ICT

By Haruna Chiroma

The tax reform bill is currently stirring controversy. It poses a severe threat to the growth of information and communication technology (ICT) in Nigeria, as it proposes to terminate funding for the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) by 2027. When I first read this shocking news in the newspapers, I was compelled to investigate further. A section of the bill explicitly states, “National Information Technology Development Fund: 20% in 2025 and 2026 years of assessment, and 0% in 2027 and thereafter.” This provision indicates a progressive reduction of NITDA’s funding until complete withdrawal by 2027. At a time when nations worldwide are significantly increasing their investments in technology to drive innovation and economic growth, Nigeria’s decision to defund its premier ICT development agency is deeply concerning.

Globally, governments play a pivotal role in funding and coordinating computing technological advancements through agencies like NITDA. Leading examples include the U.S., where El Capitan, the most powerful supercomputer with over 11 million processors, is hosted at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with government funding. Similarly, Japan’s Fugaku supercomputer, Italy’s Leonardo supercomputer at the Interuniversity Consortium for Automatic Computing of North-East Italy, and China’s Sunway Taihulight supercomputer at the National Supercomputing Center are all funded and maintained in millions of dollars by their respective governments. These centres drive artificial intelligence (AI), climate research, and national security breakthroughs.

Nigeria’s move to stop NITDA’s funding undermines its ability to establish comparable infrastructure, potentially sidelining the nation in the global race for technological leadership, especially in this era of AI boom. NITDA needs a significant increase in government funding, not a reduction or cessation of funding. This support is essential for transitioning from its current focus on providing basic systems with internet connectivity to delivering advanced computing infrastructure. 

The NITDA has been instrumental in providing IT infrastructure to tertiary institutions and centres across Nigeria, aiming to enhance hands-on experience with technology. While this initiative has made IT resources more accessible, its impact has been limited due to the basic nature of the infrastructure provided. NITDA often delivers facilities such as buildings with basic computing devices and internet connectivity.

Although helpful, this approach falls short of addressing the advanced needs of tertiary institutions, which should be hubs for high-impact research, innovation, and technological development. The computers provided in institutions should have at least one server with 4 GPUs, multi-GPU systems, Dual GPU Xeon W-2400, and advanced workstations capable of running 70 billion parameter models. Such limited interventions fail to prepare Nigeria to lead Africa in technological advancements and global IT competitiveness.

Tertiary institutions are critical for pioneering research and fostering innovations that drive national development. However, the resources provided by NITDA rarely go beyond basic systems, leaving institutions ill-equipped to conduct groundbreaking research or develop cutting-edge technologies. High-impact research requires advanced state-of-the-art computing infrastructure, advanced software tools, and specialized facilities, all of which are currently lacking. As the “Giant of Africa,” Nigeria should empower its higher education system with resources to catalyze technological breakthroughs, enabling the country to lead in global innovation. Unfortunately, the limited scope of NITDA’s current offerings restricts this potential.

Rather than addressing these shortcomings, the proposed tax reform bill aims to phase out budget allocations for NITDA by 2027. This move is a significant setback for a developing nation that aspires to secure a place on the global technology map. Eliminating funding for NITDA would exacerbate the already inadequate IT infrastructure in tertiary institutions, undermining efforts to equip students with the skills needed for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It would also signal a lack of commitment to nurturing a robust ecosystem for research and innovation, essential for long-term economic growth.

Increasing funding for NITDA is crucial to ensure it can provide an infrastructure capable of supporting advanced research and development. By investing in high-performance computing clusters, research laboratories, and innovation hubs, NITDA could transform tertiary institutions into true centres of excellence. Such investments would enhance education quality, foster industry partnerships, and attract global attention to Nigeria’s technological capabilities. These steps are necessary to empower students and researchers to develop solutions that address local and global challenges.

The NITDA should refocus its efforts from constructing buildings to investing solely in advanced IT infrastructure and power solutions. Beneficiary institutions can provide the necessary physical space, allowing NITDA to channel its budget toward cutting-edge computing systems and robust power setups essential for research and development. This shift would maximize resources and provide institutions with tools to foster innovation, invention, and impactful research and development.

NITDA’s approach should prioritize building supercomputers with at least 400,000 processors (mostly accelerators) capable of handling complex computations and simulations required for high-impact research. Additionally, data centre storage units with capacities in petabytes should be established to support the growing demand for data-driven research and AI training models.

Cybersecurity infrastructure must be provided in the relevant institutions equipped to monitor Nigeria’s cyberspace, conduct advanced forensic investigations, innovate, research, and defend against cyber threats. This holistic approach would create a technological ecosystem capable of addressing the needs of both academia and the nation, bridging the gap between research, innovation, and real-world applications.

Rather than building and distributing basic computing devices across institutions, which provide limited value, NITDA should aim to establish at least one high-performance computing and cybersecurity centre in Nigeria’s six geopolitical regions. Establishing high-performance computing centres in each region is a strategic move that could transform the nation’s technological and research landscape. These centres would serve as centralized hubs for cutting-edge computation, enabling tertiary institutions and regional research bodies to access advanced resources essential for high-impact research, innovation, invention and technology development.

These centres would empower researchers and students to engage in frontier areas such as AI, climate modelling, biotechnology, and space exploration by providing access to supercomputers with thousands of processors, vast petabyte-scale data storage facilities, and state-of-the-art cybersecurity infrastructure.

To ensure sustainability and efficiency, these HPC centres should be supported by reliable power infrastructure, skilled personnel, and strategic funding models. Power-intensive facilities like these require an uninterrupted energy supply, which could be addressed through investments in renewable energy solutions such as solar farms or microgrids.

