Nigeria needs technological adoption for rapid development —Experts

Nigeria has been described as one of the leading countries of the world currently using the internet services, with the country boasting almost 100 hundred million internet users as of last year.
The Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, Funke Opeke, who disclosed this, also emphasised the need for Nigeria to accelerate increase technology adoption, adding that a recent survey carried out by the company classified Nigeria as one of the world’s top three consumers of the Internet.

Opeke made this known at MainOne’s flagship ICT event, Nerds Unite, which took place recently in Lagos with the theme, ‘Radical Digital Transformation.’ She stated that aside from connectivity to the Internet, there was the need to work together in increasing the rate of technology adoption, local data hosting and content distribution in Nigeria.

Opeke further stated that it was important to engage technology gurus in sharing ideas and finding new ways of technology to improve standard of living, adding that the conference was a platform designed to bring together professionals from the world of technology.

According to Opeke, “technology is critical to the sustenance of the Nigerian community. There is no way the economy will grow without technology, and the need for radical digital transformation.”

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At the event, other Information and Communications Technology (ICT) experts highlighted the importance of applying technology to every facet of life in line with digital transformation agenda of the Federal Government.

The keynote speaker at the event, Mr Nnamdi Oranye, urged Nigerians to be passionate about the development of their country, adding that technology remained the only way to move the country forward.

Oranye, who is the author of ‘Disrupting Africa’, stated that a recent United Nations survey estimated that Nigeria would be the third largest country in the world by 2050.

He said Nigeria could not afford to fail as a country, adding that Africa would be highly dependent on Nigeria.

According to him, Nigeria is described as a developing country because of its low industrial base.

Oranye further stated that before the country could be developed, technology and innovation had to be used to identify new trends, incentivise actions and develop new ideas. He added that people should take advantage of available tools to build a legacy for the coming generations.

During a panel discussion centred on ‘Disruptive Solutions for Enterprise,’ the Presales Customer Solutions Manager, SAP West Africa, Mr Chibuzor Ezeasor, said technology could be used to engage customers and the workforce in an organisation.