5G Deployment: Speeding to Create a Digital Nigeria: By Moses Amadi

Nigeria is presently gathering momentum to pick up the pace to join Kenya and South Africa as one of the few countries pioneering 5G deployment in Africa.

The country’s latest move follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and communications satellite firm, NigcomSat, to allow 5G services ride on its C-band frequency spectrum. This spectrum accounts for 60 to 70% of the commercial deployment of 5G networks globally.

In a statement signed by Umar Garba Danbatta, Vice-Chairman of NCC, “The importance of this spectrum for early deployment of 5G services in Nigeria cannot be overemphasised.”

Last year, the NCC began coordinating with stakeholders to create policies governing the commercial implementation of 5G. The government has also dispelled health-related concerns regarding the technology and conspiracy theories associating 5G with the coronavirus pandemic.

The NCC has high hopes that the tech will “improve the way Nigerians live and work” by advancing smart transportation, medicine, manufacturing, amongst others.

The Senate has equally approved the deployment of the 5G network in Nigeria, following the outcome of investigations by a Joint Committee mandated to carry out same.

The upper chamber, amid the adopted recommendations, posited that the technological impact of 5G will revolutionise Nigerians’ way of life in areas such as education, agriculture, security, entertainment, and governance in general.

The Senate, however, added that although no license has been issued to any Mobile Number Operator on a commercial basis, Nigeria should still use the next 6 months to observe the trend of 5G deployments around the globe and engage in extensive sensitisation of the public through all channels before commencement.

The digital agenda of the federal government seems to be gaining momentum as such transformation programmes promise to improve the effectiveness and productivity of the populace. This has become necessary in view of the opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution that can accelerate Nigeria’s social and economic development.

In the face of dwindling revenues from crude oil and the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government is exploring various avenues to diversify the economy. This prompted her to come up with policies and strategies to facilitate the development of a digital economy.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), nearly 60 per cent of the world’s economy would be digitised by the end of the year 2022. To ensure that Nigeria is not left behind in the digital economy, the federal government unveiled the National Digital Economic Policy and Strategy.

The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy reported that the inputs of stakeholders, including recommendations and constructive criticisms on how to make the document more effective, were taken into consideration in the formulation and expert review of the policy. The document was also presented to Nigerian Governors through the Chairman of the Governors’ Forum, Governor of Ekiti state, Kayode Fayemi.

Many of the states that keyed into the programme are said to be enjoying the support of the ministry. It is an attempt to replicate the policy at the state level by looking at the peculiar situations and challenges of those states.

States may not have ministries of digital economy. However, digital economy can be implemented by relevant state ministries such as ministry of science, technology and innovation, ministry of education, among others.

For the first time in the history of the industry, there are states providing right of way free of charge. This was after many attempts by previous communication ministers to reduce the cost.

Before now, right of way used to be as high as 70 per cent of the cost of deploying the infrastructure. For instance, it used to be cheaper to buy bandwidth between London and Lagos than between Lagos and Kano. This was traceable in part to the insufficiency of fibre resources across the country, as well as the high cost of deployment caused by excessive charges in several states. This has engendered unwarranted charges incurred for using internet in the country.

This situation is gradually becoming a thing of the past consequent on the digital economic policy of the federal government. There is the National Broadband Policy which gives the right to build relevant broadband digital infrastructure across every state. A state like Lagos has partnered with a lot of infrastructure companies. She has given them the needed support and free use of their right of way. As a result, Yaba in Lagos was able to boom with digital technology.

Today, there is a lot of capacity at the shores of Lagos because of the multiple sub-Atlantic cables landing there. Bandwidth is better and cheaper in such areas than it is in other parts of the country. However, most states are now able to deploy faster and better. At the end of the day, end-users benefit in terms of better pricing.

Nigeria also initiated the Digital Nigeria Policy 2020–2030 with special focus on eight pillars that are critical to the development of the digital economy. The pillars include developmental regulation, digital skills, solid infrastructure, service infrastructure, digital services promotion and development, software infrastructure, digital society and emerging technologies, as well as indigenous content development and promotion.

In line with the social distancing rule, occasioned by the pandemic, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy introduced “Virtual Academies” and “Virtual Institutions” domiciled in the Ministry of Communications, and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) respectively.

These appear to be world-class youth training programmes supported by IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, among others, aimed at digital skills acquisition particularly in the area of emerging technologies such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, internet of things, artificial intelligence, among others. The target is to train about five (5) million Nigerians over a 5-year period with the support of Microsoft.

NITDA has another programme called “Start-up Friday” which challenges youth to come up with crazy ideas, disruptive innovations, among others. These youth are taught by a team that evaluates their performance, quality and potential of their innovation. The youth selected through this process are supported in cash and in kind. In cash, they are given a seed fund. In kind, they are mentored, and their records kept in a database, as their performance and the way they advance their technology are tracked. They are also linked with relevant institutions that require their innovation.

In 2016, a young Nigerian living in the US developed an App that was purchased by Apple at the price of $1b. On 8 October 2019, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy led a team of young Nigerians to the UAE to partake in a competition in a technology exhibition. A young Nigerian emerged as the global best in the category of artificial intelligence.

Through hi-tech, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy integrated technology into agriculture, as it is done in some advanced economies. For instance, the total landmass of Netherland is smaller than Niger state, with the country’s population less than that of Lagos or Kano. But statistics show that what Netherland generated in 2019 alone was over 10 times what Nigeria earned through oil and gas.

