NCS urges federal government to implement local content policy

  The Nigeria Computer Society has urged the federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency roll out, implement and monitor local content policy to encourage Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to patronize the indigenous software and hardware. NCS stated this as part of the decisions reached at the 12th International Conference & 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Akure recently. The umbrella body of all IT professionals in Nigeria said this will greatly encourage local innovators and ostensibly improve the country’s economy by ways of jobs and wealth creation. “The Federal Government as a matter of urgency should roll out, implement and monitor local content policy to encourage Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to patronize the indigenous software and hardware,” NCS said in the conference communiqué. Poor local content implementation in the IT sector has increased capital flight, with trillions of Naira leaving the country every year. This is due largely to political will, which has been described as the principal critical success factor in driving local content growth. Other decisions in the communiqués include the need for the Federal Government to urgently push for comprehensive broadband access all over Nigeria, the need for critical stakeholders to collaborate with NCS in pushing the details and implications of the Cybercrime Act into the public domain through awareness programs and sensitization campaigns. Others are Big Data Analytics is an emerging IT concept with potential to impact individual, businesses and Government in many ways, including planning, budgeting, monitoring, marketing, customer relationship management, and fraud detection. ‘There is great need for recruiting students into Science Technology Engineering Mathematics + Computing (STEM+C) majors because employment opportunities in STEM+C fields continue to increase at a rapid pace’ ‘That there is the urgent need to develop homegrown intellectual capability, methodologies, and manpower to defend and protect our critical national information infrastructures and industries’