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NITDA Unveils SRAP 2.0 @Omniverse Summit
Kashifu Inuwa, director general, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has emphasized the pivotal role of collaboration with stakeholders in the technology ecosystem to achieve a resilience and prosperous digital transformation for Nigeria by unveiling the NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan 2.0.
He spoke at the Omniverse Summit, held at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos.
Inuwa highlighted the necessity of shared goals, resources, and knowledge to make a lasting impact on Nigeria’s digital future.
“Our vision for Nigeria is to digitally empower the nation by thriving on innovation and fostering inclusive economic growth through technology,” Inuwa stated.
While discussing the pillars in the Strategic Road-map and Action Plan (2024-2027) SRAP 2.0, Inuwa stressed the importance of collaboration among the stakeholders.
According to the NITDA Director-General, the road-map focuses on eight strategic pillars, targeted at accelerating digital transformation of all critical sectors of the economy as directed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He maintained that all the pillars in the SRAP 2.0 resonate with the strategic pillars of Ministry of Communications, Innovations and Digital Economy blueprint tagged “Accelerating our Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency” which are Knowledge, Policy, Infrastructure, Innovation, entrepreneurship, and Capital, and Trade.
He revealed that the first pillar, fostering digital literacy and cultivating talent has an ambitious goal of achieving 70% digital literacy by 2027 through the implementation of National Digital Literacy Framework as well as developing technical talents which is being implemented through one of the Ministry’s initiatives “the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT)”, designed to address the impending global talent deficit and position Nigeria as a leader in technological expertise.
Inuwa noted that the second pillar is to build a robust technology research system, aimed at putting Nigeria’s at the 25 percentile in global ranking in research in six key areas of AI, IoT, Robotics, Additive Manufacturing, blockchain and UAVs.
The third pillar emphasises the need to strengthen policy implementation and legal framework, with all ecosystem stakeholders contributing to achieving national goals.
He said, “Promoting inclusive access to digital infrastructure and services forms the fourth pillar which aims at connecting the unconnected by investing in learning centers and innovation hubs across the country.”
“Strengthening Cybersecurity and enhancing digital trust is the fifth pillar. This addresses the importance of instilling confidence in digital platforms for its users,” he said.
He identified the sixth pillar as focusing on plans to nurture an innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem, which will promote synergy in industry and an enabling platform for digital transformation.
“While the seventh pillar is to forge strategic partnerships, and collaborations with external stakeholders as evident with the active partnership NITDA is building with the Omniverse platform, the eight and last pillar of the SRAP is directed to cultivate a vibrant organizational culture and agile workforce within NITDA”. he added.
“We believe that by working together, we can transform Nigeria into a global digital powerhouse,” Inuwa declared.
He subsequently invited stakeholders to download the soft copy of the road-map, providing a QR code for easy access, and encouraged feedback to refine the document for collective success.
Inuwa assured the commitment of the government to create enabling policies for citizens to thrive.
According to him,“The aim is to position Nigeria among the top 25 in artificial intelligence, IoT, UAV, robotics, Blockchain, and additive manufacturing, propelling the nation into a prominent role in the global digital economy.”
The Omniverse Summit is targeted at driving the digital economy on the continent. The summit explores the narratives about the Africa and Africans, with a focus on how to regain control of these narratives to re-frame the future of our economies, societies, and geopolitics.
Obi Asika, the convener of the Omniverse Summit along with his team members, Charles Emembolu, Dr. Thwueba and Isioma Udeozo stated passionately during a panel session tagged “Why Omniverse? Explained that the Omniverse is a collaborative platform, which is designed to bring people together. They mentioned that one of the core objectives of the program was to bring different segments of the ecosystem like the academia, tech, startups, gaming people, music industry, film industry, television industry, the arts and arts culture among others together.
In their submission, they noted that the move is towards creating a platform for anyone to have a clear understanding into what is happening in Nigeria, Africa, and the world.
Mr. Will Stevens, the U.S Consul General, in his address affirmed that the dynamic digital innovation ecosystem in Nigeria has led to the creation of this crucial platform, emphasizing the nation’s role as Africa’s largest economy and democracy.
Mr. Williams stressed a paradigm shift in collaboration, moving from discussing what can be done for Africa to what can be achieved together. He added that the focus is to ensuring African nations have a significant voice in global policy discussions, particularly addressing shared challenges like climate change, food insecurity, and global pandemics.
He called for a permanent African representation in the UN Security Council underlines the need for African solutions to global problems, emphasizing collaboration on a worldwide scale.
He noted that Nigeria, as a key player in driving innovation, faces challenges such as safeguarding intellectual property and addressing exchange rate risks noting that, “the partnership between the U.S. and African tech startups is substantial, with around 60% of venture capital in Nigeria originating from the United States.”
“However, there is an expressed need to protect intellectual property locally and create laws to support startups, ensuring innovators can safeguard their creations within the country. The imperative is to foster collaboration that goes beyond geographical boundaries and promotes a collective effort to tackle shared global challenges,” he concluded.
Most Reverend Lucius Ugorji, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), the Archbishop of Owerri has raised caution on the deployment of Artificial Intelligence.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria
Ugorji called for a balance that prioritises human welfare alongside technological progress, mindful of ethics and morals, as well as risks such as job displacement, threat to world peace, spread of falsehood through propaganda, manipulation of the human person, and privacy concerns through advanced hacking and deepfakes.
The clergyman raised the concern during the ComWeek Public Lecture in Abuja on Artificial Intelligence, noting that the exclusive use of technology in religious formation, pastoral care, and education has enhanced theological knowledge, accessibility and mission of the universal church.
