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SystemSpecs, ISPON Support NITRA’s Quarterly Forum on Local Content
As preparations heat up for the Third Quarter Forum of the Nigerian Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA), under the supervision of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), more corporate organisations and industry associations have thrown their weight behind the event scheduled for August 30, 2018.
The latest to declare their support for the Forum which will be focusing on local content in the ICT sector with the theme: “Local Content Development In Nigeria’s ICT Sector: Stimulant for National Economic Recovery,” are indigenous software giants, SystemSpecs, and indigenous software developers professional body, the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON).
A letter addressed to NITRA, dated August 13, 2018, and personally signed by Dr. Yele Okeremi, President of ISPON, reads in part: “On behalf of the National Executive Council and members of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), it is with pleasure that I endorse the NITRA Quarterly Forum 2018. This year’s event is centered on local content in ICT which is one of the top issues of ISPON’s advocacy.
“As a software practitioner with several decades in the Nigerian IT ecosystem, I understand the importance of the media and duly recognise the immense contribution the media has made to the IT ecosystem, particularly by proper reporting of the IT industry.
NITRA can be said to be a body of professionals who know their onions and have made great contribution to our industry and ISPON is proud to be associated with them.”
Dr. Okeremi assured that the Forum will provide an opportunity for a critical analysis of the correlation between the promotion of local content and the growth of the Nigerian economy by seasoned technocrats with a focus for the adoption of this model by the relevant regulatory bodies.
“Rest assured, ISPON will be present at the forum to contribute its quota to this laudable initiative,” he concluded.
Indigenous software powerhouse, SystemSpecs has remained committed to software development and is today Nigeria’s foremost software house.
It remains firmly committed to its vision from inception, to become the software house of reference in Africa, and is convinced that this vision will give the continent its deserved recognition on the global software landscape.
The software giant is now regarded as the leading electronic financial transactions company, from Africa to the rest of the world, through the deployment and support of its flagship product, Remita, which powers the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Treasury Single Account project – the largest and most successful of its kind in Africa.
Recall that the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Local Content Guidelines are intended to help restructure and develop a strong indigenous ICT industry by addressing three core areas as follows: Driving indigenous innovation; Developing the local ICT industry; and Establishing intellectual property regulation and protection standards.
It is argued that the provisions of the NITDA Guidelines, if properly implemented would enable the local ICT industry to contribute meaningfully towards the achievement of national development targets; and would stimulate and increase the production, sales, consumption of high quality information technology products and services developed by indigenous companies that serve the needs of the local and global market.
The NITRA Quarterly Forum, therefore, will not only highlight the opportunities and challenges of deploying local content in the country’s ICT sector, it will also provide knowledge and networking platform that will bring together technology innovators, developers, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), and other players in the nation’s ICT sector.
On the other hand, the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria, ISPON as an industry professional body for indigenous software developers and practitioners in Nigeria, was established with the aim of creating an enabling environment for local content developers, and has been in the forefront of championing the advocacy for the application and utilisation of locally developed software in order to boost the country’s economy, GDP and give Nigeria an alternative to oil as a revenue earner.
Guided by a mission to impact on national development and the software ecosystem through innovation, sustainable development and pervasive application of Nigerian software and services in all spheres of human endeavour, ISPON has not relented in consistently advocating for support and patronage for Nigeria’s indigenous software.
CommunicationsWeek Media Limited, a certified global ICT company with over two million online subscribers, is delighted and proud to announce Prof. Yakub Aliyu, as the keynote speaker at Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture series 2024.
Aliyu, will be speaking on the theme: Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Good, The Complex and The Anticipated”, this leans heavily on the fact that AI changing our lives– we just need to know where to look today.
This year’s rebranded Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series is slated for Saturday, May 25, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton, Lagos.
The event is the most prestigious annual event that brings together captains of industry in both technology and financial worlds.
According to Ken Nwogbo, CEO, Communication Week Media Ltd, organisers of the ABoICT Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series, “the choice of Prof. Yakub Aliyu is deliberate because of his exceptional career in Artificial Intelligence (AI)”.
He added that, AI is considered to have the potential to instigate a fourth industrial revolution,1 and is dramatically changing people’s patterns of interaction and economic activities.
“The traditional factors of production and physical capital and labour may no longer promote substantial economic growth. It is generally believed that AI will be one of the most important factors determining future economic growth,” he said.
A professor of microelectronics and a scholar-practitioner in artificial intelligence and deep machine learning for industrial applications and high-speed application processors. His research interests include Multimodal AI models for high-efficiency industrial robot applications and Human AI interactions.
He also has adjunct academic professorships at five African, USA, and UK universities. Holds a BS in Applied Physics Electronics from Karlsruhe and A Bello Universities in Germany and Nigeria, an MBA in International Business Management from the University of London, an MSEE (Master of Engineering, Electronics), and a Ph.D. in Electronics Engineering from the University of Wales.
Prof. Aliyu is the global quality director for Bourns Inc., Riverside, California, USA, an electronics system, and components manufacturer. I oversee quality functions in 21 factories worldwide.
He has also held quality and operational management leadership positions at National Semiconductors, Bell Labs-Lucent Technology, Texas Instrument, Global Foundries, and Roper Technologies USA.
Authored and coauthored over 30 Advanced Technology United States-issued patents in High-Speed Application Processors and Contributed to over 40 international impact Journals, chapters, and conferences; FASI, SMIEEE USA, MIEE UK, M. Inst pf Physics Chartered Phys and C Eng UK.
Past lecturers included Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Dr. Jean Luc Fort, CEO at OR System France and a specialist in Counterparty Risk; and Professor Chris Nwagboso, Chairman, Knowledge Factory International, United Kingdom.
Others are: Uche Orji, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director, Rack Centre Limited; Peter Adedayo Arogundade, managing director and chief executive officer, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited; Dr. Adewale Obadare, chief visionary officer, Digital Encode and John Obaro, CEO and founder of Systemspecs; Prof. Isa Pantanmi, minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Dr. Seyi Akindeind, co-founder, Digital Encode; Dr Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Director, Africa Data Centres.
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Participants at the event
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
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