A digital society, as one of the pillars of the digital policy, aims at integrating every component of the society into the digital economy including the federal, state and local governments.

As part of measures to boost cybersecurity, for instance, millions of SIM cards that were not completely or properly registered on telecom networks were blocked. This was achieved between 24 and 25 September 2019. The Ministry introduced Computer Emergency Response and Readiness Team (CERRT) which monitors potential attacks on Nigeria. This enables the Ministry to notify public and private institutions about impending attacks and sometimes advise them on the stages to be taken in order to avoid the attacks or reduce their gravity when they happen.

Nigeria Data Protection Regulation is another form of cybersecurity. This entails that data presented to public and private institutions should remain confidential, and can only be released to agencies that require them when certain conditions are fulfilled.

This is a clear indication that digital technology is not a stand-alone sector but the key enabler to drive digital transformation in every sector. For instance, Microsoft is engaging with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to support the Commission’s anti-corruption war by giving them additional technology tools to block financial loopholes.

Without digital technologies, most Nigerian hospitals, security establishments, financial houses, among other institutions, will not be effective and productive.

As the world is gravitating towards a digital economy, the absolute approach to ICT by many ministries and other sectors of the Nigerian economy has to change.

Statistics show that about 47 per cent of West Africa is made up of Nigerians while in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria has the highest number of smartphones. That means Nigeria ordinarily has a bigger opportunity and access to innovation and the use of technology for growth. Given Nigeria’s large, young entrepreneurial population, digital entrepreneurship could become an engine of growth. It is a huge potential that lies ahead.

It is believed that the digital economic policy will drive the federal government’s economic diversification plan which will include employment generation as well as encourage innovation.

However, there are constraints in the sector. There are still issues regarding digital access and cost of innovation. Many Nigerians do not have access to ICT, especially people living in rural areas and doing businesses there.

It is commendable that the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy developed a programme for national broadband plan 2020-2025 which was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari last year. In the plan, the target is to ensure that by 2025, a minimum of 90 per cent of the country’s population will have access to broadband or internet.

Part of the plan is to achieve 70 per cent penetration in the country’s landmass of about 2 million square km, while targeting 26mb per second in the urban cities and 10mb per second in the rural areas. According to the ministry, broadband penetration in 2018 was around 31 per cent, but from end of 2019 to last year, the penetration increased to 40.18 per cent.

Read Also: 5G Revolution: A Nation Left Behind

In the same vein, Microsoft has a new technology called airband technology that provides connectivity and layer-required social services in under-served and difficult-to-reach areas. This is done in partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. Services to be deployed include e-health and e-education. Other services will also entail the digitalisation of records such as building local databases, the role of technology in disseminating information to the local populace, etc.

Needlessly, information has to be cascaded to potential investors in the digital space by throwing some light on the immense opportunities of the digital policy in terms of infrastructure, hardware development, software development, among others. In other words, the populace should be enlightened on the impact of the policy so that they can key in and participate actively.

A digital economy is best achieved when small scale businesses in the private sector employ the platform to run their activities. Through this, the level of appreciation is upscaled such that there is a move away from analogue psychology into digital psychology.

Digitalisation is the direction of the world today. According to the Ministry, $11.5trn was generated in 2016 through digital economy. It becomes necessary to accelerate the process of making Nigeria a digital economy.

Besides, telecommunication has been declared as a critical national security and economic infrastructure. With telecoms having presence in the local governments, it will not be out of place to begin to look at the possible participation of telecom operators in “Payment System Banking” to achieve financial inclusion.

The practice of engaging in broadband projects without clearance from regulatory authorities has to stop. Regulatory bodies must regulate the activities of other parastatals and ministries.

When it comes to laying fibre optics by any government institution, there is a need to acquire licence from the NCC which is the regulatory body. When it comes to building IT infrastructure, projects should be cleared by NITDA which is the regulatory body.

Harnessing Research Findings: Premium Tools for Nigeria’s Development: By Moses Amadi

The importance of research findings cannot be overemphasized. This was the crux of the message delivered by President Muhammadu Buhari last month, while declaring open the Five-Day Technology and Innovation Expo 2021 organised by the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.

With the allocation of about 0.5 per cent of GDP to research and innovation, the Federal Government believes that the research industry will receive a boost even though it is below the African Union’s Executive Council decision in 2006, which mandates all member states to set aside 1 per cent of GDP investment to improve research and innovation.

Excerpts of the President’s message are as follows: “…We are aware that only a few countries have met this target but as a result of the challenges of this critical sector of the economy, we will allocate a minimum of 0.5 per cent of our GDP to research and innovation as a way to fast-track meaningful development…”

One agency of government that has made efforts to seek how research works from universities can be utilized for national development is the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Last week the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, and his top management team met with the management of Nile University of Nigeria, at the Commission’s Head Office in Abuja.

Danbatta, in his address to the management of Nile University of Nigeria, declared that one of the cardinal pillars underpinning the Commission’s Strategic Management Plan is partnerships with relevant stakeholders, through mutually-sustainable collaborations.

In his words, “The Commission will remain fully committed to ensuring synergy, through its strategic collaborations with relevant stakeholders, such as the Nile University of Nigeria, in order to ensure that the overall socio-economic development objectives of the Federal Government of Nigeria are met.”

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of Nile University, Prof. Osman Aras, who led the delegation, said the institution was open to public-private partnership and synergy with NCC, as it has done with other government institutions, with a view to enhancing human capital development in the country.

