Cyber crime: Bane to ICT Development in Nigeria

For Nigeria to use Information Communications Technology(ICT) as a tool to access knowledge and boost productivity, it must rise to fight cyber crime and ensure food security for its citizenry.

Berating the poor attempt by the country in the war against internet fraud, the Chairperson of the African Business Roundtable, Bamanga Turkur, said that many African countries especially Nigeria must rise to the challenge to reduce the menace.

Turkur made the assertion at the three-day African Telecom Development summit 2009 (ATD) in Abuja .
The summit which seeks to highlight ICT development in Africa by forging partnership between the government and the private sector flagged off on Thursday with its theme: Telecom in the Service of Humanity and with special focus on cyber security, food security, citizen security.
However, the minister and Deputy Chairman of National Planning Commission (NPC), Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, on the occasion confirmed that the development of ICT would give the country hope in the possibility of change in all spheres of development.

He went further to compare Nigeria’s ICT development with that of China, which he said started at a slow pace but is now one the best in the world.

“We often use the development of the ICT in Nigeria to highlight the possibility of change in Nigeria. One area that has given hope is the development of the telecom sector in Nigeria. In another 10 years, critics that had written off Nigeria will swallow their words. Just as China was written off 20 years ago, he stressed.

Usman advised the Federal Government on the need to create an enabling environment by creating good regulations and encouraging private sector participation.

In the same vein, while lauding the Nigerian government for pioneering the Internet revolution in Africa, Secretary- General of International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Dr. Hamadoun Toure, said: “The operators have been equipped to carry out their various services. More than 30 million people in sub Saharan Africa have access to the internet and Nigeria added 11 million more users between 2000- 2008”

Also present at the summit were the Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili , who was represented by Mr. Tony Ozodinaobi, Vice President of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ernest Ndukwe.