I was privileged to present the Welcome Address at the 2018 Nigerian Network Operators’ Group (ngNOG) conference held on Tuesday 30th October 2018 at the Zone Tech Park in Lagos. ngNOG as the group is fondly called, is the foremost group of Network Engineers that came together for the purpose of developing capacity in the ICT industry in Nigeria.
This year with the 13th edition, the group aimed at helping the country in its continuous quest/effort to increase broadband penetration, capacity building activity of ICT personnel and other stakeholders in Nigerian Educational Institutions.
At the Conference, I recalled how the ngNOG started in Nigeria in 2006. It was a child of necessity, born out of observing that the majority of participants at the AFNOG in South Africa in the year 2000 were Nigerians. At the conference, we went down memory lane, highlighting how the domestication of ngNOG has saved resources for Nigeria and Nigerians (huge amount of foreign reserves for flight and hotel fees and man hours lost during flight times). Hosting ngNOG in Nigeria, providing quality education to Nigerians in different locations in Nigeria has also contributed to growing the hospitality business in Nigeria.
I made it known to the participants that, while Nigeria is trying to adopt Technology as the main driver of the Economy, the World has gone beyond the stage of adoption. Developed countries have adopted Technology in driving the Economy of Government Activities. Internet of things is already being adopted by individuals to drive their home activities whilst in the office.
Google has also gone beyond the Global Positioning System (GPS) to Visual Positioning System (VPS), the new visual system in Google Maps. The VPS uses your phone’s camera and Google’s extensive back-end data to analyze your surroundings to identify where you are with greater accuracy.
And of course, as the number one advocate for the .ng country code Top Level Domain, I highlighted the benefits associated with registering the .ng domains and promoting the Nigerian online identity. We are working towards the full adoption of .ng domain names for Nigerian websites. There is the urgent need for Nigerians to fully adopt the local content policy for the greater benefit of the Nigerian ICT ecosystem and economy. We need to globally promote our local content.
I remain at your service.
Rev’d Sunday Folayan
President
