He gave this advice at the third quarterly forum of the
Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) in Lagos at the weekend,
with the theme: Local Content Development in Nigeria’s ICT Sector: Stimulant
for National Economic Recovery.”
ITREALMS
gathered there are over 520
languages spoken
in Nigeria alone, while the major languages are Igbo, Urhobo, Hausa, Yoruba,
Ibibio, Fulfulde, Edo, Pidgin English, Ijaw, Kanuri, and Tiv, to name a few.
Out of 520, nine was reported to have gone extinct.
As
said by him, Nigerians and Africans as a whole need to re-identify themselves
by changing their electronic device passwords, to make it somewhat difficult
for hackers, because they have to contend with various African languages,
outside adding special characters and numbers.
“We
need to re-identify ourselves by changing our passwords so that whoever will
hack you will need to first learn your language,” he declared.
Uwaje popular known as the Oracle of the Nigerian IT
Industry, also said that software is a language not only a code, stressing that
capacity building for local content emancipation should come from bottom-up,
starting from kindergartens, primary schools, post-primary schools and
tertiaries.
He also urged the various industry regulators to catch-up
with disruptive tendencies within the ICT sector, Uwaje pointed out that
services, constitute two-third of ICT sector, and advised that services should
not be outsourced to foreigners.
Equally, Uwaje identified collaboration as the missing
link in stimulating local content for development for national economic
recovery.
Therefore, he asked Nigeria to declare what the nation
wants to achieve out of technology, that way its goals and mission could be
streamlined towards achieving same.
ITREALMS
recalled that NITRA, established since November 2013 serves as the umbrella
body of all practicing ICT journalists in Nigeria, cutting across the print,
broadcast and online media, with a vision to drive ICT development and ensure
accurate and robust ICT reportage.
NITRA chairman, Mr. Emma Okonji in his opening speech,
said that in line with this noble vision, the association decided to make it a
point of duty to organize quarterly seminar, where issues of national interest
will be discussed.
According to him, since the incursion of financial
technology (FinTech) players into the polity, has led to digital disruption in
the banking sector and Nigeria has witnessed the growth of several FinTech and
technology startups.
FinTechs and startups, he said, have developed home grown
technology solutions with the best of quality and are commercially viable in addressing
specific and organizational challenges, but they lack support and patronage
from the government agencies and organisations who still prefer foreign
software and hardware solutions to the detriment of locally developed products.
NITRA, therefore, called on the federal government to as
a matter of urgency, formulate new policies and ensure full implementation of
such policies that will protect local content in Nigeria.
Chuks Egbune/GEE
Pix: Chief Chris Uwaje
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