Osun
State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, and the immediate past Executive Vice Chairman of the
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest
Ndukwe, have called on the Federal Government to invest in
advanced technology acquisition.
The duo who
spoke at the eight edition of the Nigerian Telecoms Award organized by Logical
Media Group at the weekend, said the investment was necessary, if Nigeria must realize
her economic agenda on vision 2020, which seeks to position Nigeria within the
first twenty economies of the world by the year 2020.
Specifically,
Aregbesola said Nigeria must be fast about bridging the digital gap between
developed and developing economies, adding that Nigeria must put structures on
ground to realize her economic agenda.
The Governor
pointed out that ICT literacy was fast becoming a fundamental right than
politics and should define the direction of the country. Aregbesola, who
commended the creation of the Ministry of
Communications Technology by President Goodluck Jonathan, said
the ICT industry was one of the highly promising and rapidly growing sectors of
the Nigerian economy.
According to him, the sector has contributed
significantly in the areas of jobs creation, economic growth and transparency
of governance.
"While
a lot of progress has been made in the deployment and use of ICT infrastructure
and services nationwide, there is already a major broadband divide between
Nigeria and the more advanced nations of the world," he said.
Aregbesola
explained that Osun State invested in computer for secondary school pupils, out
of the conviction that the future belongs to the digital age. "The computer has become the centre of the universe
whether it is mainframe, desktop, laptop, handheld or palmtop. It is
interesting now that even artisans and motor mechanics need the computer to
diagnose problems of cars and provide solutions to them. Architects and draughtsman
now use the computer to design houses," the Governor added.
On his part,
Ndukwe recalled that Nigeria transited from the telecommunications dark ages
before 2000 to a telecommunications revolution age that has opened up new
possibilities and frontiers across the political social and economic landscape.
He stressed the need for Nigeria to invest in new technologies in order to
sustain the achievement of the sector, adding, "We live in a world where
ICTs have a direct impact on a nation's ability to improve the economic
wellbeing of her people".
The Climax
of the event was the award given to some Nigerians in recognition of their
contributions to national development. Aregbesola was awarded the best ICT
Governor of the year by the organisers of the event.
THISDAY Nigeria
THISDAY Nigeria