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Tony John, Port Harcourt
Nigerians both at home and in the diaspora, are said to be contributing much to the world of Information Communication Technology (ICT), than recorded by researchers.
An ICT expert and Director General of Delta State Innovation Hub (DSIHUB), Chris Uwaje, stated this in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Uwaje said that, though Nigeria ranks 115 out of 145 nations in the ICT world, the position was not good for the citizens and country.
“There is global standard index, which, of course, is published globally. Nigeria is presently about 115 out of 143 nations, which is not where we should be.
So, based on our population and based on the resource that is available to us, Nigeria should be doing much better.
Nigerians are everywhere. But, what they are doing there (abroad) does not directly benefit Nigeria, apart from the money they are generating for themselves. For all countries that have benefited from the ecosystem of ICT, they (Nigerians) have been coordinating or cementing their diaspora knowledge and home-based knowledge to be able to galvanise and leverage on diaspora for global competitiveness”, Uwaje noted.
He added that the nation still has a long way to go in ICT innovation, expressing optimism that 65 per cent of youth population the country have has got the wherewithal for more improvement.
“Nigeria still have a long way to go. We need to accelerate knowledge-development future and we have the wherewithal with 65 percent of youth population”, he expressed.
Also, the Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC) said it has started moves to avail Nigerians with massive data internet connection across the country at cheaper rates. The commission noted that it had licenced and supported infrastructure development companies in deploying fibre optic cables across the country to enable data based start-ups in harnessing and achieving their objectives.
Also speaking, Felix Adeoye, representing the commission’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, said the aim of the forum was to locate and enlighten young potential Nigerians in the technology industry to attain global objectives.
