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From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, will be the keynote speaker at the 5th Ogun Tech Summit scheduled to hold on Wednesday.
Addressing newsmen at the summit in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the convener and Information Technology Expert, Olaniyi Ayoola, said the summit with the theme, ‘Disruptive Innovation: Production and Distribution of Creative Content’, would address key issues in ICT in the country.
Ayoola, the Chief Executive Officer of Verve Tree Hub, however, berated the failure of the Nigerian government from taking full advantage of the potential information technology, contending that if properly harnessed, ICT is enough to become the next oil in the country.
Speaking on the potential of ICT, Ayoola said Nigeria is not taking full advantage of the innovation when compared to other developed nations of the world.
According to him, it is either the citizens are afraid of the government is not exhibiting enough sincerity in implementing policies towards the advancement of technology in Nigeria.
Ayoola said a platform, Digital Addressing, which was being worked on would address a lot
of challenges facing the country, including security challenges, but lamented that some people are trying to frustrate the process for their selfish interest.
He said, “As a nation, we are yet to take advantage of technology to improve and grow the GDP, if you check the rate at which other nations have developed and integrated using various technology, I don’t know what the problem is with Nigeria, probably the citizens are afraid of the government is not really sincere in implementing policies towards advancing technology in Nigeria.
“For instance, Digital Addressing Platform, is being worked on and if this is properly integrated, it is going to solve a lot of problems and increase the GDP as a nation, but some elements are trying to frustrate that process because if it is implemented, it will bring transparency into almost everything we do as a nation, it will tell you where everybody lives, what they do and their environment, because it is going to link addressing with mobile numbers, and now that mobile numbers have been linked to NIN; NIN linked to BVN, etc.
“So, there is no way you can thrive as a fraudster or a corrupt citizen if digital addressing is properly implemented. Why is Nigeria not looking at such innovations in addressing real estate, businesses, etc? You will find out that, people are not sincere in taking advantage of technology in improving their livelihood.
“With the platform, we don’t need census officially, because if it is properly administered, it will improve everything including our electoral system, health system, security, etc. And will also block all loopholes in governance and processes.
“This is one of the aspects of technology that has been implemented in other nations. Digital Economy, for instance, Nigeria is just implementing like 10% of what it entails, the opportunity is endless. The same energy used in scamming people is the same energy a yahoo boy will use in advancing technology in making a legitimate income.”
