayo Shittu has pointed out that ICT Roadmap has improved Infrastructure development, E-Government, industry development, Capacity building, local content development and innovation in Nigeria.

He stated this during 2nd Phase Sensitization Workshop on National ICT Roadmap for the South East East which has its theme as ‘The role of the Private sector in the implementation of the Nigeria ICT Roadmap” held in Awka, Anambra State..

It is expected that 2012 would surpass the 5.6 per cent contribution to the Gross Domestic product (GDP) the ICT industry contributed in 2011. This industry has before 2012 grown at an average of 30 per cent a year making it one of the fastest growing sectors in the Nigerian economy. Much of this growth was contributed by the telecoms sector.

The minister said this when she received members of the House of Representatives Committee on Communications who were on oversight visit to the ministry.

She listed the priorities of the Ministry to include infrastructure provision, inclusive development, job creation, e-Government and sustaining a sound regulatory environment for ICTs to thrive in Nigeria.

Johnson, a passionate advocate of ICT's power to bridge the digital and poverty divide and enable inclusive development across all levels, is one of the professionals behind the success of public policy in Nigeria. The Minister, who has the quality and depth of a thorough professional required to manage public service in a growing economy like Nigeria's, holds a bachelor's degree in electrical and electronic engineering from the University of Manchester and a master's degree in digital electronics from King's College, London.

She also added that “there are still tremendous opportunities for growth, job and wealth creation which various Stakeholders in the sector can tap into”.

The Minister stated this in her keynote address at the meeting of the National Council on Communication Technology holding in Akure, Ondo State Capital.

He made this statement at Abuja during the inaugural meeting of the NCCT under the Ministry of Communication Technology.

The minister said there are a number of examples around the world that shows how ICT policies and strategies are used in developing the nation.

The Minister of Communications, Dr. Adebayo Shittu, has explained that country’s ICT Roadmap has improved Infrastructure development, e-Government, industry development, capacity building, local content development and innovation.

He stated this during the second phase of sensitisation workshop on the National ICT Roadmap for the South- east, which had its theme: ‘The Role of the Private Sector in the Implementation of the Nigeria ICT Roadmap,” in Awka, Anambra State, recently.

Okonjo-Iweala said this while inspecting an ultramodern ICT factory of Omatek Computers Plc in Lagos at the weekend.

Quoting latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy said: “Each year, about 1.8 million young Nigerians entre our labour market and we need to ensure that our economy provides jobs for them and ICT is one of the sectors that can help in addressing this menace.”

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, he said this was necessary because the children should not be burdened with the disadvantage of starting late if they were to become global ICT leaders in future.

The minister made this statement yesterday in Lagos, while speaking to industry stakeholders in a conference at the City hall. She pointed out that the sector has the capacity to create jobs for the unemployed youth in the country, and that current estimation for job creation by 2015 is 1.3 million. Nigeria does not have the skills and capacity for off-shore businesses because off shoring is a business of volume.

The announcement comes as local IT analysts and the NCC have urged companies to deploy more local workforce in the upper echelons of their management.