Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has revealed that a partnership between Nigeria and Ghana in the IT sector will strengthen bilateral ties and create a more robust IT ecosystem in Africa.
This statement was made by NITDA’s Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, during a three-day working visit by a group from the Ghanaian National Information Technology Agency, NITA, led by its director, Richard Fosu.
The visit was made in order to study Nigeria’s IT regulatory instruments and policy documents and look for potential areas of collaboration, according to a statement released in Abuja on Tuesday by Hadiza Umar, Head of Corporate Affairs and External Relations.
The NITDA Chief stated that African nations could collaborate to boost technological development on the continent by utilising their vast natural and human resources. “A symbiotic partnership between Nigeria and Ghana will spawn disruptive solutions that will address various problems affecting the entire continent,” said Inuwa.
‘‘This kind of trip will improve ties between our two organisations and fortify Africa’s IT ecosystem. No one can achieve in isolation,’’ he said, therefore, if Africa is to succeed as a continent, African nations must cooperate. We must all work together.’’
“In order to collaborate and develop together, we need to learn from our experiences and exchange expertise,” he continued.
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NITDA revealed that Collaboration is critical to the IT ecosystem
The NITDA boss said the Federal Government of Nigeria had identified collaboration as critical in creating an enabling environment for the African IT ecosystem to thrive.
He gave an instance that the NITDA developed various regulatory instruments, policy documents and initiatives to create an enviable IT ecosystem in the country which had recorded huge impacts within the continent and globally.
He reiterated the agency’s commitment to implementing the National Digital Economy policy for digital Nigeria and creating a framework for the planning, research, development, standardisation, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of Information Technology practices in Nigeria and Africa.
According to him, the Agency will continue to focus on its core priorities which are: Developmental Regulation, Digital Literacy and Skills, Solid Infrastructure, Service Infrastructure, Digital Services Development and Promotion, Software Infrastructure, Digital Society and Emerging Technologies & Indigenous Content Development and Adoption.
Ghanaian Delegates on tour
Mr Inuwa took the Ghanaian delegates on a tour of the agency’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team, CERRT, unit.
During the tour, the Director of Ghanaian National Information Technology Agency, NITA, Richard Fosu, applàuded the NITDA for its immense contribution in fostering Nigeria’s IT ecosystem toward a sustainable digital economy.
According to him, NITA’s supervising ministry had also expanded its mandate to include digitalisation and is now known as the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation to project the importance of digitalisation.
Fosu assured that they would key into NITDA’s regulatory instruments and implementation of policy documents.
“We will be working closely with NITDA in bridging the gaps identified in Ghana and Africa as a whole.
“This is not a one-time visit but we will definitely come back. We have come to learn and hope that we can make the needed impact in Ghana,” he said.