…’Agency neck-deep in accelerating digital Nigeria’
By Mohammed Mohammed
The Chief Executive Office (CEO) of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Abdullahi has revealed that the National Information Technology Development Fund Scheme (NITDEF) which sponsors individuals abroad to study in various IT related fields has been put on hold.
He acknowledged that the agency is fine-tuning strategies geared at looking inwards to enable more investments in human skills acquisition which will directly or indirectly create jobs across the country bringing about revenue flow.
Abdullahi, specifically underscores that NITDA is actively accelerating digital inclusion in Nigeria by taking advantage of the spread of existing infrastructure across the country.
He also acknowledged that the agency is focusing on skills rather than degrees; and progressively increasing the contribution of digital technologies to the economy.
Abdullahi, made the disclosure at the Digital PayExpo 2020 1st Virtual Edition of the conference to mark its 20th Anniversary with the theme “Emerging Technologies and the National Digital Economy Plan.”
According to him, digital payexpo is a conference in the digital payments space in Africa where hundreds of C-Suite executives – bankers, investors, start-ups, policy-makers, and development professionals converge to discuss and explore innovative solutions to emerging themes in the financial inclusion space every year.
He said the conference is coming at the right time the country needs it the most, because technology is taking the lead in everything since the emergence of COVID 19 in the country.
“Technology is the way forward in communications and other activities like meetings, prescriptions by doctors, conferences and other related activities which has aid the implementations of policies and strategies for the growth and development of our country.
“It is the next oil, simply because of its rise in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product which has paved way for the creations of jobs directly or indirectly and also an avenue for flow of revenue to the country. Everything is evolving around technology and with technology work and activities are done at ease and reduces the cost of implementation at the end of the day, he said.
According to him, the Agency since the implementation of its IT roadmap has prepared Nigeria and created ways for the adoption of the 4th industrial revolution which will serve as the yard stick for the digitalisation of the country’s mode of operation and the economy at large.” He said.
According to him, the impact of technology is gradually yielding positive result, through skills acquisition, job creation, promotion of government service, capacity building carried out by the Agency at the different geopolitical zones in the country which has deepened the penetration of IT in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, in another development, the DG advocated the need to change the conventional way of our doing things, adding: “We need to change the conventional way of teaching and the way we do things. Polytechnics are strategic institutions that serves as the engine room of technological development aimed at creating jobs and revenue generation flow across the country”.
He made this known while receiving the Management of Federal Polytechnic Nassarawa State led by its Rector, Dr Abdullahi Alhassan Ahmad at the agency’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja.
The NITDA boss stressed the need to re-engineer the skills and tools being used to suit the current trend of technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain technology, cloud and edge computing and other related technologies. We need to create an economy for the ecosystem to develop the needs and wants of the society, he added.
NITDA has been doing alot in the areas of IT intervention in institutions across the country which is aimed at building the knowledge and capacities of individuals across the country, he said. Coming to the Agency to seek for collaboration is a plus towards the deepening of IT across students of the institution and the country at large. We can work together to bring out a game changer for the growth and development of the country, we need to work hand in hand to achieve both the Agency’s mandates and that of the institution, he added.
In his remark, the Rector Federal Polytechnic Nassarawa State, Dr Abdullahi Alhassan Ahmed applauded the Director General of NITDA for the various initiatives of the Agency has implemented towards the drive of IT across the country, adding that this will enable the growth and development of the economy due to the continued rise of IT contributions to the Nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Our desire as an institution is to become a reference point in terms of ICT infrastructure and standard training facilities that can adequately cater for the staff and students of the institution”, he said. “Considering the Mandate of the agency and that of the Institution which is naturally designed to work together for Nigeria to achieve the desired and designed ICT targets for the nation’s growth and development on Information Technology by extension growth and development in other spheres of life.” he added.