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Lack of Policy Framework, Reason for Low Patronage of .ng Domain Name - Olufuye(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Former President of the Information Technology Association of Nigeria, ITAN Dr. Jimson Olufuye has attributed the low acceptance of Nigeria's domain name .ng among Nigerians and investors to lack of policy framework. He said that although the Nigeria Internet Registration Association, NIRA, has been making some efforts at creating the necessary awareness for people to embrace the domain name, the awareness campaign cannot be enough without backing by legal framework. Olufuye, who was the Chairman, Africa ICT Alliance, AfICTA for more than 20 years spoke to Vanguard Hi-Tech in an exclusive interview in Abuja. He noted that the domain name of a country like Nigeria, with a population of 167 million, cannot be boasting of just mere 50,000 data base of registration, adding that such number, would make it impossible for the domain name to have the desired impact on the economy. "It is not yet having the desired impact on the economy. This is not limited to this single impact, there are other factors impacting on the low awareness, like policy framework, strategy, marketing and popularization of the domain name" he said. Olufuye, currently Chief Executive Officer of Abuja based ICT solution company, Kontemporary, said that to ensure high uptake of the .ng, NIRA should put a mechanism in place that would guarantee prospective users constant and reliable service of the domain name, just like the .com and the .uk. This, he said must be in addition to specific interventions to ensure a good uptake of .ng among Nigerian people, especially the banks and the multi-national companies that lose so much to capital flight in the process of importing foreign platforms and services. "What NIRA must do is to give the assurance that it will remain available because that is what is required 24/7. That is why you do not see banks going for .ng for their critical cloud infrastructure. It needs specific interventions to ensure a good uptake of domain name". Copyright Vanguard. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |