The authorities of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should at once toe the trail of the Indian authorities which just lately imposed restrictions on import of laptops, tablets, all-in-one private computer systems and extremely-small computer systems and servers with fast impact.
This is within the spirit of product nationalism whereby international locations intentionally promote patronage of do-it-yourself merchandise and providers to spice up native productiveness, create extra jobs, encourage proficiency, and discourage capital flight.
In addition, this may assist construct religion in Nigeria which is President Tinubu’s new sermon.
Some Nigerian technocrats and ICT professionals have really useful the India coverage for the Nigerian authorities, arguing {that a} ban on the importation of computer systems and allied hardware is what is required to beef up the indigenous corporations producing the identical merchandise in-nation, some of that are struggling.
Mr. Chris Uwaje, a Fellow of Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) and former President, of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) stated President Tinubu should undertake the India coverage in addition to make it obligatory that every one overseas computer producers arrange native manufacturing amenities in Nigeria in partnership with indigenous computer corporations.
To additional encourage such partnerships, he recommends that such new producers should be given pioneer standing incentives of a minimal of 5 to seven years.
Another ICT knowledgeable, Mr. Dotun Ali-Balogun urged President Tinubu to mandate that every one authorities ICT operations are run on the technical power of regionally assembled computer systems.
His thought was corroborated by two different digital geeks, Messrs Michael Ikeogwu and Ayodele Ogundele who posited that now’s the very best time for the Federal Government to undertake the Buy-Nigeria coverage in ICT as a manner of discouraging capital flight and encouraging native productiveness.
The new India coverage is strictly what the Tinubu authorities should do, says Ali-Balogun.
“The Federal Government should undertake a coverage that bans importation of computer hardware particularly these which are already being assembled in Nigeria.
“This won’t solely assist enhance native manufacturing, it can encourage effectivity in native manufacturing, create jobs, direct and oblique, by means of all the worth chain, together with entrepreneurs, help providers and logistics,” he explains.
Nigeria has a pair of indigenous computer hardware assembling corporations, with some of them having technically confirmed merchandise in phrases of requirements.
Available information lists native computer and allied product makers together with RLG, Beta, Data House Technologies, Zinox, and Acti-Tech Limited, amongst others.
While it may be argued that almost all of them are struggling and could lack the capability to satisfy native demand, the identical can’t be stated of Zinox which has since its roll out in 2001 as Nigeria’s first really globally-licensed computer model gone forward to execute mega ICT tasks.
Zinox has over time proven capability each in Nigeria and offshore, delivering technically-demanding mega tasks all globally acknowledged as wonderful.
In 2006 and 2011, Zinox executed two of probably the most time-important ICT mega tasks ever to be undertaken in Africa with the introduction of the cardboard reader know-how and the Direct Data Capture (DDC) machines respectively on behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
It replicated the identical by delivering gentle-years-forward know-how for the National Population Commission (NPC) for the quickly-to-be-organised first digital census in Nigeria.
It has additionally executed main tasks offshore in Guinea Bissau, The Gambia and the Arab nations by means of partnerships.
It will probably be recalled that beneath President Olusegun Obasanjo, a directive to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) was enforced and many MDAs together with the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), INEC, Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), amongst different parastatals and tertiary establishments had their operations standardized with Zinox computer systems. It was additionally the usual system for Shell, Chevron and different non-public equities, together with multinationals.
Again, beneath Obasanjo as President, Zinox powered the eighth All Africa Games codenamed COJA 2003 hosted in Nigeria; the 18th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) hosted by Obasanjo in Abuja between December 5 and December 8, 2003, and many extra.
The Obasanjo directive paid off as many indigenous computer assembling corporations ramped up manufacturing, improved the technical effectivity of their merchandise and created extra jobs with the concomitant creation of economies of scale.
Statistics from the International Trade Centre confirmed that $1.09 billion was spent on software program acquisition and importation of computer providers into Nigeria in 5 years from 2016 to 2020.
The breakdown confirmed that software program and computer providers value $123.89m have been imported in 2016, the determine jumped to $216.57m in 2017, $257.55m in 2018 and dipped to $159.28m in 2019, earlier than rocketing to $336.43m in 2020.
In latest years, indigenous ICT corporations have demonstrated capability in each software program and hardware engineering such that multinationals like Microsoft, Oracle, Google, IBM are starting to point out extra curiosity in recruiting younger Nigerians.
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https://nairametrics.com/2023/08/08/fg-should-emulate-india-and-ban-import-of-computer-hardware-experts/