Haruna Chiroma, a University Professor of Artificial Intelligence, wrote from the University of Hafr Al Batin, Saudi Arabia, via freedonchi@yahoo.com.

By Isah Miqdad

The Executive Governor of Katsina State, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, PhD, has approved the appointment of Naufal Ahmed as Director General (ICT Directorate).

The appointment, which is with effect from 14th August 2023, is based on the conviction that Mr Naufal will serve faithfully, diligently, and in the best interest of the service.

As the visionary founder of the esteemed Kirkira Innovation Hub, Naufal has pioneered the establishment of the first-ever technology hub in the region. This groundbreaking initiative has served as a transformative force, equipping countless young individuals with vital technological skills and providing them with a platform to thrive.

Naufal’s remarkable career as a tech ecosystem builder has been nothing short of extraordinary. With an unwavering passion for innovation and youth empowerment, his impact on the tech landscape of Katsina and Nigeria at large is undeniable.

He has been a sought-after speaker and organiser at numerous conferences across Katsina and the country, sharing his insights and inspiring others to embrace innovation.

In recognition of his outstanding achievements, Naufal has received numerous accolades, including being named among the Opportunities Hub’s 100 Most Influential Youths for his significant contributions to youth development and entrepreneurship.

By: Ali Sabo

Internet connectivity is becoming part and parcel of humans’ lives all over the globe. However, the story in the undeveloped countries, especially those living in the African continent, is different and not encouraging. Millions of people in Africa are finding it difficult to access this network, and even in places where these networks exist most of the time, it’s inefficient and costly. Moreover, the emergence of the covid-19 pandemic has exposed how fragile humans are and their dependence on the services internet provides to their daily lives.

Reports have indicated that only less than 50% of the Nigerian population is connected or has access to the internet. Of this 50%, many do not have the resources to own smartphones or computers that will allow accessing these services due to the high level of poverty ravaging the majority of the country’s population. To ensure more people are connected and have access to internet services in Nigeria, the government, through its communications agencies such as Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and National Information Technology Development Agencies (NITDA), have brought about many programs such as Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) and provide free computers and internet services to some communities and academic institutions in the country.

Non-profit organizations such as the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), whose main focus is using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to empower citizens, have initiated many programs that will liberate Nigerian people from this digital “darkness” and make the country one of the developed nations in terms of internet connectivity and other areas of human development as the internet gives people ample opportunities in their academic pursuit, businesses and in the health care sector, among others.

To ensure no one is left behind in the process, CITAD in 2016 launched the Digital Livelihood program, which centred on training women on digital technology and digital entrepreneurship in northern Nigeria, focusing on Abuja rural communities, Kano and Bauchi states. It, later on, included Jigawa State. The program has achieved tremendous success as the lives of hundreds of young girls and women have been changed and transformed. Many trained girls have now become digital entrepreneurs; graphic designing, web designers, online marketers etc. In an interview in one of the Nigerian Newspapers, one of the beneficiaries, Sadiya Danyaro, stated that the training “has drastically changed her life and made her become an employer rather than a job seeker. She also described the training as the turning point of discovering her passion and dream”. 

Before the commencement of the community network project by CITAD, supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through the Association for Progressive Communication in Nigeria, CITAD had set up seven (7) computers in the past centres in two states in Nigeria. The aim was to ease internet access to these underserved and neglected communities in terms of internet connectivity. The communities are Tungan Ashere, Dakwa Community, Pasepa, Gaube and Leleyi Gwari in rural Abuja communities, Jama’are and Itas-Gadau in Bauchi State.

At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, which highlighted the need and necessity of connecting everyone with an affordable and efficient internet connection, the community network project was launched by APC with support of FCDO in three continents; Africa, Asia and Latin America and championed by CITAD in Nigeria. Community networks are telecommunications infrastructure deployed and operated by local groups to meet their own communication needs and also a communications infrastructure, designed and erected to be managed for use by local communities. This communication needs can be voice, data, etc. and can be a point of convergence for community to come together to address their common community problems.

This initiative is aimed at enhancing the capacity of communities to design, deploy and manage community networks to meet their communication needs while at the same time engaging regulators and other relevant policymakers to enact policies and provide the support that could enhance the flourishing of community networks in the country. Due to resource constraints, CITAD piloted some sites in seven communities across three states: Jama’are and Itas in Bauchi State, Kafanchan in Kaduna State, and four sites in the rural communities of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (Tungen Ashere, Dakwa Community, Pasepa and Leleyi Gwari).

Some of the activities carried out by CITAD under this project include training of the community champions in these communities on the need for setting up community network centres in these areas and on advocacy to engage their representatives more effectively; forming a community network advisory committee which consists of individuals from Civil society Organizations, ICT sector, Government and members of the communities; high-level engagements with government (NCC and NITDA), engagement with House of Representatives and championing discussions on designing policies on community network in Nigeria.   

So far, with persistent engagements and advocacies visits by CITAD, progress on setting up community networks in Nigeria has been made. Through the House Committee on ICT, the Nigerian government has drafted a bill that contains provisions on community networks; Itas and Jama’are local governments, both in Bauchi State, have donated a piece of land to CITAD to build community network centres in their communities. In addition, following meetings with CITAD, NCC has indicated that it will develop a policy to guide the development of community networks in the country.

Ali Sabo is the Campaigns and Communications Officer of CITAD and can be reached via his email address: aliyuncee@gmail.com or his Twitter handle @a_sabo12.