Chijioke Anthony Eke, current chairman and co founder of SIDMACH Technologies Nigeria Limited has said that the Nigerian ICT industry could have been much better than it is today, if it had Federal Government support from the onset.
He said this at the National Information technology Merit Awards (NITMA), constituted by the Nigeria computer Society (NCS, recently held in Lagos, where a number of IT industry experts including him, were conferred with professional fellowship in honor of their achievements and contributions to the ICT industry in the country.
“I think the ICT industry in Nigeria could have done better. However, looking at the industry, in the next few years, something is going to clearly emerge and those that are pro-active, citizen centric and can add value are those that will remain. Those companies that used to sit in America, Europe and Asia have suddenly realised that Africa is the place to be for ICT and you know that one out of every four Africans is Nigerian and one out of every five black people is a Nigerian,” he said.
“Look at the size of our population, all we need to get now is policy direction and I am very excited that the secretary to the government is here and he is a colleague so he knows where the shoe pinches. Our collective responsibility is to kick start. Most people have smart phones or some type of smart device but none is made in Nigeria, how many are even made in Africa. So the challenge before us is to find a way, over the next few years while we are still active, to bring these things down here, not just to assemble because we can see the effect of assembling. Those who assembled IT systems like servers, desktops, laptops are huffing and puffing because the market is not there. Someone needs to be in control,” he added.
Speaking to select journalists at the event, Eke said that acknowledging the efforts of industry players was a step in the right direction as this will engender them to work harder and continue to grow the ICT industry.
“There’s a popular saying that, if you compliment the woman who makes the local salad, she’s likely to take another trip into her kitchen and bring out more sumptuous local salad. This is in the line with the saying that every recognition calls for higher dedication, more productivity and the general betterment of the society and that is what SIDMACH Technologies has done in the last 3 years,” he said.
“When you do your work quietly and you concentrate on the job, you hardly have time for socials, you only have time for committing to your work but people that know your value will spot you right there and that feeling is phenomenal. It is a means of spurring you up to higher dedication to continue to put in solutions and products that make a positive difference in the society because the society requires the influence and impact of IT,” he added.
Adesola Aderounmu, president of NCS, at a press briefing in Lagos to announce NITMA 2015, said that the annual event was intended to honour and reward excellence and outstanding contributions in the Nigeria’s Information Technology Industry.
Talking about the idea behind these annual awards, Aderounmu said, “It is an awards night to celebrate the best of Nigerian Information Technology creativity and innovation that has fundamentally changed, and is still changing the Nigerian nation. Award winners are recognised for being inspiring symbols of the IT community. The Nigerian nation has moved forward because of their contributions. It is honour well deserved. Nigeria, not just the IT community, owes them a huge debt of gratitude.”
The IT personality of the year award was given to Florence Seriki, CEO of Omatek and Etim Amana, CEO of MIS. Special recognition awards were given to Demola Aladekomo, Founder, Chams Plc, Chris Nwannenna, CEO Condata Systems, Ibukun Odusote, Babatunde Fowler, Executive Chairman Federal Inland Revenue Services and Peter Jack, Director General, National Information Technology Agency (NITDA).
JUMOKE AKIYODE
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