By Sarauniya g Usman, Abuja
The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa has said that his Agency is working with other stakeholders towards creating an irreversible transformative change.
Inuwa said this at the 7th College of Fellows Roundtable Symposium of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), held in Abuja.
Represented by the Director IT Infrastructure Solutions Department, Dr Usman Gambo Abdullahi, Inuwa noted that 4th Industrial Revolution has created opportunities for most existing Engineers and people to stand out in their respective fields, with a view to becoming drivers of innovation, creating new inventions to press global challenges.”
In the past decade, large projects require more companies and stakeholders to work together across time zones around the world, new ways of workings are demanding more seamless connections and faster access to real time information, that ushered in the next significant transformation which is cloud”.
“NITDA, as the nations apex I T regulatory body, believed that it will be difficult for Nigerians to catch up with its developmental pursuit without developing engineering and technology professions,” he said.
He added that, “Our Scientists, Engineers and Technologists are critical to solving our societal problems and challenges.”
The focus of Engineering is the making of things and work efficiently and effectively by applying the theories and principles of science and mathematics to research and develop economic solutions to technical problems” he maintained.
Inuwa also averred the role of Engineers as critical to the well being of human existence, cognizance of their innovative, maintaining of products and system equipment, thereby making a country habitable for the citizenry.
He also commended the resilience of Engineers, Architects and the construction industries in the last 41 years in changing the narrative towards attaining the accelerated Digitally Transformed sector.”
It started with Digitalisation, which is transition from paper drawings and analogue processes to digital tools and later computer system designs.”As Digitalisation was ongoing, Architects encountered increasingly complex design problems, such as global growing population, urbanization and climate change”, he noted.
Inuwa admonished participants the imperative of keying into the current realities of the Digitalisation agenda, as the process needs holistic evaluation and approach by relevant actors, so as to make it more beneficial to the future.”
On the Digitalisation agenda, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) has been strategically set towards transforming the country into a leading Digital Economy; providing quality life and digital economies for all. And also, a mission of building a nation where digital innovation and entrepreneurship will be used to create value and prosperity for all,” he added.
The NITDA Boss enumerated eight pillars on which the policy/strategy is anchored, which are; Developmental Regulation, Digital Literacy and Skills, Solid Infrastructure, Service Infrastructure.
Other pillars are Digital Services Development and Prevention, Soft Infrastructure, Digital Society and Emerging Technologies and lastly Indigenous Content Development and Adoption.
He added that, “these pillars apply to Engineering sector and every other sector in Nigeria. Digital Technology is at the heart of the engineering sectors, regulations and Engineering Literacy and Skills should be driven by digital technology.”
On the challenges the Engineering sector may face, Inuwa identify the demand for new skills in place, for the 4th Industrial Revolution, as some jobs including Engineering will disappear and new ones will emerge.
He urged the Enginners to constantly update themselves with new trends such as Big Data, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, as the future remains unpredictable, as digitalisation has provided businesses and organisations with a better view of what the future could look like, with the endless possibilities offered by technology.
The DG was amongst recipients of NSE Honorary Awards conferred on selected individuals and corporate bodies, for their contribution to the development of the highest Engineering regulatory body in the country.