By Adekunle Adekoya

What a year 2012 was! To begin with, I wish all readers of this column a very Happy New Year and God’s blessings as we begin another 365-day round of “struggle”, as we like to say in these climes.

In the ICT sector, it was a year of achievements; even if we are not where we think we should be, it seems some concrete steps have been taken towards getting us there. I wish to place on record the achievements of the Ministry of Communications Technology.

It is worth recapping that this Ministry, created a mere 17 months ago has already overshadowed some of the oldest ministries in government in terms of achievements that have direct impact on the lives of Nigerians. Some of these achievements do not bear repeating here; get them in the cover story on the page preceding this one.

Communications & Tech Minister, Omobola Johnson

Some of the most laudable initiatives in the sector last year include the SIM card registration exercise, which in my opinion will be a continuous exercise, launch of the national broadband strategy and the PC Ownership Scheme for students.

Still there is the deliberate effort to rejig capability in the manufacture and assembly of IT devices by consciously creating business opportunities for our OEMs. It is also noteworthy to place on record the efforts of ISPON in growing local software talent. These, and more not mentioned here, deserve the commendation of industry watchers.

In the new year however, more action will be needed to consolidate and build on the gains already made. Personally, I still believe that the way to go in developing local talent and content in this sector is to deliberately create windows of opportunity for our OEMs and software developers through a programme that offers tablet PCs for not just students of higher institutions, but primary and secondary as well.

While the PC student ownership scheme launched last year had global giants like Intel and Microsoft participating, I think we could go India’s way and make more use of local input, by law, by policy, and by sheer insistence. It can work!

And there are some battles ahead; there’s no shying away from it as the makings are there for all to see. NigComSat will press ahead with its desire to stand alone through the bill awaiting senatorial action, while those who don’t want that will also not sit idly by and watch. As far as that goes, it promises to be interesting.

There were some downsides that need highlighting so they can be corrected. Last year some of our brightest and best flew this nation’s flag at Microsoft’s Imagine Cup (software) competition without much support or even acknowledgment from the authorities. I hope that will change this year; governments that sponsor their contingents to such contests are investing in th future. We should do same here.

For broadband, rights of way issues still persist, and Mrs Johnson has the task of resolving them. State and local governments should see telecoms as critical national infrastructure and work with the Federal Government on this issue. Sky-high right of way charges will not help anyone; especially the ordinary Nigerian, whether a student, housewife, worker, or governor. We all need broadband for mobile money, e-business, e-education, e-health, and more ICT-powered activities. Happy New Year, all, again!