The knowledge Olympiad is here and Africa must step forward to be counted and digitally ready at all levels, if she must survive the emerging critical challenges, traumatic impact as well as secure the opportunities and benefits presented by ‘globalization order’ of the 21st Century, said Okwu Marcus Eke with contributions from Chris Uwaje, Africa Chair on IEEE World Forum on IoT .

The duo made the appeal in a combined conference keynote speech at the Second Africa and Middle East Conference on Software Engineering (AMECSE 2016)                                             

Organised by the Software Engineering Competence Center (SECC) of Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA).

With a topic & focus on “Africa and Software of Things – Engaging the Knowledge Olympiad”, Eke and Uwaje said that competition has always been the Hallmark of appraising human development at traditional and modern levels. “In the stone age as we knew it, physical muscle was the measure to determine right and progress”, the IT experts said.

The duo re-emphasised that today, humanity lives in a ‘Software-first’ World, where Innovation and disruptive creativity has become the centre of gravity of life and significance of human existence.

“And by extension – in my professional evaluation – the most constructive and strategic pathway to Africa’s future and survivability, resides in the mastery, application and sustainable control of her Intellectual Capital. Africa must Innovate or be digitally enslaved. We must move from abject consumer to respectable creator and producer – with special reference on how to aggregate her Software potentials, skills and capacities for global competitiveness”.

On the keynote which focuses on the concept of “Africa and Software of Things” (ASoTs) within the context of Internet of Things” IoTs, Eke and Uwaje said it “addresses the vision, mission, mechanisms and dynamic approaches for developing the continent’s inter-connected knowledge architecture and Framework – as a creative response for the emerging impact of Internet of Things & Everything. The keynote will make useful recommendation on how to add incremental value to Africa Software Ecosystem – through Africa and Software of Things (ASoTs).

“But today, Knowledge has become and will for a longtime remain the primary key and most critical factor for national development, wealth creation, and promotion of human dignity, productivity, increased GDP and above all, National Security and global competitiveness. The centre of gravity of the knowledge in question resides in understanding the chemistry of Software Development Ecosystem.      

“Humanity today, lives in a ‘Software-first’ World, where Innovation and disruptive creativity has become the centre of gravity of life and significance of human existence. And by extension – in my professional evaluation – the most constructive, disruptive, and strategic pathway to Africa’s future and survivability, resides in the mastery, application and sustainable control of her Intellectual Capital. Africa must Innovate or be digitally enslaved. We must move from abject consumer to respectable creator and producer – with special reference on how to aggregate her Software potentials, skills and capacities for global competitiveness.

Concept and Objective
“The concept of “Africa and Software of Things” (ASoTs) within the context of Internet of Things (IoTs) therefore addresses the vision, mission, mechanisms and dynamic approaches for developing the continent’s inter-connected knowledge architecture and Framework – as a creative response for the emerging impact of Internet of Things & Everything. We all know that Rail lanes, Air transport and Sea Transport were the critical tools that drove the western economy which is still a challenge in Africa, but today the Broadband is the proven tool for driving the Sustainable African economy in this digital era. Therefore, Software engineers, developers and architect must leverage on this to create innovations that will transform businesses and lives in Africa.

Africa and Statistics of Internet
“Africa has a population of over 1.1billion people with is 16% of the world population, According to internetlivestat.com, Africa has recorded 9.8% penetration of Internet Users against the 90.2% of the rest of the world. We are not there yet but if we must secure the opportunities provided by the IoTs, Africa must understand the role and impact of Software in actualizing the globalization order. Already we are experiencing rapid growth in Internet Access in many parts of the continent is an engine that will drive the Software world of Africa.

“Within the last half decade, For Instance in Nigeria where Internet Penetration has actually increased from 23% to 46.1%, we have recorded tremendous growth in the area of software development, job creation, education, health, agriculture, digital inclusion etc. It was said that ICT in Nigeria contributes 10% of the national GDP so it means that if platforms are created, skills and capacity developed, policies and strategic plans implemented, Africa will be transformed into a Digital Natives.

In Search of Africa’s Innovation ‘IP Grid’
“Records from her past records of civilization is proof that Africa is a treasure-house of knowledge about ‘Logic of things’. Therefore, Africa must urgently set sail in search of her unique but currently hidden Innovation Grid – through critical Software Engineering Research. SoTs represents the fundamental need for Africa Innovative minds to explore the most dynamic and consistent process for the development of critical knowledge-fusion model for Africa’s Innovation IP Grid’.

