By Dipo Olowookere
A renowned tech journalist, Mr Omobayo Azeez, has called on stakeholders in the telecommunications sector to urgently take actions that will reduce the reliance on foreign inputs in the industry.
Speaking in Lagos last Thursday at the third edition of the Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo), Mr Azeez said this was putting more pressure on the Naira in the foreign exchange (FX) market.
Though he said the telecoms sector has unarguably become one indispensable economic enabler for the country and its people, efforts must be made to use this channel to boost local production and stop the loss of $2.16 billion in capital flights.
“When operators have to depend solely on foreign talents, solutions, equipment and accessories, they will also have to deal with the hassle of accessing forex as one of the major problems.
“As such, operators suffer, customers suffer and even our dear Naira is also at a receiving end – it continues to lose value,” he said at the event themed Establishing Trackable Metrics for Developing Nigeria’s Indigenous Telecoms Sector.
Mr Azeez, who is the Managing Editor of Business Metrics, further stated that, “We realise that with the policy in place, the work has just begun because the effective implementation of a policy is the true measure of its success. We want this policy to come to fruition and create inclusive benefits for individuals, businesses and the economy.”
On his part, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Danbatta, agreed with Mr Azeez, who is the convener of the forum, noting that the agency has so far identified 72 action points to promote indigenous content in the telecoms sector.
He added that the commission has also brought at least 30 stakeholders to the round table to chart the way for the effective implementation of the National Policy for Promotion of Indigenous Content Policy in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector (NPPIC) assented to By President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2021.
Represented by Babagana Digima, Head of the Nigeria Office for Promoting the Indigenous Telecoms Sector (NODITS), the EVC stressed that different entities include Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), SIM card manufacturers, tower and mast manufacturers, and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
“At a higher level, the Commission had identified some time-based metrics for NPPIC which it classed into immediate, short term, medium term, and long-term items these include activities such as the creation of NODITS dedicated to guiding the policy; constitution of the local content steering committee; engagement with relevant internal and external stakeholders; and commissioning baseline studies on the level of indigenous content in the Nigerian telecoms industry,” he stated.
He, therefore, called on industry stakeholders, watchdogs and partners such as Business Metrics to create independent metrics that will ensure the achievements of the goals of the NPPIC.”
