245 To Lose Jobs In NITDA Soon -By Ali Ishaku

Reading the news by The Punch Newspaper of February 1, 2016, titled “245 Employees may go as FG probes NITDA”. I wonder what will become of another batch of unemployed graduates thrown into the labour market.

It is on record that NITDA had sought and gotten waiver of advertisement for employment from The Federal Character Commission, This followed the amount of curriculum vitaes gotten from a previous request for employment conducted by the NITDA Board earlier in the year 2015. Incidentally, they were still lots of manpower shortage as the Director General had the vision of creating more units and departments to focus on the core mandate of the Agency, opening and staffing the six zonal offices and some state offices even up to the LGA in other to ensure that ICT is used as a means of income generation to the grass roots.

Interestingly, the Special Assistant on Media to the minister of communications, Victor Oluwadamilare, has said on Vanguard newspaper of 21 January, 2016. That “As at 29th May, 2015, NITDA only had a staff complement of 74.” You may recall that NITDA came into existence in 2001 with a robust mandate, among them are:

To encourage local production and manufacturing of IT components in a competitive manner in order to generate foreign earnings and create jobs, to improve food production and Security. Also to enhance the national security and law enforcement, to propose relevant IT legislation for the development and regulation of the sector, to serve as a clearing house for all IT procurement and services in the public sector. In addition, the agency is to empower Nigerians to participate in software and IT system development; (Please get more on http://www.nitda.gov.ng/mandate.aspx)

Fifteen years down the line, the question is to what extent is NITDA known to deliver on any of her mandate? To what extent have NITDA encouraged farmers to improve food production and food security.  The Multi Million Dollar CYBER security (CEERT) Lab in NITDA with only 2 staff is dormant for lack of manpower, instead anti -cybercrime is being solely driven by office of the National Security Adviser and The Economic and Financial Crime Commission.

The Unit charged with IT legislation and regulation in NITDA called Standards Guidelines and Regulations Department, have only 4 staff. Have NITDA in anyway serves as a clearing house for any IT procurement in the private Sector? That function and unit does not even exist.   The question can go on and on. With 74 staff in 15 years, does NITDA ever hope to jump start? How can 74 people ever hope to serve 170 million Nigerians and Billions of needs?

The question of Irregularity in the employment is another one. Records have also come out to state clearly that proper permissions were sought from the immediate past Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communication, Mr. Tunde Oloopa and the Federal Character Commission. A letter of compliance was also given to NITDA by the Federal Character Commission at the completion of both the oral and the written interviews.

How do 74 people serve the need of the entire country? Galaxy backbone a onetime subsidiary of NITDA with less mandate have staff strength of 550, EFCC which is also a brainchild of the Obasanjo administration, has a staff strength of 3000, NHIS a staff strength of 1000. The question is “How can the NITDA vision survive without a people”? With the falling oil prices, should ICT not be a tangible replacement for boosting revenue generation for our dwindling economy?

I then wonder at the minister’s mission vis a vis the mission of Mr. President.  President Muhammadu Buhari has earlier iterated a need to employ 500,000 youths, who due to scourge of unemployment has become preys in the hands of the political Scoundrels. Is Barr. Adebayo Shittu still in line with the master? People have alleged that the minister wants to use NITDA as a conduit for his 2019 gubernatorial election and have gotten his alley Vincent Olatunji to promise him one Billion this year alone (In exchange for being made the Acting DG a position that would have him over see the 2015 and the 2016 procurement process) towards him (Shittu) finance his lofty dream.

You may recall that NITDA takes one percent of profit before tax of all IT good in Nigeria, making it one of the richest income generating parastatals. Can this selected few be indeed trying to protect their booty and can the insinuation against the minister be true? Must our helpless youths continue to be ploys in the hands of unscrupulous politicians?
Ali Ishaku writes in from Abuja