General News
Right of Reply: SAHCOL Got it all Wrong
Indigenous Software: SAHCOL got it all wrong! The purpose of this write up is to present an empirically informed understanding of the processes inherent in software development dynamics as a professional response by the Institute of Software Practitioners’ of Nigeria (ISPON) to statements and opinion published in the Nigeria Communications Week – Online version of Friday, August 3, 2012 (Online News Letter August 3, 2012) and credited to one Adejare Adekitan, a staff and head information and Communications Technology (ICT) at Skyway Aviation Company Limited.
The views would definitely not go unnoticed by discerning I.T Professionals and indigenous Software Developers. This response therefore aims to correct the very misleading and ignorant impression by the source – Mr. Adejare.
Mr. Adejare in his remark emphasised the continued patronage of Foreign Software as against indigenous software-and a critical look at this statements did not present any argument on technicalities as to the reason why indigenous software is not of reckoning to the Aviation.
This is a fallacy and goes to a long way to publicly display the deep of ignorance of how software product functionality, quality and integrity emerges and are sustained. It is therefore constructive to emphasize that “No software in the World is perfect” – that is why continuous versioning of Applications and solutions are strategic imperatives. Software Engineering is about transforming organisational policy, functions, business-processes and operations culture into an automated systems solution.
It is important to emphasise the following to debug and debunk the fallacy embedded in the statement of Mr Adejare: 1. All Software Solutions of the world are delivered with one, many, and several process flaws or errors in them – that is why there are many versions, leading to system capability and maturity model (CMM). Even at that, the complexity of human needs continues to demand more perfection that makes flawless software process a mirage.
2. There are numerous Foreign Software – imported into Nigeria and deployed\implemented by the Aviation and Banking sectors and other core Industries at colossal cost to shareholders and national economy – that have either FAILED to perform, or fulfill the contract scope of works!
3. I doubt is Mr Adejare is listed in the membership registry of Professional IT/Software Practitioners’ of Nigeria and his opinion to say the least is grossly uninformed and a layman view. His views are grossly misleading, ignorant and should not be taken as expert opinion.
Least Mr Adejare forgets, that as an electrical engineering graduate who to my view had never ventured nor written any reasonable Software application for the Aviation industry, will arrogate to himself to be an expert judge on Indigenous Software. By extension, he missed the point by expressing the view that Africa has no credible Software Developers which is equal to saying that orthodox medicine cures all illnesses in Africa.
Nay, the matter is about human intellect and creativity – that is software and Africa/Nigeria have them plenty. Let is be said that indigenous software applications are driving the significant operations of some of Nigeria’s top performing industries, including Aviation banks, oil and Gas, and so on.
The critical issue of this subject matter is focused on the fact that Software development lifecycle has two fundamental elements: Domain Knowledge and Professional Expertise on Analytical Process to codify the required solution – applying specific tools and standard procedures. In that context, Aviation Applications are predominantly and indirectly address and specified by Domain Knowledge Resources from the sector (who generate the operational policy roadmap brief) working directly with Software Analysts’ Engineers and Developers who apply technology process logic and tools to deliver the assessed needs of the client.
Same applies to Space Exploration, Communications, Financial, Accounting, Payroll, Construction, Medical, Agricultural, Oil & Gas Solutions to mention but a few. Software from the above mentioned domain are often subjected to intensive domain research through various channels of investment –particularly encouraged by the financial institutions.
The gestation period is long – maturity timeline ranges from minimum 3 to 5 to 7 years. To the best of our knowledge, there has not been any of such classified investment in the Software industry in Nigeria by the Banking Sector. What Mr Adejare seems to forget is that Indigenous Software Developers read from the same Universities, book and use the same tools as their foreign counterparts. Enabling environment may differ.
Indeed, the domain policy, operational requirements and briefs from the clients are then matched with the technology needs-assessment of the clients to enable the Software developers come up with the desired design and appropriate tools capable of delivering the solution.
Software – simply defined as computer software, or just software, is the collection of computer programs and related data designed to provide the logical instructions directing a computer hardware or related devices on what to do.
The term was coined to contrast to the old term hardware (meaning physical devices). In contrast to hardware, software is intangible, meaning it “cannot be touched”.
