I was privileged to be invited to an online Forum of some Yoruba traditional rulers in Nigeria, who are committed to promoting the rich linguistic, artistic and cultural heritage of their people. With the widespread adoption of the Internet, what better way to reach their subjects and the world at large? Simply put, Technology meets Tradition and Tradition has gone ahead to embrace Technology. They are beginning to assemble their content, and a silent revolution is brewing!
Without content, there is no motivation to get on the Internet. Two major channels instrumental to the development and promotion of content on the Internet are the Domain Name System (DNS) and Web Hosting. The DNS is integral to the Internet, providing a way to match names (of websites) to numbers (IP Address of the websites) whilst web hosting provides connectivity to the Internet and housing/computer storage space for the websites.
With the deeper level of Internet penetration in Nigeria, there are still many Nigerians who patronize foreign companies for these services. The use of other domain names by Nigerians, apart from the .ng domain name for their website or using a foreign hosting company means capital flight and does not promote local content.
Nigeria has unique local contents ranging from Nollywood, Kannywood, many heritage and tourist attractions, diverse languages etc which can be put online. Promoting local content therefore starts with a .ng domain name. It is a task for everyone, let us work together to get our local content online using our own products and services. Now you see why I am excited with the progress made by our Kabiyesis. Thank you Microres.com.ng for the work you are doing to promote .ng with WinTV and Heritage. If anyone is on any project or effort to promote .ng and local content, please drop me a line. I want to read from you.
The 2016 edition of the Nigerian Network Operators’ Group (ngNOG) workshop would commence in Abuja from Tuesday, 1st to Friday 4th of November 2016 for four days. ngNOG workshop on Network Technology offers training to those involved in developing, enhancing and managing networks with local and international connectivity. During the workshop, NIRA has scheduled a track on “Hosting and Domain Name Business”, with focus on the business side of Internet services, common tools for managing and supporting web hosting and domain name businesses, etc. You can still register for the event via the link http://ngnog.forum.org.ng/workshop.html.
As Commissioners of ICT from the 36 states of Nigeria and officials of the Ministry of Communications Technology gather in Kaduna this week for the National Council of Communication Technology meeting, one salient fact will dominate the discussions: Whereas 1% of domain names registered by Nigerians are hosted in Nigeria, more than 30% of domains names registered by the three tiers of Government are actually hosted in Nigeria. We applaud the role of the Council in driving the adoption of the .ng and that of local hosting. There is still work to do.
Whereas the goal is to ensure a 100% uptake, I believe that the progress made so far should be celebrated because the Nigerian Government is walking the talk. This is a big challenge to the organized private sector because the 1% of registrations hosted in Nigeria is abysmally poor and should be improved upon. Many submarine cables are now in Nigeria, many Data Centers are in Nigeria, Forex is now scarce, Let’s do it!!
Your President,
Rev’d Sunday Folayan