News
President Vows To Defend National Unity …Orders ICT Inclusion In Schools Curriculum
Those seeking the disintegration
of the country are “lazy politicians seeking to be kings in tiny islands’’,
President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday in Abuja.
Jonathan spoke while declaring
open a National Summit and Rally for Peace, Unity and Development, oganised by
the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The president noted that the
strength of the nation is in its size, population and diversity and his
administration remained committed to its unity.
“I agree with other speakers that
we cannot talk about cannibalising and balkanising Nigeria.
“I think those who are thinking
that way want to be kings in tiny islands, because I believe from the little I
know that Nigeria is still rated as a country to look at globally. It’s not
because we produce oil and some people think it’s because of our oil.
President Jonathan underscored the
need for Nigerians to embrace peace as a pre-requisite for achieving the
desired development.
He decried the present development
where communication towers and equipment had become the target of destruction
by some disgruntled elements.
Jonathan noted that such negative
trends by saboteurs impacted negatively on the economy and made it difficult to
move a modern society forward.
The president commended the NLC
for organising the summit adding that it was in line with government’s position
of seeking consensus in nation building and sustainable development.
He urged the organiser to use the
summit to open discussion on home-grown strategies in confronting the
challenges of security, peace and development.
He enjoined the NLC to also
continue in its quest for a peaceful Nigeria and join hands with his
administration to work for the overall development of the country.
Earlier, Edo governor, Adams
Oshiomhole, identified disconnect between the political class and the masses,
unemployment, corruption, anti-masses policies, among others, as causes of
disunity and crises in the country.
He noted that economic growth and
development could only be measured when it trickled down to the masses and the
generality of the society.
Oshiomhole called for a review of
the revenue allocation formula to allow for a reduction in the resources
accruing to the Federal Government in favour of states and local governments.
Chairman of the occasion and
former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, said the dimension of the current
security challenges had made it imperative for all Nigerians to come together
to proffer solutions.
He noted that without a unity of
purpose and unity of all ethnic nationalities there would be no peace, security
and meaningful development.
President Goodluck Jonathan
yesterday expressed deep concern that many nations are currently placed above
Nigeria because the country was not part of past developmental revolutions.
Speaking in Abuja at the inauguration
of the Presidential Committee on Broadband, he said the nation cannot afford to
let the opportunity to participate in the Information Communication Technology
passed by.
To this end, he directed the
Ministry of Education to incorporate ICTs in school curriculum.
Explaining the importance of
Broadband, he said it has the potential to facilitate the creation of new
industries and introduce significant efficiencies into existing ones in all
sectors of the economy.
He also revealed that the National
ICT policy has set a target of a five-fold increase in broadband penetration by
2017.
To achieve this lofty goal, he
said it had become imperative that a proper and feasible plan is articulated
and hence, government constituted the committee to develop a comprehensive
broadband roadmap for the country.
The committee co-chaired by Engr
Ernest Ndukwe and Jim Ovia is expected to come up with a Broadband strategy and
roadmap for the country. It has three months to turn in its report.
The president also explained why
the Ministry of Communication Technology was separated from the Information
ministry, saying it was for the country to leverage on the abundance
opportunities in ICT sector.
He said: “It is a fact that
broadband access and Internet technologies are a key enabler of socio-economic
growth and the attainment of a fully knowledge-based economy.
“It is important to start thinking
of how to build a digital economy particularly in this era of the knowledge
economy. The critical factor here is that we are in the middle of a digital
economy particularly in this era of the knowledge economy. Therefore, the
Ministry of Education must incorporate ICTs in our National Education
Curricular beginning from the Primary School Level because, if we desire to raise
the global ICT leaders of tomorrow, we should not burden them with the
disadvantage of starting out late. Celebrated innovators of today, like Bill
Gates, founder of Microsoft and Mark Zukerberg, founder of Facebook, discovered
their love for software development between the ages of 9 and 12.”
He said that the administration’s
was committed to revolutionising the country through ICT, he explained that the nation has made huge investment in the deployment and
adoption of Information and Communications Technologies as a driver of National
Transformation.
