Africa’s leading technology
entrepreneur, Dr. Leo-Stan Ekeh, has urged the Federal Government (FG) to
leverage information and communication technologies (ICTs) in reducing the growing
incidences of corporate debts and usher in an era of unprecedented boom and
sanity in the Nigerian economy, reports ITRealms.
Ekeh made this call while
delivering the Guest Lecture at the maiden edition of the 2018 Nigerian Online
Merit Awards (NiOMA) held last weekend at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.
According to him, technology will
resolve much of the contemporary problems facing the Nigerian state if
holistically applied, noting that the country will benefit immensely if the
government turns to technology in its search for lasting solutions to the
challenges confronting the economy.
He pointed out that the recent revelation
by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) that, about 350
Nigerians account for 80 per cent of its N5.4 trillion debt portfolio and the
refusal of majority of these debtors to liquidate their indebtedness is an issue
that could be easily resolved through the application of technology if there
exists accurate data of how these debts arose.
“It could also be that the
government at different levels, are partially responsible for some of these
debts, especially if they were unable to meet their obligations to some of
these corporates,” he said.
Ekeh acknowledged that the
present debt profile should be a case study for upcoming entrepreneurs or part
of the issues to be dissected by data analysts on why some of these businesses
failed, noting that this may also reveal a lot of insider compromises on the
part of the lenders so that sincere lessons could be learnt and better
structure and systems put in place to avert a recurrence.
“Working in concert with the
Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),
Attorney General of the Federation and the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) for enforcement purposes,” he said.
In addition, Ekeh proffered that AMCON
could leverage a simple technology application that makes it easy to access the
bank balances of debtors across all the various banks in Nigeria.
This, he said, could be a
mandatory requirement for the extension of loans and credit facilities and will
foster more responsible borrowing as the lenders can easily debit the accounts
of borrowers upon due date to recover sums extended.
“This will not only reduce the
growing profile and negative trend of corporate debts, with its attendant
detrimental effect on the economy but will also expose many Nigerians who are
publicly hailed as billionaires but who are only living large off depositors’
money, while frustrating further lending to start ups,” he stated.
Disclosing the many ways he has
relied on technology to ramp up efficiency in his various businesses and
simplify complex processes, Ekeh revealed that by next week, he would be trying
out a new Enterprise application that will simplify transaction with bankers,
irrespective of the numbers.
“This application will give us
control over all of our bank accounts instead of relying on bank staff to
implement our instruction at their convenience.”
He also disclosed that the new
warehouses widely reported as recently acquired by e-commerce giant Konga were
equipped with digital cameras with data analytics and artificial intelligence
capabilities which can easily detect fraud and random inconsistencies such as a
change in the appearance of an individual or item captured on entry into the
facilities. Most importantly, these cameras are cloud based.
Urging the government to commit
more resources to technology in resolving the unemployment challenges and drive
the nation towards rapid development, Ekeh cited the influence of technology in
the political space which has reduced post-election litigations from 87% to
about 33%, noting that this will further reduce to 11% or thereabouts with the
adoption of electronic voting, if funded by the government.
“Technology does not lie; it is
either you are right or wrong. With technology, you can do unimaginable things.
You don’t even need to go through the four walls of a University to acquire
quality education,” Ekeh enthused.
The Zinox Chairman who spoke on
the theme – Leveraging the Internet
Revolution to leapfrog Nigeria’s development – affirmed that Information
Technology will disrupt the Nigerian economy positively by the year 2023,
creating immense opportunities and new wealth for many Nigerians. Noting that
this will happen irrespective of the status of leadership at the helm of
affairs in the country, Ekeh urged attendees at the event to prepare for the
coming disruption.
While appreciating the organizers
and Publisher of News Express, Mr. Isaac Umunna, Ekeh who received the ICT Icon
of the Year award at the event also seized the opportunity to recognize the
media for the long years of support in spreading the ICT gospel, even as he
declared his intention to stand down from participation at many of such future
events in order to allow the younger generation and his son, Prince Nnamdi
Ekeh, founder of Yudala to take the stage as he believes they have better
global education and exposure to lead the nation to the digital promised land.
Among dignitaries in attendance
at the event was former Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe who chaired the event; Lagos State
Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode represented by the Commissioner for Information and
Strategy, Kehinde Bamigbetan; Publisher of the Guardian Newspapers, Mrs. Maiden
Ibru; former Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University and Chairman,
Editorial Board of the Guardian, Prof. Wale Omole and Editor, Vanguard
Newspapers, Mr. Eze Anaba, among others.
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