The National
Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) has inaugurated the Local Organising
Committees, (LOCs) for e-Nigeria and Gulf Information Technology Exhibition,
(GITEX) 2019, reports ITREALMS.
This is
coming ITREALMS gathered that NITDA
plans to transform e-Nigeria into African Information Technology Conference and
Exhibition (AfriTEX) by next year, 2020
ITREALMS recalls that e-Nigeria
Conference, Exhibitions and Awards is NITDA's annual flagship event that brings
stakeholders together in the Nigeria IT ecosystem while the GITEX is the
biggest technology show in the Middle East and third biggest technology show in
the whole world that creates platform for countries to share knowledge and
experience and also provides space for start-ups to meet Venture Capitalists
and Angle Investors.
Inaugurating
the committees at the NITDA Corporate Headquarter, Abuja, the Director General
and the CEO of NITDA, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, challenged the committee
members to come up with disruptive ideas that will challenge the successes
recorded in the previous years.
“I have
directed my colleagues at NITDA to look at disruptive ideas; we have to challenge
our successes after 365 days and do what will surpass the achievements recorded
last year, I therefore hope these two committees will do intensive and
extensive works to see to the successes of these national assignments,“ he
said.
On
e-Nigeria, the DG specifically tasked the LOC to consider it as national
assignment and put in their best efforts with the view of ensuring a successful
outing at the event.
“e-Nigeria
is very dear to us as IT stakeholders and as a nation because of the importance
the leadership of the country attached to the development of IT sector. I
advise you to see it as a rare opportunity to serve in the committee that has
attracted presidential present in two consecutive years within his first term
in office,” he said
He added
that, “apart from budget presentation that the President attends every year,
its only e-Nigeria that can boast of playing host to the president on two
successive occasions.
While
briefing the committee members on the theme of this year event-“Leveraging
Technology and Indigenous Innovation to Attain Sustainable Development Goals,
(SDG),” Dr Pantami advised that members can come up with other suggestions that
could address Nigeria’s IT challenges.
“Nothing is casted on the stone, if you have a strong conviction that this
theme should be amended please do not hesitate to suggest another one to
us.”
On GITEX, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami
charged the committee members to improve on Nigeria’s presence at the annual
Technology and Investment gathering of over 200, 000 people from more than 145
countries.
The committee must explore new ways
through which the country can leverage the opportunities in GITEX to bring the
much desired benefits and goals for participating in GITEX.
He urged members drawn from across
sectors to think out new ways of bolstering the country’s image globally and
seeking investments in the technology sector where Nigeria and her growing
number of startups have demonstrated great potentials.
In the same
vein, the Director General has disclosed that by the year 2020, the annual
e-Nigeria Conference, Exhibition and Award would metamorphose into African
Information Technology Conference and Award with the objective of integrating
other African countries to the conference.
Dr Pantami
explained that the Management of the Agency is discussing with the NITDA
Governing Board to consider the proposal of coopting other African countries to
the conference and make it a continental events.
“We have a
lot to learn from other African countries that are doing extremely well in IT
sector. This will create a platform for peer review between Nigeria and
some other selected African countries like Kenya, Rwanda, Morocco, Ghana,
Botswana and host of others,’ he said.
Chuks Egbune/Editor
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