Jim Ovia, co-chairman of Nigeria’s Presidential Committee on Broadband Development, has stressed the need for the country’s youths to solve the basic ICT challenges the nation is facing with innovative software solutions.
Ovia stated this while delivering the keynote address at the 2013 President Dinner organised by the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON).
The founder of Visafone and former chief executive of Zenith Bank described the private sector as the driver of economies, offering Nigerian youths ample opportunities to come up with software applications that could result in national economic development.
Ovia said: “Today, Apple and Samsung have taken over the consumer mobile device market in the area of smartphone that are driven by smart software applications. New technologies will continue to rule the world, and for Nigeria to be part of the technology growth, its youths should continue to innovate in new technologies.
“Passion and not the ‘Get Rich Quick Syndrome’ is what will drive ICT and enhance development.”
Concerning the country’s poor broadband penetration, Ovia said the government needs to lay more fibre optic cables nationwide to arm the youths with sufficient capacity via affordable broadband Internet access.
“Access to broadband is not cheap in Nigeria and the cost of broadband cannot drop because it is still expensive to deploy and largely because of its limitations at the hinterlands,” Ovia said.
