The DG of the agency, Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi, made the call in  Abuja on Tuesday in his address at the ongoing 2023 Digital Nigeria Conference.

He noted that digital innovations reshape societies and economies, adding that it is now redefining the very essence of identities.

Outlining the vision of the 2023 Digital Nigeria Conference, he said it would help in leveraging digital technology to stimulate job creation, ensure inclusive economic growth, and lay the foundation for a robust digital economy.

“We are living in a world of technological advancements, where futuristic dreams of yesterday are becoming reality in today’s products and services. Digital innovations have empowered individuals and nations, transforming the way we think, communicate, and socialise, reshaping societies and economies, and redefining the value of our identities,” Abdullahi said.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, noted that the push for digital transformation aligns seamlessly with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He cited the pivotal role digitalisation plays in building a resilient economy, citing its contributions to job creation, improved information access, heightened productivity, data-driven decision-making, and the expansion of opportunities for small and medium-scale enterprises.

“It is widely acknowledged that digitalisation plays a foundational role, akin to public infrastructures in earlier industrialisation periods, and investing in it is a prerequisite for participating in the global knowledge economy. Digital technology presents tremendous opportunities to expedite progress toward sustainable development goals, while also having the potential to widen socioeconomic disparities in a developing nation like Nigeria,” the minister said.

The conference scheduled to end Thursday (tomorrow) aims to provide opportunities for youth networking and financial empowerment, fostering conversations, innovations, and aspirations.

The DG stated that the country ticks all the boxes in terms of size, population, youth demography, government support, and legal and regulatory framework.

At the 2023 Digital Life Design (DLD) conference in Munich, Kashifu said in two decades, there would be a global shortage of 85 million IT professionals, advising the world not to overlook Nigeria.

“The average age in Nigeria is 19. We have the demographic advantage to become the global IT talent factory”, the NITDA chief stressed.

Kashifu expressed concern that Africa is almost ignored because “some people think nothing happens there economically anyway”.

He cited Mo Ibrahim who founded a mobile phone company in Sudan but was advised against it since the people were poor.

The IT expert recalled that after a few years, the entrepreneur sold Celtel, now active in 13 countries, for 3.4 billion dollars.

“Nigeria has 15 percent of the continent’s 1.4 billion population and a significant percentage of its GDP.

“Of the seven African unicorns (start-ups) worth more than a billion dollars, five are from Nigeria”, Kashifu noted.

He added that the government backs tech firms with funds while working on legislation to regulate the IT industry and safeguard investments.

These conditions are stated in the recently released Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries (online platforms).

The National Information Technology Development Agency made this know in a statement on Monday.

The statement read in part, “NITDA wishes to present to the public a Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms/Internet Intermediaries for future review and input.”

The Code of Practice was developed by NITDA alongside the Nigerian Communications Commission and National Broadcasting Commission,with input from platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google, and Tik Tok.

One of such conditions in the Code of Practice is that each online platform is required to have a country representative, who will interface with the Nigerian authorities.

This means that Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google, Tik Tok and other interactive online platforms are required to have country representatives.

Other conditions include registering with the Corporate Affairs Commission as a legal entity, complying with tax obligations, and abide by regulatory and legal demands.

The Code of Practice is aimed at safeguarding the fundamental human rights of Nigerians and non-Nigerians living in Nigeria, and regulating interactions on online platforms.

The Union has also called on well-meaning citizens of the country and government to call the Ministry and NITDA to order; urging them to be “patriotic and ethical” in their conduct by adhering to the reports on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) integrity test.

ASUU disclosed this through its Bauchi Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Lawan Abubakar, while briefing journalists at the University of Jos Secretariat of the Union.

Abubakar said, “As you are all aware, our great Union, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has been on strike since 15th February 2022.

“One out of the seven demands the Union is impressing on the Federal Government to address is the deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) to replace Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) for personnel payments and management in the University System, UTAS was developed to address the peculiarities of the University system which the IPPIS does not in addition to the already observed weaknesses and encumbrances experienced in the University System operations and other MDA’s”, he explained.

