2024 Agenda: Consolidating sector’s gains to drive innovation 

ADEYEMI ADEPETUN, in this report, writes on the need to consolidate the ICT/telecoms sector’s growth in 2024, while tackling its perennial challenges.

Remarkably, the information and communications technology sector has remained a major pillar of Nigeria’s economy, contributing significantly to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

As of the third quarter of 2023, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the sector contributed 15.97 per cent to Nigeria’s real GDP.
The ICT sector is segmented into four activities: telecommunications and information services, publishing, motion picture/sound recording/music production and broadcasting.

For emphasis, the ICT sector in Q3 recorded a growth rate of 6.69 per cent in real terms, year-on-year. This was driven largely by activities in the telecommunications sub-sector, which contributed 13.5 per cent to the GDP in the real term.

The closest sub-sector to telecoms in the ICT sector in terms of contribution was broadcasting, which added 1.39 per cent. According to the NBS data, the ICT sector contributed 11.57 per cent to the total Nominal GDP in the 2023 third quarter, higher than the rate of 9.58 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2022 and lower than the 14.83 per cent it contributed in the preceding quarter.

The sector has been projected to contribute more to the economy going forward, owing to various Federal Government pronouncements among others.

Indeed, the change of baton in the leadership of the sector, from Prof. Isa Pantami to Dr. Bosun Tijani, kickstarted a new wave of developments for the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy. These developments, stakeholders said needed to be consolidated to further transform the sector and ensure it contributed more to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda for the country.

Notable milestones
In the last five months, the sector under Tijani started visibly with the launch of the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme to train three million Nigerians in tech skills over the next four years.

According to the Ministry’s BluePrint, in the first phase of the programme, 30,000 Nigerians have been selected and are currently undergoing training in different IT skills areas including cybersecurity, data analysis, search engine optimisation (SEO) among several others.

According to Tijani, the programme is aimed at building Nigeria’s technical talent backbone to power its digital economy and position Nigeria as a net talent exporter. Recall that on assumption of office as Nigeria’s president, President Tinubu said he would create one million digital jobs. The minister said the 3MTT is critical to creating digital jobs.

The ComTech Minister went on to announce the development of the National AI Strategy, with the hope of creating 6000 AI-focused startups.
Getting this done, the Federal Government listed 45 startups and individuals for the Nigeria Artificial Intelligence Research (NAIR) scheme.

Each of the 45 startups and individuals is to receive a N5 million grant from the government to develop their AI projects.

According to the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, the selected AI researchers cut across healthcare, agriculture, finance, and education, and they can propel Nigeria’s tech landscape onto the global stage.

In terms of the development of the Startup Ecosystem, the Federal Government has announced plans to help startups raise a total of $5 billion in funding rounds by 2027.

Tijani said the primary objective of the ministry is to stimulate the growth and sustainability of startups, with a specific focus on those developing innovative solutions for critical sectors of the economy.

“Recognising the critical role of patient capital in the growth of startups, we are committed to increasing the local availability of patient capital. We intend to create an environment for startups to raise the funding required to thrive locally and promote the domiciliation of startups within our nation,” Tijani said.

Earlier in June, President Bola Tinubu signed the Nigeria Data Protection Bill 2023 into law. The new law provides a legal framework for protecting and regulating personal information in the country.

Recall that the Data Protection Bill was introduced to the Senate and House of Representatives for consideration and passage on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 via a letter from former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Now an Act, the new law establishes the Nigeria Data Protection Commission and replaces the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) established by President Buhari in February 2022.

Repositioning the telecoms sub-sector
The coming of Dr Aminu Maida as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was welcomed in the industry. Knowing the challenge of subscribers, especially as regards quality of service, during his first meeting with stakeholders in Lagos, he directed telecoms operators to ensure QoS translates into quality of experience (QoE).

Maida, who assured that NCC would be transparent in regulating the sector, said that quality of service in the telecommunications sector is non-negotiable.

According to the NCC boss, quality of service (QoS) should translate to quality of experience (QoE), stressing that customers’ interest should be prioritised.

“People expect telecom services to work. I don’t think they really appreciate what it takes to deliver these services. So, it has come to a stage where they just see telecoms service as a utility like water and electricity. Like a social service, it needs to work. We need to come together in the industry and deliver value to the customer,” he said.

Maida has equally stated that SIMs not linked to the owner’s National Identification Number (NIN) would stop working from March. NCC gave telcos up till February 28, 2024 to completely bar unlinked SIMs. Several millions of telephone lines will be affected.

Driving sustainable growth
While appreciating the duo of Tijani and Maida, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said in 2023, the industry fared well, despite the socio-economic problems in the country.

Adebayo said the industry needs stability of infrastructure, stressing that this has a direct bearing on QoS, saying if the infrastructure is not stable, there cannot be a better user experience.

He called for a look into the causative factors on some of the challenges confronting service quality, which he said could be a result of the behavior of various government actors and willful damage of infrastructure by the public because of some communities seeing telecoms sector as extractive, among others. He said there is a need to accord the telecoms sector the Critical National Infrastructure status for the sector’s global recognition.

Adebayo said the sector needs foreign exchange to carry out major upgrades and expansion. He said the sector players have an international commitment that requires servicing with foreign exchange. He also lamented the impact of multiple taxation, stressing that the sector faces about 50 different taxes.

From his perspective, Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy Advisor and Founder, Jidaw.com, Jide Awe, said meeting the National Broadband Plan (NBP) targets for Internet connectivity rollout is crucial.

Awe said enhancing service quality and infrastructure security is essential to meet the standards of a dynamic digital economy.
According to him, challenges like high right-of-way charges, multiple taxation, insecure infrastructure, and bureaucratic bottlenecks faced by telecom operators must be tackled.

Inspired by the Katsina State Governor’s example, he said state governors should be encouraged to see the long-term value of removing such barriers.

The Jidaw.com boss said essential to an inclusive digital economy is addressing data/infrastructure affordability and providing reliable, affordable Internet access to the unserved and underserved.

To achieve this, he said Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and innovative finance mechanisms need to be examined for infrastructure financing.

Awe said investing in skills development through relevant tech skills training programmes, internships and mentorship is essential to address the talent gap. He said the 3MTT initiative should be sustained, and similar programmes encouraged.

According to him, there should be support for digital literacy initiatives and skills development programmes at all education levels to equip Nigerians with future-of-work skills, with special attention to marginalised groups.

Going forward
For AyoOla Oke, a telecoms lawyer, in 2023, there was a major shift in the administration of the sector with the coming of Dr. Tijani, whom he said has been in the sector before now, relatively young and a professional to drive the industry. He said the availability of such a person was lacking prior to this time.

Taking a swipe at the former leadership of the ministry, Oke said the former minister managed the sector badly, especially by stylishly trying to force the controversial NITDA Bill on the industry.

“Should the minister have succeeded in forcing the bill on the sector; it would have spell doom on the industry. He was forceful about it and moved about with it as if the ministry was his estate. The bill should not resurface again,” he stated.

He tasked NITDA to focus on its developmental agenda and ensure that Nigeria is positioned strategically well in the global space.

Oke asked NCC to be transparent, professional and committed to industry development, stressing that there was regulatory capture of the regulator under former Minister Pantami.

While calling on the new leadership of the NCC to be pro-consumers, stressing that such a strategy would ensure access is expanded, Oke called for a quick fix of all the challenges facing the sector, especially RoW and multiple taxation.