OGUN State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun; the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami as well as other stakeholders in the Information Technology (IT) industry has called for a smart, secure, sustainable economy.
They made the at the ongoing Nigeris Computer Society (NCS) International Conference dubbed S3N2022 with the theme: ‘Smart, Secure and Sustainable Nation’.
The conference which commenced today at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, will run till Thursday August 4.
Declaring open the much publicised gathering of IT professionals organized by the NCS, Governor Abiodun said the conference theme couldn’t have come at a better time as recent events point to the need for critical review of governance and government process for better management of scarce resource.
Speaking through the State Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, the Governor said that his administration has been intentional with governance especially in developing initiatives Ogun State Digital Economy Infrastructure Project (OGDEIP), which no doubt leads a path to success to the burgeoning economy of the gateway state and the country at large.
He stated that Ogun has taken hold of the future to make digital access available to all the citizens and businesses and it is the most far-sighted action any government can take in the present time.
According to the governor, the benefits of the digital economy infrastructure to Ogun State are numerous, pointing out that at the climax of COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the State was credited as the first to launch ‘DigiClass’ to facilitate e-learning for the students.
He highlighted other projects such as Ogun Tech Hub, Ogun Job Portal and others, which are geared towards great economic development; access to youths and to attract more investments to drive end results, among others.
The Governor commended the NCS executives for choosing the State as the host of the largest gathering of IT professionals in the country.
On his part, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, who also double as the chairman of the conference, said the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives and its application in all sectors of the state economy, cannot be overemphasised.
Pantami, who is also the chair for WSIS 2022, said that these form the nucleus of the Ministry’s Digital Economy agenda and policy directions.
He words, “The theme for this year’s conference is very apt; three topics merged to one: ‘Smart nation, Secured nation and Sustainable nation’.
“This theme is dear to my heart because it is part of the area I have been working on, particularly, in the academic: ‘Datafication of Society to Foster an Internet Economy’ and ‘Cybersecurity Initiatives for Securing a Country’ and the President of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) is among the reviewers.”
“To cap it all, we must keep emphasizing on skills rather than paper degrees (certificates); this is about a sustainable nation. Without skills we cannot sustain our nation.
“Before you convince people to embrace smart nation initiatives, you need to convince them of the concept with emphasis on the benefits.
“Smart nation is basically about the deployment of digital technology to support and enable operational efficiencies. It saves time, energy and brings peace of mind as well as excitement. As it is in Nigeria today, we do not really have fully developed smart States, but some are work-in-progress.
“There are four States that are picking up like Ogun State where we are today. However, we have some smart estates which are signs that we are developing Internet of Things (IoT) devices installed in these estates,” the minister added.
Pantami tasked conference delegates not to rest on their oars as global economic outlooks point to a need for a smart, secure and sustainable nation and even development.
In his keynote address, the Director General/CEO, National Identity Management Agency (NIMC), Engr. Aliyu Aziz, stated that different economies now depend on smart technologies for survival, hence emphasis on Smart Agriculture, e-learning, Internet of Things and security, respectively.
He said, “As we all are aware, one of the most significant drivers of innovation and competitiveness is information and communication technology. ICT plays a key role in assisting both developed and developing countries.
“In moving towards sustainable growth, then emphasis on smart nation which implies people and businesses are empowered to increase access to data, more participatory through the contribution of innovative ideas or solutions.”
“Today, one half of the world’s population lives in cities. It is estimated that by 2050 seven out of 10 people are likely to live in urban areas,” he added
The NIMC boss called for increased use of smart technologies to tackle perennial issues faced by the citizens.
He stated that for this to become possible, the Commission through the support of stakeholders have fully registered 87 million Nigerians to the NIMC database.
“This will help the government with insights for decision-making to tackle challenges associated with public transportation or basic services, housing, air pollution disaster management and importantly, deployment of high quality infrastructure,” Aziz stated.
Earlier in his welcome address, President of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Professor Adesina Sodiya, said the whole world is currently introducing and implementing smart technologies for sustainable national development.
“This year’s theme was strategically chosen to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the smooth implementation of smart and intelligent systems in Nigeria.
“There is a need to harness the opportunities in the evolution of smart technologies for rapid transformation of a nation’s economies,” he said.
“The current security challenges in Nigeria have become the major concern of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS). At this conference, we shall be having a strategic discussion on full adoption of smart systems in government, production, agriculture, business, science, economy, engineering, management, and national security,” Sodiya added.
The chairman of conference committee, Ayodeji Rex Abitogun, reiterated that building a sustainable nation requires state actors and stakeholders within the IT ecosystem to deviate from old ways of doing things and embrace new practices with new mindsets.
“To achieve the new mindsets, the Conference Committee, with the guidance from the National Executive Council (NEC) under the leadership of Prof. Adesina Sodiya, has put together S3N2022 as a platform for thought leaders, policymakers, professionals, and the academics to discuss and propose practical and effective solutions to these challenges,” he said.
With about sixty presentations, three engaging plenaries and nine parallel sessions with specific topics relating to the theme the S3N2022 promises to be valuable and impactful. At the end, m
embers of the NCS are expected to develop a roadmap for speedy implementation and adoption of smart, secure and sustainable national development.