The commercialisation and effective utilisation of research findings are vital to the growth and development of any nation. It shows a mark of sincere commitment to wealth creation in building a strong economy.

In Nigeria, with government’s drive towards diversification, the volume of scientific research produced at the universities and research institutions provides a veritable source of revenue generation.

Consequently, in July 2018, the Federal Government launched guidelines on commercialisation of research results and inventions with the objective of commercialising the numerous research results. But the challenges facing researchers in Nigeria go beyond guidelines for commercialisation which lie at the root of some of the country’s developmental problems. Such challenges have resulted in the country’s inability to successfully convert many of its indigenous research works into tangible useful products for economic growth and development.

Funding is an issue with regard to research and development. There are some research findings lying unused in many tertiary and research institutions across the country. According to authorities at the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), the institute has developed products from natural resources which have activity against diabetes and tuberculosis. But such research efforts are currently gathering dust on the shelves without funds to take them to the commercial stage. The institute has reached out to different individuals and organisations but there seems to be a lack of interest to partner with the institute.

One of the things NIPRD has done is to develop the contextual processing protocol in mapping natural resources across the 36 states of the federation, and establish processing mechanisms using local people to harness local products, process and get them to either the Nigerian market or ready for exportation. The institute has preliminary evidence that eucalyptus grows in the North-central and Northwest regions of the country.

NIPRD is presently in collaboration with Kaduna and other state governments to develop derivatives from eucalyptus, dogonyaro, among others. It is estimated that Kaduna State has a considerable amount of eucalyptus covering 6,000-10,000 hectares of land.

Armed with its indigenised technology of extracting essential oil from eucalyptus, the institute signed a MoU with the Kaduna State government that commissioned a business case and feasibility study. Statistics show that from pharmaceutical research, India makes millions of dollars from dogonyaro every year. Experts say that dogonyaro can also be used for many things like tea leaf, oil, cream, hair shampoo, among others. But in Nigeria, it is mainly used for shelter.

It is our national experience that we don’t have many wealthy Nigerians who are funding specific forms of research as it is done in saner climes.

Research facilities have created a number of innovative technologies but adoption level is low. Stakeholders in agriculture have declared that the Agricultural Research Council in the 90s did a compilation of all commercialisable research outputs in the agriculture sub-sector and came up with no less than 250 commercialisable research products. Unfortunately, many of these research outputs have not been commercialised.

Generally, what is at stake is the credibility of research institutions. Sponsors want to make sure that their investments are result-driven and not diverted for other uses. It is only a few reliable individuals and organisations in Nigeria that enjoy incubation or develop funding from known donor agencies including Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to be able to do research projects in Nigeria.

In most cases, despite the support of government in the development of incubation centres, the infrastructure required to support research findings is not readily available. There are issues with the status of some research institutes in terms of the infrastructure even though the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has a responsibility to support technology infrastructure. Besides, the agency has a mandate not only to promote research results but also endorse proof of concepts for pilot manufacturing plants to demonstrate viability and commercialisation of research findings.

The private sector must come in to develop human capacity and the needed infrastructure, including laboratories and workshops. But they seem not to have the appetite to pick up research results and utilise them for purposes of developing products and services. In other words, investors are reluctant to key into the litany of research results or prototypes that are already available in the laboratories across the nation yearning for commercialisation. There are numerous products that are patented, yet the challenges of taking them to the market are there.

Meanwhile, technology transfer licencing is seen as a prerequisite for successful commercialisation even though experts believe that there is poor culture of understanding, comprehension and maturity of intellectual property system in the country. According to authorities, patents, trademarks, industrial designs, among others, remain intangible, prototype or example of solutions until they are converted to create value in society.

For any research and development product to be commercialised, the intellectual asset of the researcher has to be protected by the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP). The respect for trademarks, patents and piracy is important because in Nigeria, there is a propensity to pirate products, which does not represent a positive signal for investors.

Researchers with patentable innovations should seek the assistance of NOTAP in writing claims, filling the necessary forms, taking the forms to the patent registry and paying for the patent fee. At the end, the researcher is called upon to collect their patent certificate. It is after this process that the intellectual asset can be said to be protected.

In strengthening capacity building, NOTAP came up with the Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship which is a voluntary contribution by the private sector to develop the capacities of Nigerians. According to NOTAP authorities, the institute is the first to attempt to crack the dominance of software coding and development by foreign countries. The institute is convinced that using imported software, leaves indigenous organisations vulnerable.

Research institutions need to sell themselves in a manner that will convince investors to have confidence in them. Nigeria must be intentional about this just like Kenya and Indonesia have done. In 2010, the Kenyan government established an agency called Kenya National Innovation Agency. The purpose was to link research activities with industry. Indonesia has an enclave for over 100 research institutes established in an area. It was an arrangement by the country to ensure that all research results are coordinated and properly directed.

Over the years, the problem has always been the disconnect between research and industry in Nigeria. Investors believe that several research outputs are based on researchers’ perceptions of the problem and not necessarily what is needed by industry to solve problems. It is worthy to note that industries that benefit from research results tend to fund research institutes in order to develop their products across the spectrum of industry.

A similar scenario plays out in MIT in the United States where companies like Apple, General Motors and other big establishments have research programmes in top universities in America which they are funding to improve their products. This sort of alignment or synergy will ensure that research is supported by industrial grants. It is important to know that there is a market, and for any research to be relevant to industry and society, it must be need-oriented or based on felt needs or need assessment. This is so that at the end of the research, there is direct application.

