The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), the umbrella body for all Information Technology (IT) professionals in Nigeria, has raised the concern about low adoption of IT in Nigeria, especially in the government circle, and has called for reforms.
President of NCS, Prof. Adesina Sodiya, raised the concern, while addressing members of the National Executive Council of NCS and the media, at the second quarter press conference of NCS, which held as a hybrid conference in Abuja recently.
According to Sodiya, the low adoption of IT in Nigeria is setting the country backward in an era where the practice of digital technology is driving global development.
Sodiya therefore called for immediate reforms of all the activities of IT professionals in government establishments.
He explained that NCS has proposed to government, through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, for the establishment of a medium IT cadre for IT professionals working in government and that the proposal has been approved by the Council of Communications and Digital Economy and transmitted to the Head of Service of the Federation for further consideration and approval.
“This cadre of IT professionals will be encouraged to drive IT adoption in government, once it is approved and established. NCS is therefore calling on the federal government to speed up the approval process in order to drive IT adoption in government,” Sodiya said.
He decried a situation where some of the activities of government like file processing, are still manually processed in today’s digital era, where computing is fast developing.
“IT adoption in government establishments is still very low. Most Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government (MDAs) do not have IT department and some that have, are being headed by non-IT professionals. In some MDAs, IT departments are under Planning, Research and Statistics, which will not promote IT development in the country. When we see these developments, we are not happy as an IT professional body because computing has gone far in transforming the world,” Sodiya further said.
Looking outside of government circle, Sodiya also said IT adoption in the private sector, has also remained an issue. He said the big technology companies with foreign base that operate in Nigeria are not building local capacity to develop the country, since most of them prefer to produce from factories established outside of Nigeria and bring in the finished products to sell in Nigeria.
He however said the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami had engaged with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the Information Technology (IT) space, to come to Nigeria and establish their production factories, adding that the engagement process is ongoing.
Sodiya sais as an advocacy body, NCS was able to put government on its toes to do the right thing that will enhance IT adoption and development, adding that NCS will continue to push through its advocacy programmes.
He used the occasion to talk about the next International Annual Conference of NCS, holding in Bauchi this year, with the theme: ‘Communications and e-Systems for Economic Development’.
