We plan to create 30,000 jobs post COVID-19 —Inuwa, DG NITDA

Mr Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi is the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), an agency responsible for the development and innovations in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the country. In this interview by Bode Adewumi, he speaks on sundry issues affecting his agency and the country in general. Excerpts:

By August, it will be exactly one year you were appointed as the DG of NITDA. What could you say about your appointment by President Buhari?

I must say, it was an amazing journey. This isn’t something that I expected or even envisaged. It was indeed a pleasant surprise.  It, however, shows the confidence my boss and mentor, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), has in my ability to the extent of recommending me to President Muhammadu Buhari, to take a giant leap into his shoes. It is a great honour and I am putting in my best not to disappoint my benefactors as well as the country as a whole.

How has it been in the last 10 months in the saddle?

Well, as you may be aware, I am not new in the Nigeria’s ICT industry. I am at home being at the helm of affairs in NITDA. As a person that is open to new approaches and strategies, with the experiences I have gained in the last 15 years in the ICT sector, spanning the private and the public sectors and through unceasing studies, my team and I have worked diligently to ensure the continuous development of the sector in Nigeria over the past 10 months. Remember, I picked it up from a good place to consolidate upon, considering the foundation laid by Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami).

What has been your biggest challenge as DG of NITDA?

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on countries globally. While looking at the management of the pandemic as challenging, it has been a turning point for revolutionising of digital technologies to deliver products and services across the world, which is what we refer to as the new normal. Therefore, we did not miss the opportunity to prepare for the impact of the pandemic and also provide adequate support to insulate the technology and innovation ecosystem.

NITDA’s mandates are diverse, what are the key mandates that you want to focus on during your administration?

You may be aware that NITDA is implementing a strategic roadmap for the development of Nigeria’s ICT sector. It consists of 7 pillars that are in alignment with the 8 pillars of the National Digital Economy Policy & Strategy. The 7 key pillars of our Roadmap are IT Regulation, Capacity Building, Digital Inclusion, Digital Job Creation, Government Digital Service Promotion, Local Content Development, and Cybersecurity.

We have rolled out several policies, regulations, and programmes, focusing on those areas. However, as the roadmap is set to expire this year as is the Nigeria Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) which it draws from. NITDA has already commenced reviewing it as well as developing the next plan, which will soon be launched. It is in alignment with and takes cognisance of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) and other important plans and policies of this administration.

Recently, local OEMs decried poor implementation of the local content policy on PC procurement by MDAs. Being the agency that regulates them, has NITDA waded in to help them get better patronage from the MDAs?

Certainly! NITDA has demonstrated great support and has ensured improved patronage of indigenous OEMs in the last 3 years. It is a fact that the purchase of local devices by MDAs is unprecedented within these years compared to previous years before 2018. For instance, in 2015-2016 less than 250,000 devices were sold by indigenous OEMs. However, due to the intervention of NITDA, records show that in 2018/2019 alone, OEMs sold three times the numbers sold prior to 2017 with about 778,886 of locally assembled devices sold in 2018 and 2019.

However, there are some challenges with the implementation of the Presidential Executive Order 003 for promotion of local contents in the procurement of MDAs and the NITDA issued Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT, which mandates MDAs also to purchase Nigerian hardware products.

NITDA is implementing the Executive Order and Guidelines vigorously through active surveillance and ICT Projects assessment and clearance process of the agency. Nevertheless, procurement law requires OEMs to either bid directly or work with other contractors to bid to ensure transparency and value for money. If MDAs violate the process, NITDA can then be notified for action.

There is also a challenge with the quality of some of the indigenous brands. In an effort to address this challenge, in 2018, we mandated these OEMs to go through a rigorous certification process requiring them to have ISO 9001:2015 for quality management systems. This, we believe, will ensure they are able to provide products that meet quality and regulatory requirements always. Currently, only 3 out of 10 previously registered OEMs have been fully certified.

The Nigeria ICT policy is due for review in the light of the changes in the ICT world. What measures are you taking on this?

Our supervising Ministry, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy handles policy-related issues. You may be aware that there were several attempts at reviewing the policy in 2012, 2013 and 2017. Currently, with Dr Pantami as the Minister, the efforts have resulted in the development of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari, during the 2019 e-Nigeria International Conference, Exhibition and Awards, held on the November 28, 2019. The NDEPS effectively replaces the National ICT Policy.

How is NITDA supporting the Federal Government’s digital economy vision?

You may wish to know that even prior to the re-designation of the Federal Ministry of Communications, to include Digital Economy, NITDA has achieved a lot in that regard, through the implementation of a roadmap for the development of the Nigerian ICT sector which consists of 7 pillars that are in alignment with the 8 pillars of the Digital Economy Policy & Strategy and the Nigeria IT Policy. For instance, in promoting a digital Nigeria, NITDA from August 2019 to date has launched and is implementing the following regulatory instruments: Nigeria e-Government Interoperability Framework (Ne-GIF); Nigeria Cloud Computing Policy (NCCP); Nigeria ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship Vision (NIIEV); Framework and Guidelines for ICT adoption in Tertiary Institutions; Guidelines for Nigeria Content Development ICT as amended; and Data Protection Implementation Framework.

Furthermore, we have different ICT project interventions that we have carried out across the country in the last 1 year  – 80 Digital Capacity Training Centres (DCTCs) with E-Learning facilities, 6 IT Hubs, 6 IT Community Centres, 4 IT Innovation & Incubation Parks, and 3 IT Capacity Training Centres – all with the aim of bridging the digital divide and providing access to the unserved and underserved population.

Nigeria is among the top three countries in Africa attracting the largest investments from Venture Capitalists among its flourishing Technology Startups and Hubs. What is NITDA putting in place to create a conducive environment and support for the Startup Ecosystem?

Nigeria is indeed among the top three countries in Africa, attracting the largest investment from Venture Capitalists for its flourishing Technology Start-ups and Hubs. Interestingly, Nigeria occupied the first position with a total investment of US $747 Million, followed by Kenya with a total investment of US $564 Million and Egypt that attracted a total investment of US $211 Million. In an effort to consolidate these efforts, we have a series of initiatives aimed at providing a conducive environment and support for the Start-up Ecosystem.

COVID-19 affected the global economy and Nigeria was not left out. What is NITDA doing to ensure the economy recovers from the effects of the pandemic?

NITDA has launched several initiatives in order to ensure that technology continues to enable business continuity. You may have followed some of our initiatives like: Tech4COVID19 Initiative – This initiative is set to measure the impact of COVID-19 on the tech ecosystem and proffer solutions especially for startups. The Committee we set-up has come up with a Strategic Plan to ensure we retain about 100,000 ICT Jobs and create an additional 30,000 in the Post COVID-19 Era.

Virtual Startup Clinic – Startups where gathered, mostly young people to meet with mentors, successful entrepreneurs, investors, industry specialists, business consultants and hub operators with the goal of solving problems and challenges they were facing. We held two virtual startup clinics within a time frame of one month.

Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge – An online innovation challenge was held to meet the challenges our society is facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 5 startups with highly innovative ideas were selected for the final challenge and 3 of them were selected for further incubation. A support of ₦1 000,000 ₦750,000 and ₦500,000 were won by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd winners respectively, among many others.

What footprints would you like to be remembered for in the Nigeria ICT space?

Nigeria is where I call home and my vision for NITDA and the ICT space is to leave behind a legacy; to leave an unprecedented record of achievements that will continue to support the growth and development of the ICT sector, thereby contributing meaningfully to the lives of Nigerians.

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