However, these research findings have the challenge of mass production. This calls to question the utility of machine tools factory in Oshogbo, the workshop session of Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, and the Steel Rolling Mills of the past. Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited should be able to produce basic steel that is required for basic manufacturing, but that has not been the case.

These companies must have faced the same fate as the current local manufacturers that have challenges of providing their own electricity, roads, among others, which hinder favourable manufacturing production. This means there is no incentive for manufacturing which plays a role in developing the economy, as official figures indicate that the contribution of manufacturing to GDP is as low as about 9 per cent.

The cost of funds is high with about 18 per cent interest rate. There is multiplicity of taxes for manufacturers including paying for the services that regulatory agencies statutorily should provide. It is difficult to diversify the Nigerian economy without incentivising the manufacturing sector. This is critical for the survival of the manufacturing industry on a sustainable level.

Just like every adventure is targeted at a goal, investment is about deploying capital and having return on investments. Investors are not interested in deploying resources on products they are not very sure of.

Furthermore, researchers strive for originality in their research findings. As a survival strategy, they concentrate mainly on basic research which they publish to get promoted. But that does not bring any economic development to the system.

Investors are looking at profitability and product value. The fact that a researcher has developed a product and has a prototype does not make it readily available for commercialisation. That should be the beginning because the commercialisation process involves mass-production, distribution and market research. Research institutions should focus on innovations that support economic development and programmes that address vital challenges. That makes it easy for commercialisation. Unless there is a synergy between research and industry, the vibrancy of research and development efforts are unlikely to translate into products and services.

With the knowledge that government alone cannot fund research and development efforts, the private sector has a social responsibility to step in. Some private universities in the country are doing some good works.

The commercialisation challenge rests with the fact that Nigeria does not appear to have venture capitalists who will take up research products. This is because knowledge of the availability of research findings is weak. The venture capital industry needs to be developed in Nigeria.

Read Also: Economic Diversification: Why FG Must Consolidate The Local Content Policy

The United States has a structured approach in managing venture capital to ensure transparency. Venture capitalists are given incentives including tax breaks by government from making such donations. The huge successes recorded by Silicon Valley, Netflix, Google, Amazon, among others, are largely linked to venture capital. A few years ago, these companies were not heard of. Venture capitalists or angel investors understood such businesses, risked their monies and took the companies from conception stage all the way through product development and manufacturing.

Nigeria’s inability to turn research results into tangible development outcomes is hurting the country’s economic growth. The country does not seem to mature out of policy because every time there is a new government, the nation returns to existing or previous policies. A research master plan is supposed to be developed for the country which other research institutes are supposed to key in.

Nigeria has a plenitude of research institutes, and the potential inherent in those institutes in terms of spin-offs, can trigger growth and development. This will be enhanced by policies that can ensure that research results are translated to practical reality.

The fulcrum for activating all of these to make sure things work well will be the active participation of the Council on Science and Technology, under the Chairmanship of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Every research result from a particular ministry should be complemented by the efforts of other ministries. In this interrelationship, ministries must be made to agree to work for a common goal. That is the wisdom behind making the President the Chairman of the Council. He alone has the power to coordinate research results from other ministries for maximum effect and impact on the economy.

SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE AND CHALLENGE OF PROTECTION: BY MOSES AMADI

In the month of May this year, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) issued a statement which drew attention to the very critical issue of privacy policy with regard to utilization of social media. This advisory came just about the same time as a number of users on WhatsApp were getting messages to accept the new policy.

NITDA is a regulator and part of the African network on data protection authority. Earlier, the Agency had engaged Facebook officers at the global level to understand the content of what the global platform was trying to do. It was after this that NITDA eventually issued an advisory concerning the new privacy policy.

The report by NITDA gave the hint regarding policy changes on WhatsApp. This came with promises of repeated reminders to WhatsApp users to accept the new policy which becomes binding upon consent. Policies of this nature are often detailed and in small print with a view to luring in users without letting them know the boundaries of their utilization of a particular App.

 

It is usually difficult for users to read everything about privacy policy. Research shows that if one decides to read privacy policies of the products one uses, one will spend 33 days out of one year. That’s why government has to intervene by empowering Nigerians to make informed decisions about social media usage.

 

Early January this year, there was a new development on WhatsApp privacy policy, and that was to the effect that Facebook bought over WhatsApp whose policies have been updated by taking metadata into consideration. In other words, there are about 13 other personal information of users that are sources of privacy invasion by WhatsApp. This suggests that information of WhatsApp users can now be shared with other users of Facebook including Instagram and other products that Facebook may have today or in the future.

 

The issues of privacy bother on power and control. Social media regulators are ‘provider-centric.’ That means they censor, control and dictate what happens in the social media space. For this same reason, privacy configuration, for a very long time, has taken a unilateral approach in the sense that application providers are the ones who determine how privacy is structured. This is basically on the philosophy that consumers ACCEPT or DECLINE a new policy. That is to say, there are terms for using an App, and oftentimes when one declines the offer, one is blocked and unable to get access.

 

Control over social media has to be within democratic and social norms, just like the work done by the Global Commission on the Stability of the Cyber Space in the Hague which developed norms for state and non-state actors. It’s about achieving the right balance.

 

Certainly, social media is not censored by the Nigerian government. It is censored by corporations, most of which at this point, are based in Southern California.

