Expert Urges FG To Implement ICT Recommendations

The Federal Government has been urged to implement all the suggestions forwarded to it by stakeholders for the development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Nigeria.

The President, Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), Mr Ibrahim Tizhe, said that the advice was necessary because several months after the recommendations were made nothing had been heard of them.

He told The Tide  on Wednesday in Lagos that the wide gap between Nigeria and the developed countries in the area of internet penetration should be bridged.

According to him, Nigerians have yet to make full use of the potential of the internet because its usage is still restricted.

He also said that there was a gap in the areas of software development and telecommunications.

“We must recognise that if we must close the gap, we must move very fast.

“There is the need for the government to have the political will to close the gap, so that we can compete favourably in the global village.

“The country has to improve on the infrastructure without which the gap would continue to widen.

“Our ICT policy should be together and not disjointed so that we can have focus,’’ Tizhe said.

He said that Nigerian schools, right from the nursery school to the university level, should be reformed to produce the right quality of manpower required in the ICT sector.

The IT expert said that the schools curricula should be re-worked to enable them to conform with international standards.