Nigeria to become Africa’s leading IT diffusion centre

Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) is responsible for creating a framework for the planning, research, development, standardization, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of Information Technology practices, activities and systems in the country. The agency’s Director-General Mr. Peter Jack is expected to develop and regulate IT for sustainable national development and also manage the country’s IT infrastructural development. He is also responsible for overseeing the implementation of Nigeria’s Information Technology policy and coordinating the country’s general IT development. Some of his major initiatives include theDigital Community Centres, Rural Information Technology Center (RITC), IT Infrastructure for Tertiary Institutions and the Nigeria Country Code top Level Domain Name. Peter Jack, spoke to Business Day Start-UP Digest team in Abuja before the eNigeria 2014 Summit.

Can you give us insight into your background and how you developed passion for matters of technology?

I have always had a strong passion for matters of technology at an early stage in life especially with automobiles and computers. I am fascinated and interested in how technology helps to drive business operations and organisations.

I actually read chemical engineering at both undergraduate and graduate levels.  I also have master in business administration.  I have several IT certifications including SAP, CISCO networking, and other areas.  I had worked with Professor Ajayi the pioneer DG and Professor Cleopas Angaye Technical Assistant for several years which prepared me for this role today.

Can you highlight the major functions of NITDA in the technology value chain in Nigeria?

The major functions of NITDA in the technology value chain include human capacity development, infrastructure, institutional capacity, regulation and policy framework.

In the last seven years since NITDA came to being what have been the major achievements of the Agency?

There are many achievements of the Agency in the last seven years, which includes the creation of National Software Policy, State ICT Policy, National Content Guidelines, Ecosystem partnership framework.  On the infrastructure side, we have deployed over 300 Rural IT centres and over 300 IT knowledge Access centresacross the country.  In addition, we have deployed over 8 virtual libraries in tertiaryinstitutions and have also provided Wide-Area Networks (WAN) for over 6 universities for more than 20,000 users.  Furthermore, we have deployed 6 Internet ExchangePoints in 6 locations.  The objective is to integrate all the exchanges Points very soon.  Finally, we have trained over 10,000 unemployed graduates in various fields of ICT over the last several years.  Going forward, we plan to more such interventions next year.

What relationship does the Agency maintain with Nigeria Communications Commission and other technology related Agencies of government?

We have cordially relationships with other government agencies like Nigeria Communications Satellite Ltd., (NigComsat), National Communications Commission (NCC), Galaxy Blackbone Ltd., National Office of Technology Acquisition and Promotion(NOTAP), Post and Telecommunications.

What specific roles has NITDA been playing with regard to Demo Africa generally and specially Demo Africa 2014 and why these roles?

NITDA has been participating in Demo Africa for awhile but we sponsored Demo Africa 2014 in Lagos.  The intent was to discover and develop young innovators across Africa especially in Nigeria.  15 out of the 40 competitors were Nigerians.  We are providing support and incentives for the software industry and we will continue to do this. In addition, we have various events for honouring and supporting software entrepreneurs.

Beyond Demo Africa 2014, Is NITDA committed to supporting the Nigerian technology startups that participated?

Yes, we have various programmes and incentives designed to continue to support Nigerian technology startups including sponsorship and entrepreneurial mentorship.

Tell us about how NITDA secured the Official Country Partner status in GITEX 2014?

NITDA was invited to participate in 2013 edition which went well. NITDA was then invited to be the official partner in 2014.  After the necessary approvals from the Ministry of Communication Technology, we were able to secure the official partnership for 2014.   It was a successful outing because we were able to showcase Nigeria investment opportunities in ICT.  We also had an investment forum for interested foreign firms who intend to invest in Nigeria.

What is the highlights, highpoints of Nigeria participation at GITEX 2014? And how would you evaluate this participation?

The key highlights and highpoints of the participation include the opportunity to attract Direct Foreign Investments into the country through the investment forum that was organized during the GITEX 2014.  Consequently, I will say that our participation was very successful and made it a very rewarding outing.

Please specify the benefits accruing to Nigeria and the Nigerian companies that participated at GITEX 2014? What makes GITEX 2014 special for Nigeria and the world?

Some of the benefits for Nigeria participation include the exposure of Nigerian companies to international opportunities.  This event provided the opportunity for showcasing some of the Nigerian entrepreneurs to the world.  We consider this very important for our young innovators and entrepreneurs.

What is the actual involvement of NITDA in Nigeria’s Smart city project?

NITDA is fully involved with the Smart City project in the country.  Our focus is to help Nigeria build viable Smart Cities all over the country.  Therefore, we intend to provide all the necessary support to the projects nationwide.

Is NITDA experiencing any significant challenges hindering the Agency from achieving its mandate? Can you highlight these challenges?

There are a number of challenges but the most visible of these include human capacity development, finance and security.  To remove these challenges, the agency has plans to attract highly qualified skilled IT professionals and retain top talents, source for financing from a variety of internal and external sources to address the different financing and technical assistance needs.  In the area of security, NITDA will invest significantly do more and this we will do vigorously. 

What projections do you have about Nigeria’s technology industry? What are the gaps? And how will these gaps be filled?

Some of our projections for Nigeria technology industry include making 80% of public services available online, ensuring that at least 60% of the populace have access to government services online, making Nigeria no 1 centre for IT diffusion in Africa and fostering adoption of local software and digital content growth of 55% in the next few years.  There are gaps in the IT regulatory environment, which we intend to reinforce to rejuvenate the IT sector in order to make it attractive for the private sector investment.