 

Almost all the data that captures how Nigerians interact with each other and their environment, is domiciled outside the country. Private corporations have more information on consumers’ interactions than the government and security agencies. The security agencies also fall victim. The information we are talking about in terms of metadata is basically mined to understand even people in government so that things can be influenced. Tiktok is not left out, given the massive data expended and the impact on teenagers.

 

Statistics show that Facebook Messenger collects about 46 pieces of information on metadata, WhatsApp collects close to 16, Telegram collects about 8, Signal collects between 0 and 1. The point here is that the less data the App collects, the more protected or private the user is, because the user cannot sell what they don’t have.

 

About two years ago, the US military decided that its troop should monitor their fitness while training. They were issued fitbit watches so that they would monitor their heart rate, running, among others. But unknown to them, their fitbit traces or tracks were seen online. The soldiers were seen moving in circles in the middle of nowhere in the Republic of Niger. Apparently, those were secret American military bases.

 

The fact is that the social media devices know more about the user’s movement than the user or anyone else. It’s just like the activity watch people strap. It is helpful because it helps with step count, and some of the other essentials like heart rate when walking out. But this is activated by bluetooth, which is another feature on a digital device.

 

The Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) faces an uphill task, given that Nigeria has a digital ecosystem where foreign companies struggle with local companies to get direct access to government data whereas it is illegal for any foreign company to do the same in their own countries. This is how we need to approach data protection in Nigeria.

 

The regulators pick and choose what to censor. They use their own culture, ethics and perspectives to censor users across the world. It is a form of digital colonization which is a critical issue that we have no idea how and where it’s going to end.

 

The United States of America does not have a national law on privacy. It has state laws and sectoral laws but most of these laws are influenced by the big technology companies. Those laws are made to ensure that Facebook, Google, Amazon, among others, are always making good profits.

 

Those who advocate non-control of social media must understand that it is controlled but not by us. There ought to be some form of regulatory guideline on data protection at any point. That doesn’t mean that the endeavor to develop a social media bill by the legislators was a good one. The bill was shut down partly because there were several clauses that one would argue were undemocratic.

Almost every App or online product has access to everything on the user’s phone and other devices including contacts. Truecaller harvests contacts from people’s phones. And from the contact information, there is a lot that can be gleaned from the user’s smart phone including their financial transaction, email, camera, location, sites visited, among others. Such information run on transaction data, and each time the regulators activate them, users become vulnerable. NITDA officials claim that when they had an engagement with Truecaller, a lot of users stopped patronising the product and it affected Truecaller.

 

The extent privacy invasion can go depends on the skill and knowledge of service providers and their interests including business, national security, identity theft, among others. Experts say there are major globally recognized philosophies about the approach to technology and social media. There is the school of thought that believes business is king. Many businesses in Nigerian, especially the SMEs, use WhatsApp platforms for growth and advertisement in terms of the status update.

 

Business interest motivates service providers to meet users’ demands. That way, they can intrude into users’ privacy. Those that use their phones to control their homes (home automation) are also at the mercy of service providers who may be interested to know the activities in those homes. Most of the cameras used today are IP-based (Internet Protocol-based). That means users’ information contained in their cameras can easily be downloaded on the internet without their consent or knowledge.

 

Another school of thought focuses on security and national critical infrastructure protection as part of measures in dealing with data privacy protection. With very limited exceptions, China for instance, does not allow most of its social media contents to go outside its boundaries.

 

The third school of thought supports the narrative around autonomy. The Europeans are consumers of many American technologies but they are focused more on the autonomy of the individual user. That’s why there are concerns that the privacy policy being operated for countries in Africa and Asia, is not the same as you would find for users of the social media Apps in Europe and the Americas. The Europeans have most of the robust laws, and so, are better protected.

 

Nigeria is just starting this conversation, given what industry watchers say that we are over 95 years late into this discussion. What we need to do is to see how we can also bridge the gap and leapfrog some of the technology trends.

 

Today, data is at the centre of everything we do in the cyber space. Data is the new oil which has to be processed just like crude oil. Service providers trade on data. It is a two-way relationship or transaction between the App owner and the user.

 

Everything users get on the cyber space as free gift has an underlying cost, and will be paid for by users. Service providers produce Apps according to the specifications of users and throw them at consumers. We think that most of the applications we get on play store are free. There must be something the regulators are getting in return. This gives credence to the famous adage in the business space that “If something is free, you are not the customer. You are actually the product being sold.”

 

Many of the Apps have a very voracious appetite for data. That’s why service providers are multibillion-dollar organizations. About two years ago, Facebook made $52b from advertising technology while Google raked in $107b. This was partly due to metadata of users published and circulated to hundreds and thousands of the demand side partners of the service providers or regulators. This catalogue of information is put together and sold. The highest bidder is the one that will advertise the user. That’s why two people may be browsing the same site but different adverts will pop up because the images of the two individuals as portrayed in the technology world are different, and expectations are gauged accordingly.

 

Privacy policy issues are intricate, and a lot of users are grappling with the situation. The benefits consumers are getting on social media are not comparable to the huge gains that privacy intruders are maxing.

 

Clearly, there is a veil behind social media devices. Data privacy disruption has a lot to do with information sharing policy across social networks. This has implications for users who latch on to online contents without bothering about the consequences. That shows no matter how beautiful the offerings on social media are, activities such as data exposure or revealing classified or confidential information of individuals, discredit consumers’ trust.