Software is also sometimes used in a more narrow sense, meaning application software only. Most of these software applications are derived from DOMAIN needs and replicate the operational characteristics of such domain.
Coming from the banking sector which should be concerned about the growth of the economy, this is really heart breaking and goes a long way to show that majority of our financial institutions are not committed to the growth of the Nigerian economy.
Mr. Adejare of SAHCOL got it all wrong by while asserting that foreign software solutions are the answer to Nigeria’s Aviation Sector, he has not stopped to think of the peculiarity of adaptive technology which can only be guaranteed by the local developers. By extension, he might have become a paid ally of those countries who intend to box us into the Digital Colony Domain, where Aviaton Application software becomes the major tool to assassinate stubborn African/Nigerian President in Future.
He probably has not realised that the domain knowledge is most critical to the development of application software solutions and that Nigerian Developed Software is perhaps the most fundamental component for the future and survivability of the Nigerian nation.
His argument that the Software industry in Nigeria might be young, thus unable to handle enterprise software and solutions of ‘Aviation Proportions’ is flawed on the background of the cognate experience of Nigerian Software Developers which spans more that 30 years of the 50 years origin of modern software development culture.
Mr. Adejare has not taken into account of the fact that Nigerian software developers have worked and continue to support the sustainability of foreign software.
Indeed, these Nigerians still head those foreign software organisations operating in Nigeria.
Mr Adejare not only sleights the software industry which was given credence by the Obasanjo Administration when the then President directed all MDA’s to use Indigenous software but also berates himself as an IT professional for being incapable of meeting the technical and intellectual needs of an industry which prides itself on imported software.
Nigeria may not have dedicated tertiary institutions as concerns software development, but that does not mean that the higher institutions/indigenous companies are not meeting the software needs of discerning Nigerians. How much of investment has the bank committed into software development in Nigeria?
Mr. Adejare needs to sit with developers and let them showcase their milestones and challenges instead of insulting the intellectual capability of software practitioners by falsely asserting that indigenous application software are not robust enough to meet the rigours of enterprise demands.
Indeed that false statement becomes transparently misleading when weighed against the following false statements: 1. Nigerians are not capable of developing and managing Banking business!
2. Nigerian Pilots are not capable of flying an A380 Airbus!
3. Nigerian Lawyers and Judges are not capable of handling international judicial litigation!
4. Nigerian Scientists are not capable of making new discoveries! 5. Nigerian writers are not capable of writing internationally acclaimed books! 6. Nigerians are not capable of being the President of their nation!!!
ISPON demands and unreserved apology from Mr. Adejare for insulting Nigerian Software Developers. To SAHCOL, the employers of Mr. Adejare, ensure that your staff is registered to practice the ICT Profession in Nigeria, else, he is undertaking and illegal employment.
That the software industry in Nigeria is not being patronised is due to the subconscionable bias towards foreign goods which majority of colonised countries still carry.
They should liberate themselves from this mental slavery and wake up to the reality of Nigerian Entrepreneurial spirit.
Furthermore, the foreign exchange transfer factor of Foreign Software and services is why people like Mr. Adejare have become their spokesman.
The digital space and laboratory for the practice of Software in our nation is the client’s domain the is our current and future laboratory – and no one has the right to deny indigenous software developers the fundamental and intellectual rights (IPRs) to practice their profession within that digital/cyberspace.
It is a great illusion to belief that things will remain the way they presently are!
There is need to inform Mr. Adejare that our education system is currently producing Information Technology Practitioners in very large numbers.
And that the Nigerian code warriors have arrived and ready to take charge. Finally, Nigerian Aviation should open the digital space and create a level playing field for Indigenous Software developers – both at home and in the Diaspora.
They should proof their support for indigenous software by challenging them with project calls. The hide and seek game in defence of foreign software to corruptly earn foreign exchange is over! With the Local Content act, Game is up.
NLNG and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) have commenced the construction of a research and innovation centre at Rivers State University, aimed at strengthening indigenous capacity in computer and electrical engineering.
The NLNG Research and Innovation Centre for Computer and Electrical Engineering (RICCEE), which was inaugurated yesterday, is the company’s largest Human Capital Development Institutional Strengthening project to date.
The centre is expected to provide specialised training, advanced research facilities and technological solutions for challenges in Nigeria’s energy and industrial sectors.
