The recent suggestion by American software giant Microsoft Corporation that Nigeria deploy Information and Communication Technology (ICT) more decisively in its battle to reduce unemployment is an excellent one.
Ms Salwa Smaoui, the company’s Public Sector and Government Business Leader for the Middle East and Africa, explained that cutting-edge jobs in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity should be seen as viable growth areas which the country’s youth should be encouraged to work in. Pointing to a deficit of 3.5 million jobs in cybersecurity, she said the country could be at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution by reconfiguring tertiary institutions to produce the personnel which would be needed for newly-evolving professions.
This is sage advice. The exponential rise of the internet, social media, and technology firms like Microsoft, Google and Facebook is a clear indication of where jobs of the future lie. While traditional occupations in industry, agriculture and manufacturing are still important, it is obvious that ICT-related employment has become increasingly significant. A nation with an official unemployment rate of 18.8 per cent as at the third quarter of 2017 cannot afford to overlook this reality.
The ICT sector contributed N1.5 trillion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2017. It accounted for 11.22 per cent to the country’s GDP in the second quarter of 2018. It grew by 15.34 per during the same period.
It is being driven by huge demand for ICT hardware and software, an increasing realization of the ways in which ICT can facilitate existing businesses and encourage the emergence of new ones, and growing numbers of so-called “digital natives,” citizens who fully appreciate the benefits of ICT in their working and personal lives.
In spite of the obvious opportunities for growth in ICT in Nigeria, there are several obstacles which hinder its ability to properly contribute to the resolution of the country’s unemployment problem. There is the paucity of educational and training facilities, the lack of investment in tech hubs and startups, as well as long-standing issues with public electricity supply, internet access and governmental policy.
Countries like China, India, Singapore and South Korea have demonstrated that a deliberate and clearly thought-out programme of ICT development is the surest way for any nation to avail itself of the job-related and other benefits of ICT.
In July, Nigeria launched an ICT roadmap. Since that time, very little has been heard about it. Such policy paralysis is unhelpful if things are to change for the better. One way of halting this is to tie policy to implementation by setting targets and deadlines for specific goals, such as the number of tech hubs, coding schools and ICT professionals the country should have by designated periods in time.
The country must also accelerate its plans to formulate its long-awaited national policy on ICT which is expected to cover infrastructure, internet and broadband, local content development, and legal and regulatory framework. It is essential to creating an enabling environment for the sector to flourish.
Such policy formulations must be accompanied by comprehensive changes to the curricula of the country’s secondary and tertiary institutions. It is incredible that basic coding and programming are still absent from the curricula of most secondary schools in 21st century Nigeria. An increasing emphasis on the opportunities in ICT should be part of the new emphasis on entrepreneurship in tertiary institutions.
‘Nigeria has the right mix of human resources, educational capacity and commercial viability that is vital to benefitting maximally from ICT. What is now required is a clear regulatory environment, consistent government support and the necessary infrastructural provisions’
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