“Following the successful development of UTAS by ASUU, the Federal Government of Nigeria directed the Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in line with its core mandate, to carry out Integrity Tests on the software.

“The Tests conducted are User Acceptance Test (UAT), and Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Tests. The summary of the first Tests conducted by NITDA scored UTAS software at 97.4%.

“However, even after scoring UTAS this high, NITDA went further to contradict itself by making a fallacious statement that UTAS has failed Integrity Tests. The Union wonders how a score of 97.4% will amount to failure.

“Despite this, the Union still agreed to another Test by NITDA on 8th March, 2022 in the presence of observers from the Federal Ministry of Education/National Universities Commission (NUC), Federal Ministry of Finance/OAGF, Federal Ministry of Labour & Employment and the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

“This most recent Test still scored UTAS 99.3% in all the Tests metrics, ASUU is therefore surprised that NITDA, having scored UTAS this high on two different occasions, unpatriotically went to the Press to deliberately mislead the public into believing that UTAS has failed Integrity Tests again”, he further explained.

The Zonal Coordinator maintained that “It is worth noting that NITDA was established to promote and encourage homegrown Information Technology solutions as envisioned in the FGN Local Content Act of 2010. Rather than commend ASUU for this great and patriotic feat at no cost to the Government, NITDA is frantically working to suppress and oppress the wholly homegrown solution aimed at advancing the operations of the Nigerian University system.

“It will also interest Nigerians to know that UTAS has been applauded at all fora where it was presented to major stakeholders.

“UTAS, which was developed as a payment platform and for personnel management in accordance with the University Laws is one of the core issues in ASUU’s current struggle. Ironically, NITDA in conjunction with its parent Ministry (The Ministry of Communications) is seriously sabotaging the Government’s efforts at resolving the impasse”, he decried.

“This is obviously capable of prolonging the current strike thereby bringing untold hardship on Nigerian University students and the University system”, Abubakar warned.

“We, therefore, call on well-meaning Nigerians and the Government to call the Ministry of Communications and NITDA to order.

“The Ministry and its parastatal, NITDA, should be patriotic and ethical in its conduct by adhering to the reports on the UTAS Integrity Tests in the interest of ending the current strike”, he stressed.

Director-General NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, made the call at a Webinar organised by a Financial Technology Association of Nigeria with the theme: “COVID-19: Enabling Speedy Business and Economic Recovery Through Regulations,” DailyPost reports.

According to him, traditional banks’ lending processes have long been a barrier to assessing finance for businesses in Nigeria, noting that this was adversely affecting the SMEs operations.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted SMEs around the world, Nigeria inclusive. Our interventions are to help lead the tech startups from crisis to recovery as well as support them to navigate today’s challenging business landscape,” Abdullahi said.

The Director-General, NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi, gave the advice during an online interactive session with Nigerian youths on the topic, ‘Education, Employment & Technology in Nigeria, Gaps & Opportunities Post COVID-19 Pandemic’, which was organised by Global Shapers Community

The NITDA DG explained that acquiring these digital skills would help youth to be self-reliant post-COVID-19 era, adding that they have to remain committed to their talents.

“Nigerian youths should stay committed and focused on their endeavours because time to hold-on to only educational qualifications without prerequisite skills is gone, especially now that the world has changed in different dimensions.

“The outbreak of the novel Coronavirus has been a monumental disaster globally, Nigeria inclusive.

“It has led to unprecedented disruptions to global economy, sharp drop in global crude oil prices, Nigeria economic mainstay and financial markets are struggling; massive loss of employment to the teaming youth, lockdown of schools and institutes of higher learning, among others.

“As of March 28, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing more than 1.6 billion children and youth to be out of school in 161 countries. This is close to 80 per cent of the world’s enrolled students,” he said.