As the Nigerian telecommunication sector transforms on the back of technology and digitalization, stakeholders have called for increased indigenous participation and enabling policies to drive quicker adoption and sector growth.
This was discussed at the maiden edition of the Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo), themed facilitating policy implementation to deliver value in the Nigerian telecoms sector organized by Business Metrics Nigeria.
Umar Danbatta, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) mentioned in his presentation that the steady evolution of telecommunications in Nigeria is positioned to drive growth and efficiency in every other sector by supporting the optimization of institutions and processes in the ecosystem.
He added that the government recognizes the need for indigenes to participate actively in the exploitation and transformation of resources for economic growth which is why the National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecom Sector was established
“The National Telecommunications Policy posits that the domestic production of telecommunications hardware and software is necessary to meet local and export demands and drive for national development,” he said.
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Danbatta reiterated that the NCC is committed to promoting indigenous content in the telecommunications sector in order for it to achieve its goals of significant participation, preservation of scarce foreign exchange and improving the lives of Nigerians generally.
He revealed that the NCC has developed an action plan to guide the implementation of the with focus on areas like Manufacturing, Software Development, Compliance Monitoring, Licensing, Funding, People, and Research & Development for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Oluwole Adetuyi, Managing Director and CEO, Swift Telephone Network (STN) in his presentation said that data and technology is the new oil and for Nigeria to enjoy its benefits, it must use local companies to drive the digital economy especially through effective and enabling government policy.
Adetuyi represented Dare Folorunsho, Chief Technical Officer, (STN) highlighted that the government needs to create an enabling environment for the telecommunications sector to thrive, as the lack of regulation has created unhealthy dominance of four major players in the space.
“If Nigeria must play in the unfolding IoT market that is in excess of $20Trillion, it must use its local companies with smaller legacy load to drive faster technology adoption,” he said
He added that direct financial and technical supports must be made available to local companies to stimulate their growth and global presence.
Discussions at the forum focused on the national policy for the promotion of indigenous content in the Nigerian telecommunication sector, hence Omobayo Azeez, Chairman, Organising Committee, PIAFo said in his address that the Nigerian archive is filled with good policies across the various sectors of the economy, but poor implementation has always characterized the system.
He mentioned that policies can be dissected, digested, and driven to effective implementation, and later appraised using measurable metrics to assess their success over time.
“We believe we can only achieve objectives of the policy by creating active dialogue around it to ensure that individual stakeholders understand how they fit into the bigger picture and what role is expected of them to attain these objectives for the greater good of our economy,” Azeez said.
Chidi Ibisi, Executive Director, Business Development Broad-Based Communications Ltd said players in the sector require some enabling conditions such as funds with 7 Interest rate, 10-15 year loans and equity participation, subsidies and grants as well as a pioneer Status for 5 years (Tax Waivers and Duty Waivers).
