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Expert Laments Low ICT Devt in Nigeria(AllAfrica Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Despite the massive investments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Nigeria, to a large extent, is still digitally isolated from the global village, according to an expert and Marketing Executive of Tchno Brian Westblue, Olawepo Jeremiah. Jeremiah said Nigeria's isolation is because it lacks the critical drive and strategies to harness the full potential of ICT for the socio-economic development of the country. He spoke in an interview with Daily Independent in Abuja. Techno Brain is an African IT company that provides innovative solutions to advance the way organisations to do business. He, however, commended the Federal Government and other agencies for their efforts to develop the ICT infrastructure so as to bridge the digital divide between Nigeria and the developed world. Prominent, according to him, is the development of a national fibre optic network called Galaxy Backbone by the nations ICT power hub by the Ministry of Communication Technology. "Nigeria Telecom (NITEL), the national carrier that is supposed to be at the forefront of ICT development, is certainly struggling and has failed to keep up with the times. For the past decade, the carrier has faced a number of challenges leading to full privatisations of the company. "Though there has been an upsurge in Internet cafes and communication centres all over the country, some prominent Internet Service Providers (ISP) such as MTN Globalcom, Airtel, Visafone among others, continue to charge high tariffs. "The high infrastructure and subscription costs unmatched with quality service by service providers have been a major drawback to the use of ICT in education, research and development," he lamented. While proffering solutions, Olawepo said: "One key solution is to create the necessary awareness in all the organs of government namely the executive, legislature, judiciary and the press. "For us to pull everybody along on the ICT development continuum, it demands the full awareness of our ICT development agenda. All the organs should be made to known the benefits of ICT and how the new ICT policy document can impact the development of the country. "There should be an aggressive human capacity building through training workshops, seminars and courses in collaboration with local and international institutions." Copyright Daily Independent. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |