Afrigather 
Over the last three and a half years, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Financial system, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami—a digital dynamo—has demonstrated high quality in management and has raised the bar of fine governance within the nation. Particularly, the Digital Financial system sector has come to the limelight below his stewardship. He has since his assumption into workplace change into the champion of Nigeria’s digital revolution.
Prof. Pantami has exhibited distinctive management expertise in driving the Communications and Digital Financial system sector to document numerous unprecedented achievements. His management has not solely escalated the sector’s quarterly income era by greater than 500 p.c as a consequence of his digital improvements but in addition performed a pivotal function in lifting the Nigerian financial system out of recession.
Beneath his watch, the Digital Financial system sector has multiplied the income generated from fifty-one billion Naira quarterly to about 4 hundred and eight billion Naira in keeping with an unbiased evaluation carried out by the International, Commonwealth & Growth Workplace (FCDO). However, the ICT sector recorded the best progress fee within the yr 2022, as reported by the Nationwide Bureau of Statistics.
From the onset, Professor Pantami has recognized eight precedence areas for improvement, which embrace: developmental regulation, digital expertise, strong infrastructure, service infrastructure, digital companies improvement and promotion, gentle infrastructure, digital society and rising applied sciences, and indigenous content material improvement and promotion. In every of those areas, the Minister has carried out exceptionally nicely by implementing insurance policies and initiatives which have enormously impacted the Nigerian financial system.
As an illustration, he has established ICT talent acquisition facilities throughout the states and has recorded over 219,000 direct beneficiaries of digital expertise coaching. Moreover, he has laid about 19 kilometers of fiber cable to develop attain and protection to MDAs (overlaying 28 MDAs) and has established digital financial system facilities to help the expansion of the financial system within the nation. He has additionally developed insurance policies and initiatives to advertise indigenous content material and has been in a position to create an enabling setting for the sustainable progress of Nigeria’s financial system, which has been in a position to resolve challenges that had lingered for many years.
Beneath Professor Pantami’s management, a major variety of Nationwide Insurance policies have been developed. Presently, over a dozen of those insurance policies are already being applied, one among which is the Nationwide Digital Financial system Coverage & Technique 2020-2030 which units out a complete plan for the expansion and improvement of the digital financial system in Nigeria.
The Minister has additionally executed numerous initiatives, too quite a few to say, which have enormously impacted the Nigerian financial system. Nonetheless, a few of these initiatives embrace the institution of ICT talent acquisition facilities in many of the states, registration of all cell sim playing cards, emergency communication facilities, digital examination facilities, Knowledge Sharing Facilities, Digital Industrial Parks, Wi-fi Web Cloud, Digital Capability Coaching Facilities, NITDA Group IT Coaching Facilities, IT Innovation Hubs, IT Capability Constructing Facilities, and Provision of ICT Amenities in our Establishments of studying.
In his effort to rework governance to the Twenty first-century mannequin, the minister has established the E-Authorities Coaching Centre to equip stakeholders with the required expertise required to attain optimum productiveness. He additionally constructed a number of E-Well being Amenities, E-Libraries, and E-Accessibility Initiatives. Moreover, the minister has coordinated the institution of a number of Group ICT Facilities, NIPOST Digital Centre, Tertiary Establishment Information Facilities, College Information Facilities, Rural Broadband Initiatives, Nationwide Centre for Synthetic Intelligence and Robotics. He additionally empowered Farmers by the Nationwide Adopted Village for Good Agriculture Program. The Accelerated Cellular Telephone Enlargement-Base Transceiver Station was additionally achieved below his watch.
Moreover, to enhance the efforts of safety companies in guaranteeing efficient Nationwide safety, there have been over 92 million distinctive Nationwide Identification Quantity enrollments, as of November 2022. These achievements are a testomony to the arduous work and dedication of Professor Pantami, who has been tireless in his efforts to drive the digital revolution in Nigeria.
It’s price acknowledging that President Buhari have to be counseled for the sensible determination of appointing Professor Pantami because the Minister of Communications and Digital Financial system. He is among the best-performing ministers within the cupboard and has not didn’t ship on his mandate to the Nigerian folks. The nation wants extra brains like him, to drive the event of the nation and be sure that we’re in a position to compete on the worldwide stage.
As we glance to the longer term, it’s clear that Professor Pantami has the flexibility and the imaginative and prescient to proceed to drive the expansion and improvement of the Communications and Digital Financial system sector in Nigeria. The erudite scholar has distinguished himself for integrity, and selflessness. He has been a worthy ambassador for Nigeria’s younger inhabitants. We pray that he could have the chance to serve the nation in lots of capacities and better positions sooner or later. His management and experience are very important to the continued progress of our nation. The insurance policies and initiatives executed below his management have enormously impacted the Nigerian financial system and have laid the inspiration for a sustainable future within the sector.
Dr. Yakubu Wudil writes from King Fahd College of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia, and may be reached through [email protected]