 

As a society, we don’t spend or invest enough time and effort in extensive research. That is why in the process of developing social media policies, we lag behind. What research does is to help us to develop a long-term strategy to build products and infrastructure that can support policy dimensions. Research effort can be complemented by thinking through some of the nuances and finesse of how to basically articulate and domesticate social media policies to maximize benefits.

 

Data protection, no doubt, is an interesting feature, and Nigeria as a part of the global village, cannot afford to stand aloof in matters relating to information protection and regulation implementation. So far, 24 African countries out of 53, have adopted laws and regulations to protect personal data. This is modeled after the 2016 EU General Data Protection Regulation. Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe have already enacted personal data protection legislation, the promulgation of which has not yet been effective as the laws are still in the form of bills. Tanzania is in the process of enacting personal data protection legislation. Nigeria on its part, adopted the first data protection regulation in early 2019.

 

Privacy is about respect, social boundaries and trust. Businesses, relationships, and indeed society won’t work without trust.

 

NDPR which came into effect in January 2019, has done its bit to enhance information system management through data protection law. NDPR came in good time, as countries that don’t have minimum levels of data protection would be cut off from the global digital economy.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: ASSESSING CONTRIBUTIONS TO NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: BY MOSES AMADI

 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: ASSESSING CONTRIBUTIONS TO NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

 

June 15, 2020

 

 

: BY MOSES AMADI

 

The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST) came into existence by an Act of Parliament in 1980 with a mandate to contribute meaningfully to the technological development of Nigeria. Since its inception, the Ministry has done its bit in terms of the primacy of its function as an agenda-setter in science, technology and innovation.

Though some people believe that national development through science and technology remains one dimension of Nigeria’s national life that has been subjected to discourse for too long, the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, is showing great determination and positive spirit in overcoming the odds by targeting national priority in order to make a difference in various walks of life.

The Minister who believes that the entire national economy revolves around science and technology, is making a commitment of positive change in bringing a hopeful alternative by exploring the potential of the Ministry for its pragmatic utility. According to him, this is capable of promoting national economic diversification and competitive domestic production.

Since assumption of office, the Minister has supported dedicated investments in various sectors of the economy through science and technology, as an instrument for influencing the growth of national economy, and ultimately, leapfrogging the nation into exemplary status.

Available records show that before 2015, the 17 agencies under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology used research findings more for career advancement. This is not bad in itself but should be limited to the confines of tertiary institutions. In a broader sense, the Ministry under the leadership of Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu wants a slight change in focus that will involve creativity and innovation. The idea is to ensure that research findings become commercialisable products and services. Through this, Nigerians can begin to see that gradually, many of the products that are imported can be replaced locally.

The relevance of science, technology and innovation to the national economy and daily living cannot be overemphasised. The Ministry is adopting a new approach that will impact various sectors of the Nigerian economy through technological innovation.

According to the Minister, agriculture is essentially 90 per cent science and technology. But what is clear is that several decades of national mismanagement has progressively denied the country any measure of food sufficiency. Nigeria with a population of about 200 million people should be able to attain food sufficiency through a value chain process. This approach is a life-changing scientific discovery that will significantly increase food exports and drastically reduce food import penetration.

Nigeria used to be a major grower of cotton which formed part of its major exports. But the cotton fields were attacked by bollworm, and the possibility of attack on other crops was high. One of the agencies under the Ministry of Science and Technology, NAFDAC, working in collaboration with other institutions found a seed that is resistant to bollworm which also has bigger yield. This represents a big start in reactivating the cotton industry, as evidenced in the springing up of cotton fields in the northern part of the country, including Gombe state.

Harvest losses by farmers are a major concern, and the Ministry has seen the need to develop a technology that will help in minimising such losses. The technology will have two components. First, is the need for a technological instrument that will help process food crops and fruits that are harvested. Second, is to convert the harvest into the form that it will be needed and used during off seasons so that the produce can be consumed all year round because of their nutritional value. Reports indicate that the Ministry is working on machines that will help process food harvests in very large quantities.

In the manufacturing sector, the Ministry wants a discontinuation of large importation of materials which has created challenges of capital flight and weak currency. It is the pressure on the naira that causes devaluation of the currency. Unemployment situation is worsened because local jobs are exported. With its level of preparation, the Ministry is optimistic that in no distant time, the country will start producing many of the things that it imports.

In the health sector, there are certain diseases that are peculiar to people who have the same colour of skin such as the sickle cell anaemia. It’s a disease that is peculiar to black people. The Ministry is engaged in intensive research for possible remedy of this disease which it says it is getting good results.

There are high nutrient biscuits that help children who are suffering from malnutrition to recover very quickly. Such biscuits are produced and marketed by Nasco Foods which is one of Nigeria’s largest confectionery firms.

From the natural medical perspective, authorities from the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA) acknowledges the Honourable Minister for better appreciation for the potential and relevance of traditional medicine knowledge and associated bio-resources.

The agency was established in 1997 through a Ministerial Order, and ever since, it has been trying to legitimize its existence. The legal backing was eventually achieved through the assistance of the Honourable Minister. As a result, the Act establishing the agency was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 24, 2019; a big achievement for the agency. The Honourable Minister also approved theestablishment of six zonal centres for the agency, knowing that traditional medicine knowledge is more located at the grass root level.

Based on its mandate, the agency carries out activities to improve on R&D infrastructure. At the moment, the agency is contending with a small laboratory but it is about to complete a big and complex one for more productive research work.

According to the agency, the Minister has given a lot of support and encouragement to the body. One of the challenges the agency had before 2015 was poor funding and late release of funds which it could not access. In 2015, the agency had zero capital but the Minister felt that was not good enough for the natural medicine sub-sector, and helped in addressing the matter.

The agency complements what the Honourable Minister indicated as some of the new advances in terms of research in the health sector. In terms of R&D, the agency has been able to come out with some products. In line with the malaria eradication programme of the nation, the agency has been able to develop an indoor herbal spray which can be sprayed in the house without the user leaving the room. The necessary laboratory and field tests have been done and submitted to NAFDAC for listing.

For the management of malaria, the agency has also developed a product in tea form which has been listed by NAFDAC. It reduces the fever associated with malaria. Normally, patients that suffer from malaria find it difficult to eat, but this product increases the appetite of patients. The product is also being pushed through the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) for possible patent and then commercialisation.

As one of the agencies under the Ministry of Science and Technology, one of the mandates of NOTAP is to promote the protection of intellectual property through patents. Industry watchers say that patent is the best measure of innovation in the world. From reports, when the Honourable Minister assumed office in 2015, there were only 6 patents that passed through NOTAP. But that number has grown up to 58; an indication that research and innovation are making impact in the commercialisation agenda.

There is also herbal tea for the control of blood sugar for diabetes. The product has got NAFDAC listing and is ready for commercialisation. Another breakthrough for the agency is the product for erectile dysfunction and increase in libido, which is almost getting ready according to the management of the agency.

Product for the management of both breast and prostate cancer is another creation of the agency, having completed the quality assurance process with regard to the safety and stability of the product. Individuals who have made requests for the product are asked to sign consent note. The agency is getting encouraging results as it procures remedy for cancer which is responsible for many deaths in the country. Clinical trial of the product is ongoing, at the end of which the product will be presented to the public.

One of the products that can assist in preventing people from contracting the Covid-19 disease is the 100 per cent herbal hand sanitiser. It is another product by the agency made from medicinal and aromatic plants in Nigeria which have antiviral and antibacterial properties.

According to the agency, the medicinal plants are scientifically-proven, and have the capacity to reduce fever, manage cough, pain and open up the airways. Today, the agency has completed the herbal remedy for the management of the symptoms of Covid-19, whose clinical variants range from asymptomatic through mild to moderate. Patients whose cases are severe and critical that require ventilators and oxygen support, can use this product. However, the agency believes it is proper to do the necessary analysis before it can go public with the product.

Apart from human-related illnesses, the agency has come out with a research result that increases egg production in the poultry business, in addition to addressing a major disease that affects the poultry industry. These research efforts have been exhibited at the National Science and Technology Expo with encouraging responses.

In sports, one of the agencies of the Ministry of Science and Technology in Zaria has succeeded in producing a football that is cheaper and meets international standard.

As part of its mobilization programme, the Ministry is targeting young people in all the 774 local government areas of the federation to promote science and technology to identify those who in future, will become good scientists. The Ministry supports events organized by every local government area in Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Biology, and the best is selected. The same competition is replicated at both the state and federal levels. President Muhammadu Buhari has so far given scholarship awards to the best three winners to study up to PhD level in any Nigerian university in any science-related discipline.

Gender balancing is part of the Ministry’s agenda of capturing the interest of the girl child in science and technology. To this end, the Ministry has engaged professionals and reputable women in science and technology to visit girls’ schools, particularly in the rural areas to encourage the girl child to show interest in science and technology. Because of their closeness to the people, the Minister has visited traditional rulers to plead with them to use their offices and pass the message to their subjects and the girl child.

In 2016, shortly after Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu became Minister of Science and Technology, he started techno expo in this country where those who are science-inclined come to display their tremendous works in terms of machinery production, among others, for commercialisation purposes.

However, the Expo which has been carried out annually since 2016, is not just for the agencies under the Ministry. It’s for all research institutes in the country including the universities (whether public or private, federal or state, faith-based or secondary schools). About three years ago, when the Expo was organised in Abuja, a man who attended the Expo saw the equipment he was planning to buy outside the country at the traders’ stand. He was compelled to shelve his trip.

Nigerians in the informal sector have also made contributions to knowledge in science and technology, and participated actively at the Expo. The Ministry of Science and Technology encourages this group of people by providing grants and connecting them with the appropriate agencies that can advance such research works to the level where they can be commercialised. Available statistics show that the Honourable Minister has been making funds available to them religiously since he assumed office.

The Energy Commission of Nigeria is another agency supervised by the Ministry of Science and Technology with Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu as the Honourable Minister. The Commission was established in 1979 by edicts and started operations in 1989. Ghana followed in 1997. This was after ECOWAS Heads of State met in Cotonou in 1985 and took decisions, having analysed the importance of energy within the sub-region for its development. Each member state was allowed to establish a government agency to coordinate and plan for the development of energy resources within its own state.

The primary mandate of the Commissionas stipulated in the law now under Energy Commission Act and Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, is energy security, strategic planning, coordination of national policies in the field of energy in all its ramifications, and diversifying the energy base of the country.

In doing so, it has become a centre of gathering and disseminating information in the implementation of national energy policies. It makes recommendations for the exploitation of new energy resources, and monitors performance of the energy sector as well as liaises with international energy organisations for the benefit of the nation.

Experts say before the establishment of the Commission, the oil and gas and power sectors had policies that never had a single national energy policy from which scholars, investors and development partners could actually lay hands on to know government direction in the development of energy resources.

