ISPON sees legislations improve patronage of local software

Two-day code conference begins today
The Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) is of the opinion that legislations on the part of government can adequately improve patronage of local software in the country.

The President of ISPON, James Emadoye, in a telephone interview with The Guardian, yesterday, ahead of the code conference scheduled for Lagos today and tomorrow, said that Nigerians have been largely enslaved to importation of foreign products even in the face of the economic recession.

Emadoye said the problem remains largely on Nigerians, which still go to China and other countries to import ordinarily, things that can be developed in the country, “how can we encourage production through that. So, we need legislation to strengthen software development. Aside from that government too must be committed to it.”

According to him, when the current administration came on board, ISPON visited the Minsitry of Communications and engaged the minister, Adebayo Shittu, “where we drew his attention to an initiative made by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2006, where we gave him copies of the initiative and begged that such should be revisited if we must move the sector forward.”

The ISPON president said government, through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) should put in more effort to ensure that all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) patronise Nigerian software so as to reduce foreign importation.

Emadoye pointed out that it was dangerous to allow foreign software to be dominant in the country’s businesses, government, education and the military.

To remedy this, the ISPON boss called for investment in local software, asking the Bank of Industry to create a software business desk with at least a N5 billion revolving loan to develop the software sector.

Noting that the year 2016 had held a lot of hope for Nigeria with over N16 billion budgeted for computer software acquisition, he said that the IT profession had hoped that significant progress would have been made in the uses and enthronement of Software Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the code conference, which is being championed by Soar On Technologies Ltd in collaboration with ISPON, is aimed at encouraging Nigerian developers on the need to code more so as to be able to take over software development in the country.

Scheduled to hold at Lagos Digital Village, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos for today and tomorrow, Soar On Technologies urged anyone interested in programming, in need of a programmer, a
programmer desiring a change or payment upgrade to participate in the conference.

The firm said the conference would be an opportunity for entrepreneurs to upgrade their skills, adding that participants can register at www.ccn.com.ng.

James Emadoye, the conference would enable Nigerians to see the need to invest on software development, stressing that the country is still very much enslaved to the importation of foreign software, which he claimed has been a major source of capital flight for the country.

Emadoye added that the conference would enable participants to rub minds and chart right path for software industry in the country.