It will also house a professorial chair and operate as a research and development centre where industry-focused solutions, particularly for NLNG, can be developed and potentially commercialised.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, NLNG’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adeleye Falade, described the project as a strategic investment in the country’s future and evidence of the company’s commitment to sustainable human capital development.
Falade, who was represented by NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall, said the facility would improve the university’s ability to produce highly skilled professionals while ensuring that research responds to industry needs.
He said the centre would also help bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical industry requirements by creating opportunities for researchers and professionals to work together on innovations with commercial and developmental value.
Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, represented by the Director, Capacity Building, Abayomi Bamidele, said the project marked an important step in advancing the Board’s Human Capital Development objectives.
According to him, the centre is part of the Board’s Institutional Strengthening Programme, which seeks to build lasting partnerships with higher institutions through infrastructure that supports teaching, research, innovation and practical skills development.
Ogbe challenged the centre to emerge as a hub for discovery, creativity and technological advancement, where students can develop innovative ideas, researchers tackle real-world problems and industry can find reliable research and development partners.
The Vice-Chancellor of Rivers State University, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, said the project aligned with the institution’s 2026–2030 strategic plan, particularly its focus on research collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship.
“We envisage the Centre as a world-class hub where researchers and students can develop practical solutions to engineering and technological challenges, where university-industry collaboration can flourish, and where innovative ideas can be transformed into useful products, technologies and services,” he said.
The centre will occupy about 9,336 square metres within the university and include specialised laboratories for electronics and signal processing, robotics and embedded systems, software engineering, and digital forensics and cybersecurity.
The facility will also feature solar energy provisions, energy-efficient lighting and other environmentally responsible systems designed to reduce operating costs and support reliable research activities.
RICCEE is one of NCDMB’s Institutional Strengthening Projects designed to improve learning institutions through modern infrastructure, research facilities, technical equipment and training aligned with industry needs.
General News
NITDA Seals Strategic Deals with Goose FL and Fireflies AI to Power $1 Trillion Digital Economy Vision
In a significant step toward expanding Nigeria’s tech footprint on the global stage, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has signed strategic Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Canadian tech companies Goose FL and Fireflies AI.
The signings took place during the Nigeria–Canada Investment Forum and the Nigeria Investment Economic Conference in Toronto, Canada, witnessed by NITDA’s Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi.
The strategic partnership centers on three core pillars designed to accelerate the nation’s digital roadmap:
- Expanding Financial Inclusion: Developing innovative technology solutions to broaden access to digital financial services and create sustainable economic opportunities for underserved communities.
- Deploying Local AI Infrastructure: Establishing indigenous Artificial Intelligence infrastructure and services to strengthen Nigeria’s internal capacity to build, manage, and benefit from AI technologies locally.
- Building a Stronger Digital Economy: Driving long-term economic growth through strategic global partnerships, technology transfer, innovation, and digital capacity development.
This international collaboration directly aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision to grow Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy by 2030, anchored by innovation, digital technology, and human capital development.
By forging key global ties, NITDA continues to position Nigeria as a rising leader in the digital economy, ensuring that emerging tools like AI deliver real, tangible value for local citizens and businesses.
Anambra State Government says it is exploring partnerships with the Federal Government and other stakeholders to extend digital connectivity to underserved rural communities across the state.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Anambra State ICT Agency, Mr Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata, disclosed this during a virtual media engagement with journalists on Thursday.
Agbata said rural connectivity remained a major challenge because telecommunications operators were often reluctant to invest heavily in communities where network deployment might not be commercially viable.
He said the state was willing to explore opportunities to leverage Federal Government infrastructure and the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) to extend connectivity to underserved communities.
“We understand what digital inclusion means because we are dealing directly with these communities,” Agbata said.
According to him, the objective is to ensure that rural residents are not excluded from the benefits of digital government and the wider digital economy simply because of where they live.
Agbata said the effort formed part of the state’s broader digital transformation agenda, which is targeting deeper digitalisation of government services and a more digitally enabled business environment by 2030.
He said the second phase of the agency’s digital transformation agenda would focus on e-governance, digital infrastructure, smart government and the use of emerging technologies to drive development.
“My core vision is that we would have digitised every single government entity in Anambra State,” he said.
The ICT boss said the digital transformation agenda would extend beyond government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to businesses and residents across the state.
