Can Nigeria export
het tested Software Application Solutions? Yes, this has been happening
unannounced for some time! Today, our innovation potential is weakened by the
wedge of global financial Aid. It is
therefore time to restore trust in the ability and audacity of Software
Applications developed in Nigeria, by Nigerians wherever they may be anywhere
in the world. In my professional
assessment, the cumulative potentials of ICT Solutions, processes and services
currently developed and supported by Nigerians all over the world is worth over
200billlion USD – including unaccounted
patents and IP missing in digital action (MIDA).
To avoid emerging catastrophes in Nigeria’s and indeed
Africa’s digital future, rethinking our national ICT strategy – beyond local
content in Oil & Gas – has become a matter of critical urgency, for many
cogent reasons. The first sustainable reason is that our digital destiny and
national survivability should not be constructed on financial Aids
as is the case presently at almost all levels of development and national
security. In the last 60 years, Africa and Nigeria in particular has been going
cap-in-hand, in search of and receiving insignificant financial Aids from
Donors all over the world. However, Nations of the world that have attained
constructive and sustainable development have not only done that through the mastery
of science and technology, but conscious access to reasonable
financial Grants for national development – but definitely not through
Aids.
Secondly, the supersonic speed of digital evolution has
accelerated the need and compels us to rethink national development strategies
beyond Oil & Gas revenue generation. This can be done by advancing a
National Software Strategic Plan, overhauling her inter-generational wisdom-database
recourses and applying Innovative and creative ICT knowledge armory for global competitiveness.
More than ever before, empowered by her youthful population of more than 65% of
the Continent’s 1.28billion people, Africa/Nigeria is presented with an awesome
opportunity to conquer knowledge poverty at all levels and enthrone astonishing
prosperity beyond Oil & Gas, and devoid of financial Aids.
And thirdly, above all, the diminishing patriotism, audacity
of merit and trustworthy content in our national development attitudes and
social engagement agenda has become worrisome and constitute a
multi-dimensional burden to sustainable development – especially within the ICT
Ecosystem practically propelled by digital centrifugal force. Whereas, all the
answers we have been searching for driving our sustainable development over the
past 60 years have always resided in our skilled human resources and not on
financial Aids.
With the TSA
(Treasury Singly Account) and similar ICT solutions and services delivered to
Nigeria by Nigerians, the nation has indeed arrived at the threshold to embark
on the life-time business of knowledge export and support services to many
parts of the world. This is why the promotion of inter-generational knowledge
solutions – with particular reference to harnessing the National ICT Ecosystem
should be our core strategic imperative. Numerous evidences abound and vividly illustrate
why this is the wisdom roadmap to our collective destiny and prosperity. In my
professional assessment, the cumulative potentials of ICT Solutions and
services currently developed and supported by Nigerians all over the world is
worth over 200 billlion USD – including unaccounted patents and IP missing in
digital action (MIDA).
Problem is, we currently don’t have the commensurate data to
proof this, due to the seeming neglect of critical Baseline studies and blatant
appointments of non-professionals to deliver the IT-Profession-of Things at
many critical levels. The following are glaring example:
The revenue of the Indian
ICT (Information and Communication Technology) sector is expected to reach an
approximate value of about INR 14,42,839.5 crores (US$ 225 Billion) by the end
of 2020 from current level of INR 10,53,434 crores (US$ 164.3 Billion) growing
at CAGR of about ~11.1%, reveals the ASSOCHAM-RNCOS study.
The study jointly published by ASSOCHAM and RNCOS has
stated that since cloud, mobility, social media and big data
analytics are playing significant role in driving growth of software products
and continue to drive the need for investments.
Singapore ICT Industry - Outlook. Contribution
to Singapore's Economy. • $167.1
billion Industry Revenue (2014). • 30.3 %
Domestic Revenue of Industry
https://www.austrade.gov.au › Countries
and economies › Singapore.
Malaysia: Te National Information and Communications
Technology (ICT) Association of Malaysia, or PIKOM, aims to grow the industry’s
revenue to RM95 billion by 2017 with its new “5-year strategic direction”. Last year, the
national ICT revenue stood at RM57 billion while this year’s projection is
expected to be around RM62 billion, according to a study by PIKOM.
Pakistan: The country’s IT industry is set to double
by 2020, said the CEO of Pakistan’s national technology fund, increasing from
the current worth of $3.5 billion to $7 billion. (source: Express Tribute Sat
19tha may 2018)
.IRELANS: Ireland has become the global technology hub
of choice when it comes to attracting the strategic business activities of ICT
companies. This has earned Ireland the reputation for being the heart of ICT in
Europe. The industry employs over 37,000 people and generates €35
billion in exports annually. The drive is supported through
Ireland's 25% R&D tax credit and generous grant support from the IDA.
(Source : IDA, Ireland)
CHILE: Johannesburg
– Multinational ICT group Datatec’s [JSE:DTC] Logicalis plans to
acquire Chilean ICT services and solutions provider, Coasin Chile SA, for up to
US$20.8m in cash.
On
Tuesday, Datatec announced that a subsidiary of Logicalis Group had signed an
agreement to acquire 100% of Coasin Chile, which also has operations in Peru.
The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.
TAIWAN: Taiwan’s science parks are designed and administered to provide
ideal conditions for high-tech business operations. The parks also provide
excellent environments for developing powerful synergy among clusters of
related enterprises, some in nearby industrial parks, and public R&D
institutions. Taiwan ranks first in the “state of cluster development” index of
the World Economic Forum’s Global
Competiveness Report 2013- (Source: Taiwan Republic of China –Government Year
2016).
Many smarter countries have realized that the effect of
local-content legislation and policies in the oil and gas industry is not
enough, recognizing that the core interface to ensuring maximum results reside
in making ICT as the key driving force and critical linkage for promoting
progressive and sustainable Local Content agenda. The Software-Nigeria
knowledge frontier more than ever before, requires a National Software
Strategic Plan and forward-looking legislation as roadmap to the creation of
more employment, improved GDP, National Security, Youth empowerment assurances,
global competitiveness and national survivability.
*Courtesy: Chris Uwaje, former president, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON)
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