Kwanasok, made the remark at a lecture, tagged “ICT Policy in Korea”, organised for participants of the 2014 e-government (Nigeria) capacity building programme on Thursday in Seoul.
The programme is organised by the Korea International Cooperation Agency to provide officials with national e-policy, e-strategy and management skills.
He said Nigeria still depended on importation of products in spite of its having the capacity to develop its own ICT and telecommunication industry.
“You cannot be satisfied with importing products, you have to develop your own ICT and telecommunication industry.
“The government must be fully committed to creating an information based society by initiating and following up projects to the letter.
“This commitment and strong will will create a culture of change and innovation for the society,” he said.
He said strong, positive political leadership and commitment was paramount for Nigeria’s transformation into a digital society.
He listed institutional arrangement, funding, creating a legal framework and ICT building capacity as critical factors that must be addressed if the country was to fully become a digital society.
Kwanasok emphasised the need for massive ICT training of all citizens in order to carry everyone along in the transition to a digital society.
“Government is the primary stimulator of the information society; it has to make policies to harness the potential of citizens in the area of ICT for national development” he added.
He underscored the advantage of the use of ICT saying it would improve the effectiveness, efficiency and productivity of government and private sector.
In his contribution, Kishik Park, Vice-Chairman, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Korea, said to move into the digital age, Nigeria needed to advance from use of Personal Computer (PC).
“When implementing e-government, Nigeria should not just think about PC, you should move on to more advanced technologies.
“Nigeria also needs to do more in terms of networking as it is important for technology to work in any society,” Park said.
He said the world was advancing in technology at a fast pace hence the Federal Government needed to take urgent steps in order to join the digital world.
“On a national level, the leaders should be honest, sincere and have positive thinking that they can change society for the better,” Park said.
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Quelle/Source: Leadership Newspapers, 22.05.2014
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