Emeka Aginam
3 December 2008
Lagos — With the launch of Old Students Personal Computers, (OSPC) initiative at the 2008 IT CEO summit last week in Kano State which is expected to enhance IT skills among pupils and students in primary and secondary schools across the nation, the Information Technology Association of Nigeria, (ITAN) has thrown its weight behind the multi-million naira Kano IT Park that would transform the entire state into a knowledge society.
At the event with the theme: Kano IT Park IT: Enabling Businesses and Empowering Society' , ITAN chieftains and stakeholders in the Nigerian IT industry while commending Kano State government for embarking on its IT park project expected to bring tremendous development in the ICT sector, urged other states to emulate what Kano State is doing to be well positioned in the 21st century knowledge economy.
Speaker after speaker who spoke at the capacity building event were excited with concepts of IT park which is expected to move the state from concept to reality.
Although Kano is among the first states to embrace this initiative, majority of the speakers at the capacity building event were worried on the slow pace of infrastructural deployment in the country, saying that something has to be done so as to compete with other developed economies of the world in the information society.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the Special Adviser to the Kano State Government in Education and Information Technology, Dr. Bashir Galadanci, told the gathering that the government of Kano State was committed to the IT park, saying that the value of the building is about N2 billion with additional N500 million spent on other aspects. "We will start the Kano IT Park in the first quarter of 2009. In the coming budget, we are going to support the IT Park with N2 billion. That is to show you how we are committed to the capacity building project", he added.
With optimism, the President of ITAN, Dr. Jimson Olufuye, who is passionate about youth empowerment through ICT, told the capacity audience that the Kano IT park would prepare the state for the challenges of 21st century knowledge economy. "Kano will be among the leading states when it comes of ICT in the near future. There is no doubt about it. Kano has come to stay. The theme of the conference is focused on mobilizing IT CEOs to tap into the $50 million business opportunity made available by the Kano State government with the establishment of the Kano IT park. I commend the governor of Kano State for his bold vision to transform Kano into a knowledge society. ITAN pledges to support the government and the people of Kano towards the realization of this laudable objective.
"As part of our strategy in this regard, ITAN shall be launching the Kano OSPC to promote the deployment and adaptation of educational PCs powered by Open Source software to Kano primary and secondary schools through secured donations from old students.
"The idea is to encourage old students in government, civil service, private enterprise, among others to donate PCs to their alma mater hence OSPC. Beta Computers, Brian Integrated Systems, Zinox and Omatek are OEM partners for the project while Open Source partner is Mandriva Afria", he said.
For the Oracle of the Nigerian IT industry, who is also a one time President of ITAN, Chris Uwaje, the Kano IT park is a welcome development that needs to be supported by all. This is the beginning of the future of youths in Kano, saying that children yet unborn will never forgive any government that fails to empower the youths with IT tools needed to face the challenging digital society.
"It is a matter of wish. It is something whose time has come. Other states must follow suit. That is the only way to prepare for the challenges ahead. We must begin to build enough capacities. We must encourage the youths. We must give IT priority attention it deserves otherwise we will continue to lag behind and continue to consume what other developed economies have produced. This is the time to act", Uwaje who initiated the Computer in School Initiative, (CISI) that has been re-branded to Old Students Personal Computers, (OSPC) said.
While joining other speakers in commending the efforts of the Kano State in building a sustainable IT park, Dele Ajisomo, the President & CEO of Mandriva Africa, noted that the Kano IT Park, Enabling Businesses and Empowering the Society is a timely intervention that would take the state to next level.
"Our solution is to enable Kano State government to continue to address educational challenges at the grassroots level by providing primary and secondary schools with ICT equipment that are durable, designed for the Nigerian education environment and at relatively reasonable cost", he said.
According to him, Mandriva is proposing to work with Kano Sate government to establish Mandriva Linux and Open Source Academy as a major part of Kano State Technology Park,
Kano State Software Incubation Centres, and Kano State e-Government programme - "Open Source Government", Kano State has come to stay.
"The world of IT is changing. It is clear that the right investments in technology can deliver significant competitive advantage. In the most successful companies IT drives the business. There is need to differentiate between commodity IT services and IT innovation" Ismail Radwan , of world World Bank said.
According to him, the Kano IT Park will generate revenue for the state, create employment opportunities in the state, attract foreign investment and develop highly ICT manpower in the state. This project will change the face of this state. World Bank is committed to ICT in developing country. We are passionate about it. I commend the Kano State government for taking the bold step" he said.
Purpose of the Park:
The purpose of an ICT Park is to provide an enabling and conducive environment in terms of buildings, infrastructure, energy and fiscal policies for the production of ICT products and services, meant for local, national and International markets. As an economic development policy, it will bring the following benefits for the state:
*Revenue from the operations of the companies that will engage in ICT production and service provision.
* Creation of many employment opportunities for citizens of the State.
*Production of high_level lCT manpower for the State as well as for others.
* Creation of the possibility for the state to export skills in the area of ICTs and therefore, earn revenue.
* Provide mechanisms for technology transfer and the building of a strong capacity for further technological development.
* The state will have highly trained ICT manpower to meet its development needs such as ICT teachers for schools, ICT professionals in the government services, etc.
*Attract Foreign investment to the State.
*Attract outsourcing jobs and contracts to the State.
* Effective utilization of the proposed site (Gidan Ado Bayero) as the whole building will be taken up and companies will be paying rents for the use of the building.
* The infrastructure at the Park can be used to provide ICT services in the State allowing government to implement such programmes as e-Health, Governance, e-Learning, e-Commerce among other ICT applications for development.
* Reduce social problems associated with Youth unemployment as many jobs and training opportunities would be created.
* The business activities and the infrastructure will enhance the prestige of Kano State and allow it to retain its eminent position as centre of commerce y and business.
*. It will protect the cultural values of the state and give Kano State and enhanced global visibility.
*.There will be multiplier effects on other development sector.
Concept:
The idea of information Technology (IT) or ICT parks where IT production and service provision take place for both local and international markets is an extension of an earlier concept of science parks where research and development on scientific and technological issues could be carried out in a conductive and enabling environment. Although the requirements are different, the rationale for IT parks is somewhat similar to that of the early industrial centers which were located away from the main population centres of the cities.
The motivation for IT parks arose from the desire of developing countries to leverage into this sector which h^s become the driving force of the information_based economy of today. Governments were looking for the most effective ways to establish themselves as producers rather than as mere consumers of ICTs.
It emerged out of this search of that it was possible to build ICT enclaves, especially meant for the production of ICTs by providing world class infrastructure and establishing incentives to investors so that they could move from wherever into the enclaves. Countries therefore hope to use IT parks to not only attract foreign investment for developing the ICT sector but also to build national capacity to complete in the growing global markets for these services and products.
Objectives:
* Generate revenue for the State
* Create employment opportunities in the State
* Attract foreign investment in the ICT sector
* Develop highly skilled ICT manpower in the State businesses
* Software development the design, development and testing of software packages for government and industry and general purpose.
* Outsourcing, services.- data entry, software, coding, code testing, call center operations and Many types of online jobs
* Rand D in ICT; research and development of new applications, systems and software
* Content creation and development: the development of local websites, databases, archival services, translation services, etc
* Website design and hosting services, including location services
* Manpower training and development: the production of various categories of ICT professionals
* ICT system assembly: the manufacture and assembly of computers and other related equipment
* Fabrication and manufacture of telecommunications equipment such as VSAT, etc
* Telecommunications solutions: network design; routing solution, etc.
* ICT hardware components production: The production of chips and other components needed for the assembly of computers and other digital systems
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