NITDA DG to Jigawa: Stop relying on FAAC, harness youth, resources
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NITDA DG to Jigawa: Stop relying on FAAC, harness youth, resources
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, has challenged the Jigawa State Government to reduce its dependence on federal allocations, FAAC and harness its youthful population, land and other resources to build a sustainable economy.
Inuwa said Jigawa could no longer afford to rely excessively on allocations from the Federation Account when the state possessed the human and natural resources required to generate wealth, create jobs and drive economic growth.
The NITDA boss made the call on Thursday at the Galaxy Information Technology and Telecommunications Repositioning Retreat in Abuja, where he urged the state to rethink its development strategy and place technology at the centre of its economic transformation.
He expressed concern that Jigawa and other states in Northern Nigeria continued to depend heavily on federal revenue despite having significant resources that could be deployed to build more productive and self-sustaining economies.
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Inuwa said the region’s development challenges were not necessarily caused by a lack of resources, but by the failure to develop clear objectives, strategic plans and measurable targets for harnessing them.
He said, “You must have a clear objective of what you want to achieve. What do you want to achieve in the next two or three years? Then, you develop strategies on how to achieve that.”
The DG urged Jigawa to exploit its youthful population as an economic asset, arguing that a deliberate investment in skills, technology and innovation could transform the state’s young people from dependants into productive contributors to the economy.
He also identified excessive concentration on politics and the absence of continuity in government policies as factors undermining development in the North.
According to him, states must move beyond political cycles and establish long-term development plans that survive changes in administration.
Inuwa particularly challenged Galaxy ITT to reposition itself as a major driver of Jigawa’s digital economy, leveraging its experience and understanding of Nigeria’s technology ecosystem.
He recalled that Jigawa was among the early states to recognise the importance of information and communications technology, citing the establishment of Galaxy ITT under former Governor Ibrahim Saminu Turaki as an example of the state’s early commitment to technology-driven development.
He, however, regretted that the absence of continuity in subsequent administrations prevented the state from fully exploiting the foundation laid by Turaki.
The NITDA DG said technology had since moved from being a specialised sector to becoming a critical enabler of virtually every area of economic activity.
He noted that many of the world’s largest companies were technology-driven, stressing that states and countries that failed to adapt to the changing economic landscape risked being left behind.
Inuwa said Galaxy ITT therefore needed a clearly defined strategic direction capable of making it an engine of digital transformation, innovation and economic opportunity in Jigawa.
He, however, warned that the company could not achieve such a transformation alone, stressing the importance of appropriate legal, policy and institutional frameworks.
He consequently called for stronger collaboration between Galaxy ITT and the Jigawa State Information Technology and Digital Economy Agency to ensure effective policy implementation and coordinated development of the state’s digital economy.
Inuwa also explained the evolution of NITDA, saying the agency was established in 2001 to promote the adoption and use of ICT in Nigeria.
He recalled that at the time, fewer than 500,000 Nigerians had access to computers, while ICT contributed less than 0.5 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
He said NITDA’s mandate had since expanded from promoting technology adoption to developing policies, regulations and legal instruments aimed at making technology a key enabler of economic activities.
The DG said the adoption of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy in 2019 marked a significant shift in Nigeria’s approach to technology, with digital technology increasingly recognised as a horizontal enabler across virtually every sector.
He said NITDA subsequently repositioned itself and developed a strategic roadmap and action plan focused on using regulation and policy interventions to create markets, generate employment and promote inclusive economic growth.
Inuwa said the agency’s broader vision was to build a digitally empowered Nigeria capable of achieving inclusive economic growth through technological innovation.
The retreat was attended by Turaki, who established Galaxy ITT and pioneered Jigawa’s ICT development drive before the company later metamorphosed into Galaxy Backbone.
Turaki commended NITDA under Inuwa’s leadership for its efforts to advance Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
