Technology giant, SystemSpecs, has supported calls for collaboration to engender the sustainability of Nigeria’s fast-growing ICT sector.
According to an Executive Director of SystemSpecs, Deremi Atanda, the superstructure that holds the fabric of the society has shifted from physical engagement to one dominated by technology in the post-COVID-19 era. Nigeria, therefore, needs to harness these emerging opportunities through productive collaborations at various levels.
The technology expert and public analyst spoke as a panellist during a recent webinar organised by the Telecommunications and Technology Sustainability Working Group (TTSWG), themed, ‘Collaborations for a Resilient ICT Sector.’
Atanda reiterated strategy, planning and actions as key areas to drive collaborations that work while highlighting that awareness plays an integral part in this campaign. He suggested some actionable steps including the embedding of sustainability in the training curriculum at various levels, a handbook that captures the history of ICT in Nigeria and documentation of top 100 ICT projects created by Nigerians in Nigeria or diaspora.
Citing the situation in which 50 to 60 per cent of federal government workers were asked to work from home at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Atanda described the use of technology as the new normal. He also noted that SystemSpecs supported government at both federal and state level with computers and broadband connectivity in order to keep functioning optimally while employees worked remotely.
In telecommunications and technology, as in any other sector, partnerships between the government, the commercial sector, and civil society, are required for sustainable development. The TTSWG webinar brought together an array of sector stakeholders to chart pathways for an inclusive and sustainable ICT sector at the national, state, and local levels. During the webinar, there were discussions with leading sector experts, focusing on the need for partnerships between key stakeholder groups to address the stumbling blocks to sustainable development within the booming ICT sector.
