By Adekunle Adekoya, Emeka Aginam & Prince Osuagwu
LAST week, the Presidential Panel on Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, headed by former head of the Cuvil Service of the Federation, Mr Steve Oronsaye submitted its report to the President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan. The report, an 800-page compendium recommended scrapping of 38 agencies, merger of 52 and conversion of 14 to departments in ministries. In all, it recommended that statutory agencies be reduced from 263 to 161 in order to reduce cost of governance.
Recommendations
However, as it affects the ICT sector, the Oronsaye Panel recommended, among others, that:
- The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) should become a department in the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology;
- Its function as the clearing house for IT in the public sector should be taken over by Galaxy Backbone Plc; and
- The proposed enabling law for NigComSat should not be passed, rather, it should now be fully privatised because if its enabling law were to be passed it would be in conflict with the Act setting up the parent body, NARSDA (National Space Research and Development Agency).
However, leading lights of the ICT sector, in their reaction are of the opinion that the recommendations, if implemented, will set the ICT sector back by decades and almost wipe out gains made in the last decade.
No rational basis for this
Professor Charles Uwadia, Director of the University of Lagos IT Centre and immediate past president of the Nigeria Computer Society expressed shock at the recommendations, and did not mince words in expressing his disappointment.
His words: "The recommendation of the Orosanye's Committee to the effect that the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) should become a department in the Ministry of Communication Technology came to me as a shock and a surprise as well; it is also difficult to believe because no rational reasons have been advanced for the recommendation.
"If it happens, the nation must have taken a journey backward by about 10 years. NITDA was established by Act 2007 in realisation of the need for a special purpose vehicle that will leverage on the power of IT to fast pace the socioeconomic development of the country. A department in a Ministry cannot in any way achieve this objective.
"The Act that established NITDA, also created the National Information Technology Development Fund (NITDEF) for its developmental initiatives, and so NITDA may not require government funding to perform its obligations; in effect NITDA cannot be said to be a financial liability on government.
NITDA is an agency of government, Galaxy is registered with CAC; NITDA's mandate is wider than Galaxy's; so, if any harmonisation is required between the two bodies, Galaxy's functions should be transferred to NITDA, and not the other way round. Of course, there is still the raging argument about the propriety of a monopoly which Galaxy represents within its sphere of mandate.
"And may I ask why were NCC and NBC also not made departments within the Ministry of Communication Technology? Yes, the conspiracy theory is a very valid one. Having failed to muscle up the USPF, NITDEF seems the "easy" fall guy!
"It is unfortunate that while other developing nations of Nigeria's age are taking giant strides forward in their IT development, some of our leaders who hold temporary power are taking retrogressive steps for reasons best known to them.
"And to our colleagues in the IT domain, the unfolding scenario is a further wake up call to true professionals and practitioners to stand up and be counted; backward policies must be resisted for our sake and the sake of coming generations; we cannot continue to keep quiet while the country is being run down by those who have no superior argument or patriotism over us. The recommendation should not stand."
It'll set us back 20 yrs
Professor Uwadia's position is similar to the one taken by President of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria, ISPON, Chris Uwaje. Uwaje, just as vitriolic as Uwadia, lampooned the recommendations as "prescribing panadol to cure leprosy," and opined that it should be dismissed. His itemised reactions, which included a recommendation that NITDA become a full-fledged commission in The Presidency are listed hereunder:
(http://vml1.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/IT-report.jpg?9d7bd4) (http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/04/oronsaye-reportll-set-it-sector-back-by-decades-uwaje-uwadia-olufuye/it-report/)...Uwaje, Uwadia, and Oronsaye
- The Steve Oronsaye Commission Report and recommendation on National IT Development and NITDA in particular should be seen as a dangerous CROSS (emphasis not ours) to crucify National IT Development and its implementation framework – NITDA and set the growth of our Nation's IT development 20 years back. The recommendation is like prescribing "Panadol to cure Leprosy".
- The recommendation on IT is not only transparently biased against NITDA but a monumental error of judgment and shows a colossal gulf of ignorance of the role of IT for National Development by the Commission.
- The report is grossly flawed and intellectually incompetent with its recommendation and should be dismissed for the following reasons:
(a) it will truncate and retard National IT development at all levels.
(b) The recommendation on making Galaxy Backbone – a Limited liability company a clearing House for IT will create massive unemployment of Youths and destroy the current fragile state of IT Industry – and especially the growth of indigenous Software development in Nigeria and ECOWAS.