He said the agency was already developing websites for government MDAs and transforming them from mere information platforms into channels for delivering government services.
“We are building websites for all the MDAs. We are also automating them to be able to carry out services and give government support and government services through their websites,” he said.
Agbata said the initiative would reduce the need for citizens to physically visit government offices to access basic services.
He said the Smart Anambra platform had already demonstrated growing demand for remote access to government services.
According to him, the platform recorded about 14,000 visits between July 9 and July 29, averaging approximately 700 visits daily, despite limited publicity.
He said the data indicated that residents were interested in accessing government services online, including applications, permits and identification-related processes.
“What the data is already showing us is that we really need to build a system that allows people to actually get government services remotely,” Agbata said.
He explained that the objective was to allow residents to initiate processes online, complete forms remotely and only visit government offices where physical presence was eventually required.
This, he said, would reduce the time and cost citizens spend travelling to Awka or other government offices to access services.
Agbata said services in areas including hospitals, schools and other government processes were being connected to Smart Anambra.
Anambra Targets 2030 for Digital Government
Agbata said the state’s 2030 target was to deepen the digitalisation of government services and create an environment where businesses could increasingly operate within the formal digital economy.
He said the agency was working with the Ministry of Commerce to promote the formalisation of businesses, particularly SMEs and businesses operating in major markets.
“One of the biggest challenges that we have is that SMEs are not formalised enough,” he said, adding that the agency was exploring partnerships to address the challenge.
The ICT agency boss said the transformation would be gradual because major government initiatives required the necessary approvals and resources.
On the possibility of making Anambra completely paperless, Agbata disclosed that the State Executive Council was already operating a paperless system.
He, however, said the entire civil service might continue to operate a combination of digital and paper-based processes for some time because of the complexity of government operations.
“What might happen is a dual situation,” he said, adding that selected MDAs could be used as pilots for deeper digital transformation.
Agbata also disclosed that the Anambra State ICT Agency had commenced the deployment of a locally trained artificial intelligence (AI) system to automate its operations and explore applications in governance, revenue management and public-sector productivity.
He explained that the agency did not develop a frontier large language model from scratch because of the huge computing and financial resources required.
Instead, he said, it adopted an open-source model, modified it and was training it for specific local use cases.
“We have started doing our own local AI system. It is an open-source system, so we didn’t build our own frontier model. We basically looked at open source and modified it, and we are training it,” Agbata said.
He said the system had already been deployed to automate the agency’s operations end-to-end.
“We have used it to automate our agency end-to-end. Everything that we do now is currently automated,” he said.
Agbata said the agency was exploring how the model could be applied across other areas of government to improve productivity, address revenue leakages and strengthen governance.
He said the AI initiative formed a major part of what he described as the agency’s “2.0” phase following his reappointment by Gov. Chukwuma Soludo.
According to him, the second phase would build on achievements in infrastructure, capacity development, e-governance and smart government while placing greater emphasis on AI and emerging technologies.
Agbata also said the state’s free public Wi-Fi initiative remained operational, stressing that the programme was introduced before the electioneering period.
“The free Wi-Fi didn’t start as a political thing, a campaign thing. It started way before the campaigns,” he said.
He explained that the strategy was adjusted during the campaigns to enable residents to follow the governor’s activities and participate in live engagements while on the move.
According to him, existing Wi-Fi locations, including facilities at the state Secretariat, remain operational, although occasional downtime occurs, particularly during periods of adverse weather.
“There are downtimes now and then because with the rains and all of that, these things have their uptime and their downtimes, but it is still very much available,” he said.
He disclosed that there were currently no plans to establish additional Wi-Fi locations, noting that existing sites were still providing services.
Agbata said the state would continue to develop digital skills and education programmes, including Smart Schools and other capacity-development initiatives.
He also called for stronger collaboration among government, technology companies, telecommunications operators, local technology manufacturers and other stakeholders to accelerate the state’s digital transformation.
He cited the procurement of about 2,000 computers supplied by indigenous technology company, Zinox, as an example of the state’s engagement with local technology providers.
Agbata said the agency would remain open to partnerships capable of supporting Anambra’s technology agenda.
He said the ultimate objective was to build an Anambra where residents and businesses could increasingly interact with government digitally, while technology becomes a central driver of economic development across the state.
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