In 2003, the Federal Executive Council approved the National Energy Policy which is an omnibus policy document involving the oil and gas, electricity, environment, nuclear energy, among others, because energy is a multi-faceted field.

That was a milestone for the establishment of the Energy Commission of Nigeria whose collaboration with the International Atomic Agency has shown that by 2030, Nigeria will need nothing less than 100 Gigawatt of electric generation capacity, given the nation’s population growth and the projected level of industrialisation.

This will involve demands on petroleum products which becomes a guide to the number of refineries the nation needs to have and the quantity of crude oil for export. The Commission believes that the ECOWAS network is very important in moving electricity from regions with surplus power to regions with low supply.

Beyond laying the policy framework and roadmap for the energy mix of the country, the Commission, in the pursuit of its mandate, established six energy research centres that are university-based; one in each of the six geopolitical zones of the nation. The one in the northeast which is the National Centre for Petroleum Research and Development located at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University has a mandate for research and development on hydrocarbons and any other energy resource from underground like geo-thermal energy. NNPC’s effort in determining crude oil deposits in the Bauchi-Gombe axis was as a result of the research work done in Tafawa Balewa University.

There is the Sokoto Energy Research Centre. There is also the National Centre for Energy Research and Development based in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. These are basically for solar and other renewable energies. Experts say that the level of development within the renewable energy sector now in the country is as a result of the work done at the Nsukka and Sokoto energy research centres. The first solar water heater was established in 1988 at NIPSS by the Sokoto Energy Research Centre; it provides clean water for drinking and sanitation.

There is abundance of sunshine in the country. In the coastal areas, there is abundance of wind. It has been established that the north-western part of the country, for instance, Katsina, is very valuable for wind energy. It is said that the Musa Yar’Adua Administration played a role in the Katsina wind energy project. Ibadan is also said to be known for wind energy. The Commission says these sources are in the process of being harnessed and converted into final energies.

The Commission has equally made inroads in solar energy devices, solar renewables, solar PVs, solar PV technology, among others. According to statistical data, the Commission has installed over 300 solar-driven water boreholes in rural communities from 2015 to date.

The Commission has also mounted solar street lights in rural communities. Similarly, it has installed mini-grids in rural health centres for the improvement of health care delivery. Records show that between 2015 and now, the Commission has installed over 10,000 solar street lights. There are other research outputs including solar water heaters installed in hospitals and rural clinics. One is domiciled in the Sokoto University Teaching Hospital installed by the Sokoto Energy Research Centre. There is another one at Enugu installed by the UNN. There are solar driers, solar-driven irrigation systems, among others.

However, for a more profitable solar industry, stakeholders believe there is a need for solar cells to be produced in Nigeria. By so doing, the cost of solar panels will be reduced. Foreign investors come to Nigeria but they do their research in their home countries. That’s not good for us. They should be doing the research here.

Every commercialised research product in Nigeria will help grow the economy. This calls for greater participation by the private sector to ensure that the products from research agencies are put into use to solve societal problems. The Ministry of Science and Technology has made it clear that the private sector should invest in research findings which must be industry-driven as well as meet the needs of society.

It is not in the place of research agents to carry out research efforts and also engage in commercialisation. Commercialisation should be private sector-driven. Local investors will make more impact because the prospect of reinvesting their money in the economy is very high. Banks can loan some of the money out for business activities, jobs are created, taxes are paid for the development of infrastructure, and the economy grows.

This was partly the reason why the Ministry of Science and Technology, at a stage, contemplated on establishing a Science and Technology Bank. The idea is that, with money put in such a specialised bank, credit can be given to investors. This will save them the trouble of approaching commercial banks to access loans with 20-30 per cent interest rate, as against the proposed Science and Technology Bank’s interest rate of about 5 per cent. That will be an incentive because in the end, the nation benefits more. As those enterprises grow, they will pay taxes, and government will generate more revenue to solve other economic problems.

Perhaps the Science and Technology Bank would have formed a collective patrimony that would have further promoted the standard for collective progress among research agencies and institutions.

Such collective flourishing breaks the perceived silos mentality in the Ministry. The confusion over the silos mentality syndrome among research agencies, has a historical perspective. When the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology was established, all the research institutes and agencies were under the Ministry. Over time, the Ministry went through certain changes. At different stages, the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology was merged with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Industry respectively. At other periods, the FMST was scrapped completely and finally reconstituted during a military government.

That’s why some of the agencies are in other ministries. But any nation that has a Ministry of Science and Technology, naturally will put all the agencies and research institutes in one place for maximum impact and efficiency. According to the Minister, one of the first actions he took was to make sure that there was no duplication of efforts within the 17 agencies.

Sadly, the Science, Technology and Innovation Council which is supposed to galvanise and consolidate the collective achievement of the research agencies was relatively inactive for about 30 years. This is because the Council which was the lead organ to implement the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, enacted in 1986, could not convene a meeting. That may have been the reason why Nigerians didn’t get the full benefits from science and technology.

The Council met for the first time on January 7, 2016 after the Honourable Minister, who worked for the resuscitation of the Council, took office. The Council convened under the Chairmanship of President Muhammadu Buhari even though the President asked the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to represent him.

The Council now has 16 ministers in addition to members from the organised public sector including MAN and NACCIMA. Apart from the Federal Executive Council (FEC), there is no other Council that attracts such membership in terms of quality dignitaries and number. The Council brings various interests together including governments at the sub-national levels because the development of the nation cannot be left in the hands of the federal government alone.