Prof. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, assured the public today (July 14, 2022) in Lagos that the country’s telecom regulatory framework has been created to solve any potential problems brought on by the development of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Stakeholders Consultative Forum on Regulatory Roadmap for IoT Ecosystem in Nigeria, hosted by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and presentation of two books written by the Minister were the two events Pantami spoke at. Pantami claimed that Nigeria has already shown that it is prepared to take advantage of the potential of this new service, as evidenced by the decline in cybercrime incidents in Nigeria over the past two years.
In a statement, Reuben Muoka, Director, Public Affairs, NCC, noted that Pantami, at a meeting featuring presentations by local and international experts, with Secretary of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Houlin Zhao, participating virtually, said that the Internet of Things (IoT) is essential to today’s emerging technologies because its connectivity to devices helps to increase productivity, reduce waste, and ensure a quicker decision-making process where there are large numbers of people involved
In a welcome speech earlier, Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, explained that the NCC has made it a consistent practise to interact with experts and important players in the industry about how to best facilitate the development of strong regulations for emerging technologies in the nation.
According to Danbatta, this consultation offers a special chance to assess the rise and potential deployment of IoT goods and services for Nigerian customers.
The ITU scribe praised Nigeria’s cooperation with the global telecommunications community in his goodwill message and review of one of Pantami’s books, “Datafication of Society to Foster an Internet Economy,” as well as how Pantami helped to facilitate ITU programmes, including his recent chairmanship of the World Summit on Information Society at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Prof. Mike Hinchey of the University of Limerick, Ireland, who served as the event’s keynote speaker and reviewed Pantami’s second book, “Cybersecurity: Initiatives for Securing a Country,” praised the Minister and said the book is a brazen declaration that Africa is no longer waiting on the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry sidelines but is instead producing content for its institutions.
