The minister of communications technology, Omobola Johnson, is working. There’s those who believe that she could work faster. But only the most narrow-minded of her critics aren’t secretly relieved that she wasn’t one of the casualties of the last federal cabinet shake-up that saw some ministers dispossessed of their coveted seats.
Continuity and legacies are not our strongest suits in this neck of the woods. Here, it is the rare project that outlasts its creator. Changes in power are opportunities for the new prebendal diktats to commission fresh contract spawning projects for the boys dem. Old projects? Tough luck if the new pharaoh doesn’t give a damn about Joseph. So when the federal cabinet reshuffle became imminent, many were fearful of the implications for the ICT sector. There was a good chance that all the ongoing work, all the progress made, could suddenly be for naught.
They need not have fretted. As far as we can tell, it has pleased Aso Rock that the ICT minister remain where she is. The former minister of science and technology, Prof. Okon Ewa-Bassey, wasn’t so lucky however.
It is good that the dreaded axe didn’t come down after all. But the clock never stopped ticking. Barring another executive tantrum, Omobola Johnson now has just over a year to consolidate her efforts and at least get the sector to exit velocity, before she can retire in peace. The policy wonks could come up with a better list but the minister still has to deliver on –
- Ubiquitous broadband access, nationwide. The national broadband plan is out and up for implementation.
- The ministry’s stated agenda to accelerate the ecosystem via funding, infrastructure, and corporate incentives. The feasibility and sustainability of government driven ICT hubs and startup seed funds is still up for debate.
- Open data and citizen access to governance initiatives at the federal level.
- The pursuit of policy, especially in cyber crime and electronic transactions that are not only in keeping with the present but are also reasonably future proof.
The weight of expectation might seem unfair, but its motivations are well founded. Maybe I haven’t been around long enough to know, but I do not recollect any previous individual who at this level of access to the strings of policy has brought comparable amounts of domain expertise AND motivation to the responsibility of charting a federal course for Nigerian technology.
In a clime where the average bureaucrat would sooner rob the store than to mind it, if the ICT minister’s head isn’t resting easy, one hopes it is because she is doing her job.
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