*Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO of Nigerian Communications Commission, urges youths to embrace digital skills acquisition and application as the Federal Government has instituted a vision for connected communities of high-speed Broadband access and connectivity in the country

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

The adoption and utilisation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is synonymous with empowerment, as it transforms processes efficiently acting as an enabler of effectiveness in operations in every sector of the economy, including commerce, agriculture, health, security and governance.

Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), stated this on Thursday, January 13, 2022, while delivering the 10th and 11th combined Convocation Lecture of the Fountain University, in Osogbo, Osun State capital.

Cross-sections of participants at the University’s Concovation Lecture聽

The NCC EVC/CEO, who presented a paper titled: 鈥淓mpowering the Nigerian Youth though Information and Communication Technology鈥�, recalled the impact of ICT revolution in all parts of human endeavour across countries and continents.

RELATED: NCC EVC Urges Nigerian Youths On Proper Application Of Digital Skills, ICT Tools

Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Director of Public Affairs at NCC, Thursday disclosed Prof. Danbatta maintained that technology would continue to penetrate and foster qualitative and quantifiable changes in all aspects of life.

Global brands鈥� application of ICTs

According to Danbatta, in all continents of the world, people, organisations and countries have continued to witness leaps and bounds in economic, social and political activities through instrumentality of ICTs.

The application of ICTs has meshed computing, information and communication technology to catalyse development in ways and manners humans never envisaged decades ago, he stated.

READ ALSO: NCC EVC Danbatta To Deliver Convocation Lecture At Fountain University

According to the NCC Chief, Uber, the world鈥檚 largest taxi company, owns no vehicle; Airbnb, the world鈥檚 largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate; Facebook, world鈥檚 most popular public-facing digitally-mediated social networking platform, creates little or no content; Alibaba, a leading global retailer, has little or no inventory, yet they have become signposts of prosperity riding wholly on ICT resources.

L-R: Dr Kikelomo Sallee, Registrar of Fountain University; Prof. Amidu Sanni, Vice-Chancellor, Fountain University; Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission and Convocation Lecturer; Vice-Admiral Jubrila Ayinla, Pro-Chancellor, Fountain University; Alhaji Yinka Adeola, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Fountain University; and Alhaji Ma’aruf Onike, Chief Missioner, NASFAT

It would be a failing prophecy decades ago, if anyone had said a company with no vehicle, just via an application, will control more than 75 million active commercial drivers in at least 80 countries of the world.

It would also be contested that through a mere app, a company will provide accommodations to millions of travellers and tourists in over 100,000 cities across the world.

READ ALSO: NCC Chief Highlights Benefits Of Digital Literacy In Socio-Economic Transformation

Danbatta also noted: 鈥淪imilarly, just as Alibaba, without inventory, had over 828 million annual active customers across its China retail markets, as at June 2021.

鈥淣eedless to mention that the troves of contents synonymous with Facebook are actually generated by its 2.89 billion monthly active users.鈥�

Government鈥檚 vision for high-speed Broadband access, connectivity

The NCC EVC/CEO further stated that the foregoing contextual demonstrations of the possibilities of ICT explain Federal Government鈥檚 policy decisions to strengthen ICT adoption in building a robust digital economy in Nigeria, eloquently expressed in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030; the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP), 2020-2025; and other series of policies, guidelines and regulations derivative of the NDEPS and NNBP.

Cross-sections of participants at the event

He explained that adoption of digital revolutions by government is creating multiplier effects across critical sectors, aiding job creation, better governance, youth empowerment and overall socio-economic development.

Telecoms/ICT contribution to Nigerian economy

Danbatta said: 鈥淚t is the reason this objective reality is cited as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

READ ALSO: NCC Urges Stakeholders To Activate Digital Economy For Diversification, Transformation

鈥淚ndeed, for over 10 years, ICT has consistent contributed more than 10 percent of the Nigeria鈥檚 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 鈥� the telecom sector alone contributed 12.45 per cent to GDP as at the fourth quarter of 2020.鈥�

Given that Nigeria accounts for 82 percent of Africa鈥檚 ICT market and 29 percent of continental Internet usage and sub-Sahara Africa being the fastest growing region for ICT adoption, the Federal Government, in its determination to ensure that the nation harness full benefits of ICT, instituted a Broadband vision that will see Nigeria as a society of connected communities of high-speed Broadband access and connectivity.

The EVC said the envisioned society will deliver Internet connectivity speed 10 megabits per second (Mbps) in rural areas and 25 Mbps in urban areas by 2025. Additionally, effective coverage will be available to, at least, 90 per cent of the population by 2025 at a price not more than N390 per one gigabyte of data.

Explicating further, the professor of telecommunications engineering informed the audience that the NCC has connected to the policies of government through its Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024 and the Strategic Vision Plan (SVP), 2021-2025, which streamline the provision of key extant policies for effective implementation by the Commission.

The NCC said Danbatta, therefore, passionately appealed to the Nigerian youths to take advantage of Federal Government鈥檚 laudable policies, which have found expression in the Commission鈥檚 several activities targeting the youths.

鈥淭hese activities and interventionist programmes has, as primer, the ICT Hubs Support and Engagement programme, which brings youths together in the Nigerian tech ecosystem to deliberate and recommend frameworks and strategies for the development of the sector,鈥� the Commission stated.

According to Danbatta, the overarching objective of the engagement is to harness the innovative and creative energy of the young people to promote ICT innovation and entrepreneurship, provide the linkage between policy makers, industry, entrepreneurs and tech enthusiasts to leverage the power of digital technology through local content development.

鈥淭his engagement and collaboration aligns with the Commission鈥檚 policy of inclusiveness which by the reckoning of development scholars, is imperative for growth and development,鈥� the NCC CEO noted.

Earlier in his welcome address, Prof. Olalekan Sanni, Vice-Chancellor of Fountain University, described Prof. Danbatta as an accomplished academic and administrator.

Prof. Sanni said Danbatta鈥檚 wealth of experience was considered worthy of tapping into by the University community towards proffering solutions to the issue of youth empowerment and to suggest ways for enhancing Nigeria鈥檚 socio-economic life through effective leveraging of ICT.

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