- Finally, NITDA should be upgraded to a National Commission under the Presidency and Galaxy Backbone which was ab initio, a fundamental error and an instrument for the current under-development of ICT in Nigeria should be unbundled and liquidated..
- NigComSat is a fundamental institution for National ICT development and should be empowered by the presidency. ICT needs powerful satelites to develop and provide sustainable national security in cyberspace.
It's retrogressive
Former president of the Information technology Association of Nigeria, ITAN, Dr Jimson Olufuye also took a similar stand, saying that its better to ensure that NITDA does its work better, but that it would be retrogressive to reduce it to a department in the ministry.
His words: "That would be retrogressive. It's better to ensure that NITDA does it work better and smarter. By the strength of its mandate it has given birth to many IT developmental initiatives and bodies, including Galaxy Backbone Plc, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), among others. It only needs to become more agile and impactful. Galaxy of course should be on course for privatization and I've no doubt it'll do well in Nigeria and across Africa."
Recommendations okay
However, it's not all knocks for the report. Mr Tom Davies, a communications consultant and player in the ICT sector sees things differently.
"I agree with the principle of the Oronsaye Panel as follows: Galaxy should be made to focus on service provision to government ministries, departments and agencies while NITDA as a Department of the Ministry should focus on the promotion of IT adoption based on policies proferred by the Ministry. With respect to NigComSat, privatization will enable it complement the global communications capabilities provided by the submarine cables such as MainOne, Glo1 and others."
ICT professionals must inform govt
But Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem, CEO of Teledom Group and former ATCON president preferred to take a different stance altogether because he was neither sure that an ICT professional with the right experience was part of the Oronsaye Panel nor did the panel avail itself of advice from the ICT sector before making those recommendations.
He therefore proposed a meeting of all ICT professionals, minus those in government, to chart a roadmap for the sector before the White Paper Committee finishes its work.
His words: "The Oronsaye committee was populated by Nigerians of high integrity. I am not sure if there was an ICT professional with the right experience among them or that they had solicited for memoranda from stakeholders of the ICT industry. I am convinced that they made those recommendations based on facts available to them. We have a duty as professionals to inform government before it issues a white paper on the report.
"There is an urgent need for real stakeholders and technocrats of the ICT industry to meet to discuss the report and send accurate information to government. The meeting should include the NEC, former Presidents and key members of the following industry associations: ATCON, ALTON, NCS, CPN, ITAN, ISPON, NIG, ISPAN, JACITAD and may be, NIRA.
There must be no presence of NCC, NBC, NITDA, NigComSAT and Galaxy Backbone at the stakeholders' meeting. We want participants in the forum to be free and psychologically unencumbered in their deliberations by the presence of officials of these agencies. In fact, the structural sections of the Draft ICT policy should also be discussed as those sections of the draft ICT policy and the Oronsaye report must be treated together and in tandem to make digital sense for the good of Nigeria."
Till we see the report
Engr. Titi Omo-Ettu, ATCON President, Engr Gbenga Adebayo: ALTON President, and Engr Victor Banjo, President Nigerian Internet Group, all agree that the recommendations must have come out government's desire to cut costs and remove duplications, but reserved comments until they have seen the report.
What Adoke committee must keep in view
However, as the White paper committee set up by the President, headed by Justice Minister Mohammed Bello Adoke swings into action, certain facts should be kept in view. These are: The Oronsaye Panel wrongly assumed that NITDA functioned as a department.The White Paper Committee should remember that NITDA was set up in April 2001 to implement the National IT Policy, and to serve as a clearing house for IT in government.
This function was conveyed to MDAs by a service-wide circular No. SGG.6./S.19/T/65 of April 18, 2006, and now forms part of the NITDA Act of 2007.
The second recommendation which asks government to transfer NITDA's mandate to Galaxy Backbone is fundamentally flawed because Galaxy Backbone itself was an initiative of NITDA. Professor Cleopas Angaye, NITDA's Director-General said in an interview:
"We created Galaxy Backbone to provide government networks and connectivity. There are lots of agencies in government and many times, if you want to communicate with these agencies you have to send letters to them at a very short notice. So, that link was lacking and that was why Galaxy Backbone was created to provide a backbone to feed MDAs."
Further, the Oronsaye Panel stood matters on its head by asking government to transform Galaxy, billed to be pravatised into an agency, while asking that the commercial arm of yet another one be privatized.What should have been the overriding consideration, which seemed to have ben overlooked is whether NITDA is a burden to government. It is clear that with NITDEF, NITDA has capacity to fund its operations.
Vanguard Nigeria