Prof. Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), claimed that the country of Nigeria's economy has benefited by $70 billion from the technology-driven telecoms sector.
According to Danbatta, the industry has improved the lives of millions of Nigerians and created over 500,000 jobs in both the public and private sectors.
He revealed this during his keynote address on the subject of "Using Technology to boost Nigeria's GDP" at a Cyberchain event in Abuja.
According to Danbatta, technology has had a significant impact on every nation and civilization.
Danbatta, who was represented by the Principal Manager, Digital Economy, Mrs Ella Eli highlighted that Nigeria’s adoption of 5G, e-commerce, Fintech and Big data had boosted the country’s revenue generation capacity.
According to him, “Nigeria’s adoption of digital technologies has enabled it to diversify its revenue and economy, created jobs, improved services and efficiency, reduced wastages, and optimised resources available”.
“Telecommunications has contributed over $70 billion to the Nigerian economy, provided over 500,000 jobs in the formal and informal sectors, and improved the lives of millions of Nigerians.
“Most Nigerians today cannot comprehend life without mobile phones.
“Presently, the liberalised telecommunications sector has brought with it, instant messaging, instant information, financial inclusion, telemedicine, smart farming, e-Commerce and virtual learning, however, the best is yet to come.
“The benefits of technology are endless and with technology becoming affordable, accessible, and available, these benefits will increase tremendously”.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Convener, CyberChain, Abuja, Jude Ozinegbe, said Nigeria was moving in the right direction towards embracing the gains of the tech ecosystem.
He said: “We are moving from Analogue to digital, some people seem to have been left behind, and that is why we have decided to gather leaders in the space to educate us.
“We have leaders in this space that have seen the possibility and opportunity in this ecosystem.
“This is my contribution to expanding the digital economy in Nigeria. As much as possible, contribute something positive about the space to amplify the good tidings within the ecosystem.”
Ozinegbe said with proper knowledge of Blockchain, Nigerian youth can earn by using their cell phones and data.
On his part, a Cryptocurrency Investigator, A and D Forensic, Adedeji Owonibi, urged Nigerian youth to embrace the gains of Blockchain technology.
Speaking on the topic, “Blockchain Forensics and criminal elements:, Owonibi said a better dimension had been added to Blockchain and Digital technologies in Nigeria with the participation of the government.
He said: “If you are a criminal within the blockchain space, you could do anything in Nigeria, however with our coming and government involvement, we all have a part to play in bringing sanity in the sector.”
Owonibi said decentralisation was a blessing for the ‘good guys’ in the blockchain sector, while a bad thing for those using it criminally.
He called for responsibility on the part of Nigerians in a bid to harness Blockchain opportunities.
“If you have any business in blockchain make sure you are compliant with rules and be crypto security conscious”, he said.
Newsmen report that blockchain technology is a decentralised, distributed ledger that stores the record of ownership of digital assets.