Friday, 29th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

At book launch, experts task government on ICT policies

By Gbenga Akinfenwa
17 May 2017   |   3:19 am
Nigeria may not achieve its dream of becoming a digital nation, if the country's Information Technology (IT) policies are not effective enough to propel the growth of the sector.

Information Communication Technology

Nigeria may not achieve its dream of becoming a digital nation, if the country’s Information Technology (IT) policies are not effective enough to propel the growth of the sector.

Head IT, R.T. Briscoe Nigeria Plc, Keji Olubuade, who said this at the launch of an ICT book: “A Practical Learning Guide To Software Testing”, written by a Chartered Information Technology Professional, Olusola Samuel Fatiregun, in Lagos, said there is no country in the world making progress that has not set good IT policies.

He noted that government needs to redirect youths on the path of greatness, as there are lots of data and inventions that the country is yet to tap into in this era of business data, adding that incentives and other opportunities should be made available for IT companies.

“We are missing a lot, our youths have been lost to crime, and these are the youths that can propel this nation to greatness. Revenue that should come into the country to develop infrastructure and other things are being lost to foreigners. We outsource our jobs to Indians and other foreigners. We need to get our policies right, we need to understand that IT is something we need to get to the promise land.”

The author, Fatiregun, who described the book as a guide for anyone converting into ICT, said considering that the country has a lot of human resources and graduates who are unemployed, the book is a great opportunity for individuals. Even if they have not done any course relating to ICT in their first degree or Diploma, it can be used to increase their chances of getting good employment.

“We tried it for over 15 years in United Kingdom, and many years in the Netherlands, a lot of Nigerians living in Diaspora have benefitted from our training. The book is a combination of theory and practical that will rapidly help the learners to become an ICT professional.

“My audience is very wide, the young, the adult and the elderly. People come to me for different reasons to learn, it targets any individuals looking at ICT as a way of making a living.”

Fatiregun said Nigeria needs to diversify from oil to ICT, noting that countries without oil have used ICT to leverage their economy, like Rwanda, years after the war.

“This is to tell you that ICT is a good substitute to oil, not only does oil dries up, knowledge never dries up. Government knows that ICT is the way forward, I don’t know if they don’t want to take the bold step, or they are getting the wrong advice, we need government to invest massively to take the country higher.”

0 Comments