Stakeholders from diverse backgrounds have unanimously called for digitalisation to form part of our national strategy in Nigeria.
They made this call at the Business Journal’ 2nd Annual Lecture and Awards held at Sheraton Hotel, Lagos.
The event had as its theme”Digital Nigeria: The Path To Sustainable Economic Growth.”
Tope Smart, group managing director, NEM Insurance Plc and chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association said that the country needs a very robust Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Infrastructure to be able to move forward.
He noted that the unfortunate thing was that the country was yet to attain that level of digital advancement.
According to him,“Because digitalisation encompasses transparency Nigeria needs this level of advancement to solve the issue of corruption.
“The Federal Government should ensure that digitalisation forms part of our national discuss so that we can use it to boost our economy.
“Digitalisation is something that citizens and the government of any country should embrace to solve issues of employment among others”.
Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission stated that digitization has emerged as a key driver and enabler of socio-economic benefits for any countries.
He noted that we must define and understand certain concepts that will transit us to Digital nation.
Prof Danbatta explained that digitalization is the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities; that is the process of moving to a digital business.
He said that digitalization will accelerate economic growth and facilitates job creation in the country.
On what the commission is doing to ensure digitalization and economic diversification of the Nigerian economy, he stated that they are committed to the implementation of the National Broadband Plan and so many other Initiatives.
Danbatta said, “The Nigerian Communications Commission will continue to promote and facilitate, through appropriate regulatory interventions, the expansion of pervasive broadband infrastructure that will stimulate the provision of e-products and e-services across Nigeria.
“The NCC will encourage the digitalization of information to be transformed into business and economic activities that drive national growth and development.
“The economic diversification of the Nigerian economy will give impetus for increase mobilization of all resources and increase revenues accruable to government.
“This will cause an exponential increase in productive activities in industry, manufacturing, infrastructure development, health, and agriculture to stimulate growth and development of the Nigerian economy.
“The NCC shall continue to provide the conducive regulatory environment for increased private sector investment and expansion of economic activities.
“The interventions of the NCC play a vital role in supporting the evolution of digital processes and appreciation in various sectors of the economy.
“From Setting up Public Access Points and ICT Training Centres, the Digital Awareness Programme (DAP), the Advanced Digital Awareness programme for Tertiary Institutions (ADAPTI), the School Knowledge Centre (SKC), all of which have benefitted over 500 schools across the country, the educational sector in Nigeria has definitely felt the digital wand of the NCC.
“The NCC continues to promote and facilitate universal access to ICT to ensure implementation of e-taxation, ecommerce and e-government financial sector areas, which were identified as the economic enhancement needed for sustainability of the Nigerian economy.
“Improving user (traveler) experience such as online ticketing, boarding, and check in processes; and Vehicle tracking and navigations through mobile and Internet services, are also some key examples of how Telecommunications is enhancing Nigeria’s digital profile.
The deployment of Optic Fibre transmission network has been adopted in the “Open Access Model” to bridge the current digital gap and deliver fast and reliable broadband services to households and businesses and the success of this model is evident in the tremendous growth witnessed in the provision of broadband services by all major players in the industry through one technology or the other.
“Presently, Nigeria has achieved 33.72% Broadband penetration, thus over 64 million Nigerians are presently connected to broadband internet services. This is an encouraging leap from the 8.5% penetration in 2015″.
Mr Prince Cookey, publisher, Business Journal, said that the event was a rare opportunity for stakeholders to critically evaluate the opportunities and challenges of digital disruption on the various segments of the Nigerian economy.
Cookey said that the main focus was to offer a roadmap on how Nigeria could reap bountifully from the digital transformation era to achieve sustainable economic growth.
The Business journal Annual Lecture Series is a platform to examine and discuss emerging issues in the Nigerian economy and generate workable solutions going forward.
It brings stakeholders across sectors together to review the state-of-affairs in the economy through robust conversation.