ICT Expert Urges FG To Establish Agency

The President, Nigeria
Internet Group (NIG), Mr Bayo Banjo, has urged the Federal Government to establish an agency to properly fund research in Information, Communication and Technology.
In a telephone interview our correspondent in Lagos, Banjo said that adequate funding would facilitate innovation and improvement of local content in the sector.
“It is imperative for Nigeria, as a developing nation, to earmark a considerable amount of the national budget to research and development of ICT and scientific processes,” he said.
The NIG president said that institutions like the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS), should be properly funded to carry out researches that would improve the quality of life in the society.
“Through proper research and dissemination of sound scientific knowledge, we can develop local solutions to major national problems,” he said.
Banjo said that ICT was capable of facilitating economic growth because its functions cut across sectors.
According to him, the industry can contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), if research produces local innovations that are well-marketed.
Banjo cited foreign ICT innovations and scientific processes such as mosquito repellent, air conditioners, battery- powered television sets and refrigerators, that are imported into the country because of their peculiar nature.
The NIG president urged government to give funding of research a priority, to enable Nigeria to be an exporter of innovative applications and processes.