President
Goodluck Jonathan has inaugurated the presidential committee on broadband,
directingthe ministry of education to incorporate Information and Communication
Technology (ICT), into the National Education Curricular beginning from the
primary school level.
Speaking at
the inauguration ceremony, he said this was necessary because the children
should not be burdened with the disadvantage of starting late if they were to
become global ICT leaders in future. "We must therefore start exposing our
children to ICTs to encourage in them familiarity with new technologies and the
desire to develop software programmes and applications".
The
president explained that the inauguration of the presidential committee marked
a turning point in the nation's quest to accelerate its transformation into a
21st century economy, noting that broadband access and internet technologies
are key access to Socio-economic growth and the attainment of a fully knowledge
based economy.
According
to him, "it is important to start thinking of how to build a digital
economy particularly in this era of the knowledge economy. The critical factor
here is that we are in the middle of a digital revolution that has seen ICT
transform the global economy.
President
Jonathan stressed his administration's commitment to support and encouragement
ICT practitioners in the country to empower collective effort in attaining the
goal of the 21st century economy.
He pointed
out that broadband has the potential to facilitate the creation of new
industries and introduce significant efficiencies into existing ones, adding
that education delivery, health care provision, energy management, public
safety, government/citizen interaction and the overall organization and
dissemination of knowledge will also benefit meaningfully from it.
In
recognition of these benefits, he announced that the National ICT policy has
set a target of five-fold increase in broadband penetration in the country by
2017. The 14-man presidential committee has as chairmen, immediate past executive
vice chairman of the National Communications Commission (NCC), Engr. Ernest
Ndukwe and Chairman of Zenith Bank, Mr. Jim Ovia.
The
committee which has its members drawn from state governments and the private
sector as three months to complete its assignment. Its terms of reference
include: articulate acceptable definitions and perspectives of broadband and
related issues that are current and dynamic for the country.
Others
include, to evaluate and analyse the current position of broadband infrastructure
and service delivery in the country, if possible, define broadband served,
un-served and underserved areas in the country and articulate an agenda for
bridging the gap between the "haves" and the "have nots"
within the country and showcasing possible challenges.
Leadership
Nigeria