Golden jubilee: Stakeholders to celebrate Icons of ICT

Plans have been advanced for the hosting of stakeholders in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as part of the nation’s golden jubilee celebration.

Disclosing this, the anchor person and chief executive officer, eWorld Magazine, Mr. Aaron Ukodie, told ITRealms Online that the sector, which has been widely recognized worth to be celebrated specifically at this time of the nation’s growth in history.

He also said that the event scheduled for September 21, 2010 in Lagos, has been tagged ‘ICONs of ICT: 50 Years Anniversary Edition.’

“It is therefore important that as Nigeria celebrates 50 years of Independence from colonial rule, the ICT sector which has been widely recognised as the most effective catalyst in national development role out drums in celebration and plan ahead a more rewarding and nation impacting path”, Ukodie said.

He pointed out that the extraordinary quantum role played by the Information and Communication Technology in the development of Nigeria in the past 50 years is worth the celebration and forms part golden jubilee celebration that has been slated for October 1, 2010.

Also, he said, the event would witness the launch of a publication that will celebrate the remarkable roles played by key actors in the sector in the past 50 years based on the aforementioned title.

The publication, he said, would profile key players in the Nigerian ICT firmament for the past 50 years and a summary of the developments that have taken place in the sector.

"Over 60 men and women have been listed for profiling and indexing of their contributions to ICT and national development in the past years,” he said.

Before now, he said, key personalities have confirmed to speak at the event, including the immediate past chief executive officer, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, who would dwell on "ICT Development In Nigeria; 50 Years After.”

Ukodie further said that the former Communications Minister and a commissioner in the NCC, Chief Olawale Ige, would also share thoughts on the above topic.

“They will look at the place of ICT in achieving Nigeria’s bid to be among the 20 most developed nations in the world,” he said.

Explaining that their keynote presentations would be followed by a panel of discussant made up of technocrats and knowledgeable ICT players who would assess the Nigerian ICT sector in the last 50 years and proffer solutions on how the country could achieve the mark of other developed nations.

He listed some of the discussants to include Chief Ezekiel Fatoye, former Executive Director of NITEL and Multilinks, President of ATCON, Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu, Prof. Cleopas Angaye of NITDA and Chief Chima Onyekwere of Linkserve.

Ukodie insisted that if there is any industry that should mark this golden jubilee celebration, it should be the ICT sector, just as he solicited stakeholders’ support to make the event a memorable one.

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