Minister Pushes for ICT Varsity 

By Emma Okonji

The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has again called for the establishment of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) University in Nigeria, which will be the first of its kind in Africa.

The ICT University according to Shittu would be a pool that will provide manpower for and train human capital development for a fledging ICT in Nigeria.
The minister made the remark while receiving the members of the Editorial Board of Kakaaki Magazine in his office, where they presented him an award as the Democracy Man o the Year 2016.

“We are working on an ICT University which will be the first in Africa. It will train high caliber personnel that will service the ICT industry,” Shittu said, and disclosed that the recently compiled ICT Roadmap 2016 will soon become operational.
Shittu who received the Editorial Board of Kakaaki Magazine, a flagship personality profiling publication in his office, added that as part of the implementation of the ICT Roadmap, some activities, seminars and sensitisation programmes would be rolled out in the next few weeks.
According to him, “By the time the Roadmap must have been in operation before the end of next month, most of what we are doing here will be known to Nigerians. Every Nigerian is affected by what the telecoms industry is doing.”

The minister who acknowledged the fact that the ICT industry is a new terrain for him, said he was able to achieve certain feat since assumption of office because of the clement working relationship he has with the Permanent Secretary, Sonny Echono, the directors and other management team in the ministry.
Speaking on his working bond with the Permanent Secretary, he said, “I love my working relationship with the Permanent Secretary. We are two great minds that love challenges. In fact, it is a marriage made in heaven. And we both work harmoniously with the directors. I love working with each and every one of them.”
Shittu expressed his appreciation to the Kakaaki team for finding him worthy of being honoured as the Democracy Day Man of The Year 2016, and urged the organisation to continue to partner the ministry and its agencies. He added that his office would be open to any constructive ideas. “We are receptive of ideas”, he said.
Presenting the award and magazine to the minister, the Group Chairman/ Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Chief Tai Olusoccer said the selection committee of the magazine found the minister worthy of the year’s award because of his unprecedented achievements in the sector within a short period of time despite being a non-ICT expert.
He said: “Out of all the names of personalities shortlisted for this year’s award, your name scored the highest marks largely because despite the fact that you are coming from a non-ICT field, you were able to achieve the mileage you have so far reached in propelling the ministry. So, the award is a deserved one for you Sir.”

Olusoccer also attributed the minister’s achievements within a short pace of time to his cordial working relationship with the Permanent Secretary and commended what he described as an unblemished synergy between the minister and the Permanent Secretary and the cooperation of the directors in moving the ministry forward.

The publisher said that Kakaaki Magazine, which has been profiling reputable Nigerians in both the public and private sectors in the past 13 years, dedicated the special publication to chronicling the achievements of the minister, the ministry and its key officials as well as activities of agencies under the supervision of the ministry since the inception of the present administration.