By Emeka Aginam

For Nigeria to be digitally independent In  software development  and consumption,  National Software board  to help promote indigenous software developers  must be created as a matter of urgent necessity , experts  at the just concluded  Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria , ISPON,  national software competition ad conference held  at the Tinapa, Cross Rivers State have said.

According to the conference, it was time Nigeria as a nation elevates software to a matter of national policy through the implementation of a national Software strategy to be pursued through public-private partnerships involving government, industry and academia. While pushing for software board, the ISPON conference advised the government to  encourage  and facilitate  the building of massive Software Knowledge capacities and capabilities and explore the windows of opportunities presented by Software Engineering, ensuring that Nigeria leverages on Software and related Infrastructure as a service.

Concern of the forum:

Raising  alarm over  digital colonization of Nigeria by other countries especial India, the conference which registered a record attendance of about 540 participants  warned in the communiqué that if the current is not reversed, the country may miss the opportunities in the digital economy.

While Nigeria is said t be losing about N156 billion revenue to software licensing as a result of the patronage of foreign software and applications incursions into Nigeria, the President of ISPON, Chris Uwaje in the communiqué at the end of the conference  and competition that had  about  23 Universities and Polytechnics  in participation noted that retooling the workforce  with local software has today become the fundamental and most critical challenge to national and global development of the 21st century.

Imperatives for a national software board

The National Software Board , according to Uwaje  will perform the enormous task and challenges of Software Nigeria as enshrined the  National Local Content ACT 2010  as enacted.

“The imperative for a National Software Boards is to ensure that software is upgraded into a national policy status.

“ The board should determine the performance, efficacy, integrity, operational functions and compliance of every software with respect to ISO:2000 and ICMM standards on software, and ensure that they did not infringe with limitations that bother on national security, development, education, cultural values, community peace, peoples’ health, values and national peace.

“The board should be able to determine if software to be imported could be developed locally by Nigerians and then make recommendations.”, he explained.

Transition to a cloud and information society:

According to  the ISPON President,  “New conditions are being defined and created for future economic (industrial) direction and creation of wealth.

“The world we live in, is now integrating economically into a single world-wide knowledge (wwk) and market space.  This essential aspect of the present globalization process is strongly encouraged by the availability of IT and its ability to multiply and populate knowledge and also eliminate distance at the speed of light.”

Other country’s example:

Ireland

He said that the  National Software Centre (NSC) is based in Mahon, Cock Coty Ireland and was built under an Irish Government initiative to establish a centre of excellence for the Information Society SMART economy.

He said that the project is a privately led venture via a public-Private-Partnership. A National Software Centre (NSC) Campus hosts the Network Operations Centre in Cork for the 60 km Cork. MAN (48/96 pair fibre ring was launched in January 2004 for enhance.

Pakistan

The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), according t him  is an apex Government body mandated to promote Pakistan’s IT Industry in local and international markets. PSEB facilitates the IT industry through a series of projects and programs in infrastructure development, human capital development, company capability development, international marketing, strategy and research, and the promotion of innovation and technologies. Centre.

USA

In the United States of America, the  Center for National Software Studies (CNSS), according to him  is a public policy research organization established as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.  The CNSS, he informed is a private corporation governed by a board of trustees and accepts funding through contributions and grants.