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Monday, February 10, 2014

Why FG, IBM collaborate on TechDevelopment in Nigeria



 
Reasons have began to emerge on why the Federal Government through the Ministry of Communication Technology (CommTech) and International Business Machines (IBM) recently collaborated on technology development to boost Nigerian economy, reports ITRealms.

According to a joint press statement made available to ITRealms by Mrs. Efem Nkanga, the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, disclosed that the Ministry coordinated a Ministerial Roundtable with IBM with a view to identifying technology adoption opportunities in the country and promoting the exchange of ideas between key government officials and IBM’s senior leadership team. 

ITRealms gathered that IBM had earlier identified what was described as ‘Grand Challenges’ of Africa and Nigeria in the areas of water and sanitation, energy management, financial services, transportation and public safety, healthcare and agriculture.

Also, ITRealms gathered that the roundtable was aimed at initiating conversations between IBM subject matter experts and a high level government team with the Ministries’ most affected by these ‘Grand Challenges’ represented by their Ministers or Permanent Secretaries.

These include the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Education, Finance, Federal Capital Territory, Health, Interior, National Planning, Communication Technology and Science & Technology.

The discussions, however, centered on the various processes necessary for facilitating the adoption of smart government solutions to enhance the development of Nigeria in the area of healthcare delivery, government to citizen engagement, transparency and accountability in government as well as deploying ICTs for inclusive development.

Speaking at the occasion, CommTech Minister, Mrs. Omobola Johnson said that technology is a key driver of economic and social development that should be adopted to facilitate the development of key sectors of the economy for the benefit of Nigerians.

The Ministry is committed to ensuring that ICT is leveraged to enhance and facilitate the transformational development of Nigeria in critical sectors of the economy such as Power, Health, Education, Agriculture, Interior to enable inclusive development, job creation, transparency of governance and economic growth,” he said.

For IBM’s chairperson and chief executive officer, Mrs. Virginia M. Rometty, her firm has historic ties with Nigeria, and expressed support for Nigeria’s technology development agenda being coordinated by the CommTech Ministry. Stressing the company’s commitment to Nigeria’s scientific and technology developmental goals.

Technology innovation is a key ingredient for social and economic transformation, and critical for crossing the innovation divide. I am encouraged to see the Ministry of Communication Technology spearheading technology reforms in Nigeria, encouraging investment in key building blocks of growth such as education and skills, digital and physical infrastructure and scientific and technical research,” she said, maintaining that IBM will partner with the government, businesses, academia and innovators to aid the adoption of new technologies which will tangibly support efforts to spur development in Nigeria.

Ms Rometty underscored IBM’s capacity to plug into the local technology ecosystem, supporting e-commerce and e-government initiatives, spurring the transfer and commercialization of new technologies from academia to industry, and deploying IBM’s proven assets and research capabilities to help resolve “some of Africa's most pressing challenges such as energy, water, human mobility, agriculture, healthcare, financial inclusion and public safety.

Remmy Nweke
 
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D
Pix: Mrs Johnson, Mrs Rometty and Mrs Ngozi Okonji-Iwella Short URLs: goo.gl, mcaf.ee, cli.gs

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