High-tech election campaign means Buhari can’t ignore digital economy

Technology played an influential role in helping President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari become the first Nigerian to oust an incumbent president, however, there are mixed reactions over the expected change in numerous sectors especially ICT, writes Dan Ojabo

Technology played an influential role in helping President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari become the first Nigerian to oust an incumbent president.

From social media campaigning to biometric card readers which prevented widespread rigging that marred previous elections, Buhari’s high-tech election campaign means he cannot ignore Nigeria’s blossoming digital economy.

“The digital strategy has been a lifeline of the campaign for young people. We needed to create an image that enabled people to connect with him,” Adebola Williams, whose Lagos-based communications company, StateCraft, orchestrated Buhari’s digital drive, told Reuters.

However, since this is the first time an incumbent democratically elected president will be handing over to a candidate of the opposition party, there are mixed reactions over the expected change in numerous sectors – especially the Information and Communications Technology Sector (ICT).

Nigeria is perhaps Africa’s biggest technology center today, with a population approaching 200 million. The strides made by President Jonathan in the ICT sector have made Nigeria the largest internet market in Africa by volume, with over 80 million users today – leading to an increase in the contribution of the sector to the GDP.

Predictions for Africa in 2015 by the International Data Corporation (IDC) singled out Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda as key countries in which ICT growth will be a strong driver of GDP growth in 2015.

With a large population of urban, tech-savvy young people, however, Nigeria is likely to see accelerated growth of its digital economy.

“In the last four years it has become a lot easier and cheaper to get the Internet on your phone. It isn’t exclusive anymore,” Williams said, arguing that going online is no longer a luxury, despite most Nigerians living on less than $2 a day.

The Federal Ministry of Communication Technology (FMCT) created in 2011 and currently led by Omobola Johnson has been one of the shining lights of this administration – support for Nigerian Start-Ups through the ministry has been unprecedented.

Balogun Danjuma, founder of 9jaBookings.com, a start-up that was among the finalists of the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Programme, described Johnson as Nigeria’s best performing technology minister ever.

“We don’t know any other past technology minister and she is among the top five most performing minister in this administration,” Danjuma told ITWeb Africa.

He commended the Minister for being readily available and regularly attending events, including through social media.

While he believes Johnson could serve in the incoming government as minister, he advised that if the Buhari-led government would replace her, it should be with someone better, and younger.

He added the successes recorded by Johnson were because the former President allowed her to perform.

“I think it is possible for her to work under the APC government since she’s not really a strongly political person – she is more of a technocrat than politician. But if APC will change her, it should be with someone that is better. A much younger person should be given that position – someone like Funke Opeke of MainOne or Valentine Obi of eTranzact,” Danjuma said.

It is believed that Nigeria has the potential to build on its consistent growth established over the years and also achieve a significant reduction in the poverty level of the nation and eventually become a top-20 economy by 2030.

But in order to achieve this, emphasis has to be laid on capitalizing on its strength and also positioning itself to take advantage of emerging global trends.

In the first decade of the millennium, these new technologies had a lesser impact on the Nigerian economy than on other emerging economies. However, Nigeria today has the potential to see accelerated growth of its already blooming internet economy.

Against a backdrop of unrelenting growth, the Internet continues to change and evolve. The internet has become an essential catalyst of the 21st Century as it adds value across key sectors of the Nigerian economy.

President Jonathan alluded to the importance of the internet to national development – inaugurating a Presidential Committee for a national broadband strategy and roadmap on the 20th of Sept 2012.

There are over 80 million active internet subscriptions in Nigeria today. States like Lagos, Cross River, Ondo and the FCT Abuja have become Smart cities. Anambra, Gombe, Osun and Delta will become Smart States soon. Companies like Jumia, Paga, Konga, and Wakanow did not exist in 2011. The cost of internet access has dropped noticeably – moving Nigeria up the 2014 Affordability Index.

 

Dan Ojabo