IoTs and the Role of Embedded Systems
“The Internet of Things (IoTs) is generally thought of as connecting things to the Internet and using that connection to provide some kind of useful remote monitoring or control of those things. This definition of IoTs is limited, and references only part of the IoTs evolution. It is basically a rebranding of the existing Machine to Machine (M2M) market of today.

“The IoTs creates an intelligent, invisible network fabric that can be sensed, controlled and programmed. IoTs-enabled products employ embedded technology that allows them to communicate, directly or indirectly, with each other or the Internet.”

In the 1990s, Internet connectivity began to proliferate in enterprise and consumer markets, but was still limited in its use because of the low performance of the network interconnect.

“In the 2000s Internet connectivity became the norm for many applications and today is expected as part of many enterprise, industrial and consumer products to provide access to information. However, these devices are still primarily things on the Internet that require more human interaction and monitoring through apps and interfaces. The true promise of the IoTs is just starting to be realized – when invisible technology operates behind the scenes dynamically responding to how we want “things” to act.

“To date, the world has deployed about 5 billion “smart” connected things. Predictions say there will be 50 billion connected devices by 2020 and in our lifetime we will experience life with a trillion-node network. Those are really big numbers. How things are fundamentally deployed today is a barrier to realizing those numbers. The industry will only achieve the reality of 50 billion connected devices by simplifying how things connect and communicate today.

“The IoTs is expected to transform how we live, work and play. From factory automation and automotive connectivity to wearable body sensors and home appliances, the IoTs is set to touch every facet of our lives. We will “author” our life with networks around us that constantly change and evolve based on our surroundings and inputs from other systems. It will make our lives safer with cars that sense each other to avoid accidents. It will make our lives more green with lighting systems that adjust based on the amount of daylight from windows. It will make our lives healthier with wearables that can detect heart attacks and strokes before they happen. There is a long road ahead to the IoTs in Africa. But one thing is for sure, it is going to be amazing.

Special Focus & Impact Areas:
“The next battle field for globalization will be of constructive National Policies and Strategies on Internet of Things (IoTs) and digital Security and Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoTs). Other sensitive areas include but not limited to: Empowering the Youth and the New Creative Class; Understanding and Classifying Software as Food & Drugs; Devote great interest to promoting Digital Games with African Content; Engaging and facilitating Access to Mobile Broadband technology/IPv6 and reduce the unavoidable Africa e-Culture Shock of 21st Century.

Keynote Recommendation
“Moving forward, and recognizing the fact that indigenous knowledge content in Africa faces a monumental challenge at the mercy of the current and emerging knowledge Olympiad wrapped up in IoTs, Software Embedded Systems, IPv6, Cloud, Nano of Things, Big Data, etc.,  the Keynote will solicit the endorsement of Africa Software Engineers, Policy Makers and Stakeholders to:

“1. Declare the current status of Africa Software Development and Application as a “Critical State of Emergency” and establish Africa Software Development Bank as a Subsidiary of Africa Development Bank (ADB)

“2. Advocate the need to establish a Continental Software Knowledge Framework (CSKF) for Africa as a platform to cluster, bank and share critical software knowledge on logic systems at all levels.

“3. Call on Policy Makers and Leadership in Africa establish the Africa Continent Software Research Fund” and by extension, pledge to adopt, advance and promote the concept of Africa IP Knowledge Grid (AIPKG).

“4. Approve the establishment of an Africa-wide e-Knowledge Competition on Africa Software of Things aspect of IoTs.

“5. Retool the Africa Knowledge Workforce from the Kindergarten to Tertiary levels with Software Engineering and Development, skills,  abilities and capacities as strategic imperative for the establishment of the “Africa’s New Creative and Innovative Class”                    

“As a young innovator, I believe in Africa, her strength, her heritage, her potentials skills and the progress she has made over the years and I am confident that the solutions for creating a Digital and prosperous Africa lies from within (Skills/Capacity development) and if we must live our dream of Smart Africa, then Africa must accept Software space as a vital tool that can drive the economy and retooling Africa Knowledge Ecosystem.