…ICT Media Left Out
By Aaron Ukodie
On a day that several companies and individuals in the Nigerian ICT industry were recognized for their various roles in pushing the frontiers of ICT development in the country, the role of ICT media was left out for mention and recognition.
Over 18 awards were dished out yesterday in various categories, at the event where even the organizers did well to remember their sacrifices for the industry. The Executive Secretary of the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) Olude Ajibola organisers of the event got rewarded, so was his president, Olusola Teniola.
But the ICT Media, which is as old as the industry and have played and continues to play several remarkable roles in advocacy and in entrepreneurship was conspicously left out.
It was the 3rd edition of the Nigeria Tech Innovation and Telecom Awards powered by Instinctwave in collaboration with ATCON.
The president of Nigerian Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) Emma Okonji who was disappointed at the situation told eWorldnews that it was an error on the part of the organisers not to recognize the contribution of the ICT media.
Okonji, who was at the event said.” I was not too happy that journalists were not recognized; journalists are part of the growth of the industry, they are the ones who promote the works and the ideas of the various players. They serve as catalysts for the growth of the industry and on a day like this when the role of all stakeholders were being recognized, It is an error on the part of the organisers for journalists not to be recognize”.
It was nevertheless an interesting event which was highlighted by the recognition of the milestone role played by Dr Ernest Ndukwe, former president of ATCONNdukwe who is now the chairman of board of directors of MTN Nigeria, was also a former Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC). He and three others were inducted into ATCON’s Hall of Fame for their sterling contribution to the ICT industry.
Others who were inducted into the Hall of Fame are Mr. Wale Ajisebutu, Executive Chairman, 21st Century Technologies Limited, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, Secretary to the Government of Akwa Ibom State and Mr. Biodun Disu, Chairman, PPC Limited.
The current EVC, Professor Umar Danbatta, and the Minister of Communications, Dr Ali Pantami also got deserving awards for their contribution for ICT regulation and providing enabling environment for the industry to thrive.
Teniola said the award was necessary because its members deserve some accolades in the form of awards to motivate them to do more in terms of changing the narrative of the Nigerian telecoms sector. He gave three reasons for the award. They include the need to foster healthy competition in the Nigerian telecom industry drive further investment into the sector and give the most authoritative and recognized awards to innovative and deserving individuals because the ICT industry has contributed a lot to the Nigeria GDP.
“Our thinking is that if we decide to ignore the contribution that our sector has made to the development of Nigeria by not recognizing the actors that made it possible what we are saying invariably is that we are ungrateful to their concerted efforts in changing the story of our industry.
“We hope with this initiative of rewarding excellence Nigerian government would pay more attention to our sector by removing all barriers that are militating against the growth of our industry like multiple taxation, right of way issues and lack of disbursement of forex at the official rate to our sector.
“In trying to reward the right government establishments and companies, we ensure that the principles of integrity, professionalism and fairness are ranked high above any commercial motives”. Teniola said
Teniola said the National Executive Council of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has concluded plans to embark on an evaluation exercise of the Nigerian telecom industry.
He said the Nigerian telecommunications sector has gone through a lot of structural changes since it was liberalized many years ago and as a forward looking and proactive Association in this space it is working very hard to further increase the level of investment that is attracted to the industry through research and development. Some of the principal reasons that inform the evaluation of the Nigerian telecoms industry are as follow:
