NITDA inaugurates committee for GITEX

NITDA inaugurates committee  for GITEX

The Director-General (DG) of the National Information Technology Development Agency ( NITDA),  Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has set up a committee to steer Nigeria’s participation at the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition Conference (GITEX), holding in Dubai, from the 8th to 21st of October, 2017.

GutsyPen4ICTD understands this bold move is  part of the agency’s strategy to pursue its core mandate namely capacity building, regulation, digital job creation, government digital service promotion, local content development and promotion, cyber security and revenue generation.

The DG of NITDA  charged the  committee members with the responsibilities of ensuring that Nigeria’s young innovators are well represented, create an environment for Nigeria’s IT firms to network with their foreign counterparts, devise ways and strategise to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) and encourage domestication of IT firms that would add value to Nigeria’s IT sector, among others.

Dr. Pantami, who has not hidden his disdain for the predilection of Nigerians to consume foreign goods and services and its impact on the local currency, said at an industry event  in Lagos recently: “If you look at the amount of money we spend annually on the importation of goods and services of ICT you will be amazed.  It is approximately around US$2.6billion annually and this amount is projected to reach  around US$147 billion in 2020.  It is almost 6 times our current budget.  And that is why we are putting more pressure on our local currency (the Naira).

“There is no strategy on developing our local content.  We are focused on sourcing forex and  importing something into our nation without cross-checking  whether we have it in our nation locally or not.  Because we are more addicted and inclined to anything foreign. That is the mentality that we have.  And some of the goods that are being imported into our nation are not up to the standard of what is being produced at home, but we only admire other nations whatever they produce we patronise, but whatever is made in Nigeria, we neglect it.

“Our President, Muhammadu Buhari…, stated recently that economic growth is impossible without emphasis on made in Nigeria.  Without regulation, you cannot in any way promote our local content; you cannot in any way encourage and motivate people to patronize it.  Look at our local industries all over, they are complaining about patronage. Why?  Because we have this mentality that whatever we have as Made in Nigeria  is local.  Why is it local?”

Meanwhile, the NITDA DG has also inaugurated the eNigeria 2017 Local Organising Committee, LOC, charging the members to ensure a successful conference.

eNigeria, NITDA's annual IT flagship programme,  aims to proffer solutions to problems hampering the growth of Information Technology in Nigeria

This year's event is built for  the 7th to 9th November, 2017 under  theme “Imperatives of Effective ICT Regulations and Promotion of Indigenous Content for Sustainable National Development.”