Keynote Speaker at the event, Father Anthony Akinwale, deputy vice chancellor of Augustine University Lagos, dismissed the speculations that the intellectual roles of humans will be replaced by Artificial Intelligence, explaining that AI relied on humans to function and did not have a mind of its own to choose to or not to obey commands with which it was programmed.
Akinwale further cautioned that AI should be solely used for the common good of mankind and not for destructive purposes.
Most Reverend David Ajang, chairman on Social communication of the Catholic Bishops Conference, called for a reflection on the power of communication as a divine gift, “one that holds the potential to bridge divides, enlighten minds and unite hearts in the pursuit of truth and common good”.
9mobile, Nigeria’s customer-centric telecommunications company has refreshed its ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ offerings with additional benefits to enable new and potential customers enjoy more value on calls, data, SMS and CUG for their Businesses.
The ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ product offering is a flexible and customizable plan with an array of add-on services. The plan gives customers benefits of extra cost-saving tariff within the bundle, and 100% bonus data upon repurchase of select bundles.
With the update, 9mobile customers on this plan will also enjoy free incoming calls while roaming on select networks in the following 10 countries: UK, UAE, South Africa, Kenya, Spain, Egypt, France, Germany, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia when they recharge ₦5,000 and above in a month.
A further benefit of the plan is the ‘Add-on solutions’. With this, companies and institutions will enjoy seamless business operations’ continuity and optimization through Close User Group (CUG), Fleet Tracking, Cloud PBX, Cloud Services, and Device Financing. Others are International Call Bundles, Roaming Bundles, and Special International Destinations Calling.
Commenting on the development, Nneka Owolabi, Director Enterprise Business, highlighted the telco’s unwavering commitment to ensure customers and subscribers enjoy premium customer experience, and wholesome value for their subscription on the 9mobile network.
“At 9mobile we have proven time and again that premium customer experience is important for us. It is the essence of our operations. That is why we have reintroduced the ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ for customers and subscribers, particularly businesses to enjoy value for their loyalty to us, and upscale their businesses”, he said.
Owolabi also stated that the ComboPak combines all business needs in one affordable bundle with cheaper voice calls, data subscription, SMS, and CUG, saying “It’s a ComboPak offering that keeps you, and your business stay ahead of trend”.
“What 9mobile ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ does is to create and sustain an ecosystem where people, in this case, customers and subscribers, and businesses run systematically with a combination of our tools efficiently. This is certain to revolutionize the way Nigerians communicate, stay connected, and transact businesses effectively”.
Subscribers to ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ plan will enjoy unique voice calls, SMS & data.
The service allows flexibility to move across packages based on your needs. For ₦1,000 ComboBasic bundle cost, customers will dial *246*4*33# to enjoy 60k/MB Browsing, 12k/sec in bundle calls, 12k/sec out of bundle calls, ₦2.60/SMS, and CUG; while for ₦1,000 ComboValue bundle cost, customers will dial *246*4*30# to enjoy 700MB, 30 National call minutes, 11k/sec out of bundle calls, 10 National SMS, and CUG.
For customers with ₦2,000 ComboPremier bundle cost, all they need to do is to dial *246*4*33# to enjoy 2.1GB, 60 National call minutes, 11k/sec out of bundle calls, 25 National SMS, and CUG. Customers subscribing to ₦5,000 ComboBlack bundle cost will enjoy benefits of 7GB, 300 National call minutes, 11k/sec out of bundle calls, 25 National SMS, and CUG.
The unique value adds on the ‘MoreBusiness ComboPak’ plan for customers also includes: Bundled Plans – for customers to enjoy flexible and customizable plans with an array of add-on services, and extra cost saving tariff within bundle.
Unlimited Add-ons – this is Add-on solutions – include CUG, Fleet Tracking, Cloud PBX, Cloud Services, Device Financing, Shared Data, International call bundles, Roaming Bundles, and Special International Destinations Calling, for customers.
This is in addition, to free data offer which is a 100% bonus data upon repurchase of select bundles.
Convenience has been embedded into the ComboPak plan for Subscribers also to check account balance by dialling *310#, and data balance by dialling *323#, while migration or opting out of the plan is absolutely free.
MTN Nigeria’s Company Secretary, Uto Ukpanah, is the first ever winner of the “Global Corporate Secretary of the Year” award by the Corporate Secretaries International Association (CSIA). She was honoured with the award at an event on April 23rd, 2024, in Kuala, Lumpur, Malaysia.
The CSIA Global Awards was instituted to recognise the efforts of corporate secretaries and governance professionals that not only impact their organizations but also international platforms. Of the three main award categories- Global Corporate Secretary of the Year, Rising Corporate Secretary of the Year and Governance Professional of the Year, Uto was awarded the Global Corporate Secretary of the Year for her hard work, diligence and professionalism by a distinguished jury of expert practitioners and thought leaders in the corporate governance field.
Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria congratulating her on the recognition said, “At MTN, we understand the critical role strong governance plays in driving sustainable growth and fostering trust among stakeholders. Uto’s exemplary leadership underscores our commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity and transparency. We are proud of Uto’s commitment to corporate governance. She deserves the recognition.”
Ukpanah, the pioneer winner of this award has worked with MTN Nigeria for over 18 years. She is a corporate lawyer with extensive experience in company and commercial law. Her contributions in developing sustainable corporate governance structures in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors have been instrumental in fostering transparency and ethical business practices.
Ukpanah’s dedication to ethics and corporate social responsibility advisory services has positioned her as a respected leader in the industry, driving positive change and setting high standards for corporate excellence. This is seen in her active participation on the ‘Code of Corporate Governance Committee,’ ‘9to5 Woman,’ ‘Bankers Committee on Corporate Governance’, among others.
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