Experts: Nigerian Businesses Risk Extinction if They Ignore Application Utility Era

Oluchi Chibuzor

Technological experts have warned that Nigerians businesses risk extinction if they ignore the emerging application utility era driven by digital and mobile internet things (IOT).

According to them, the application utility era would continue to favour companies that are constantly incorporating innovation to produce products in the world market territories and across industry sectors.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE) Victoria Island (VI) Chapter and investiture programme, in Lagos, National Chairman, NIEEE, Akan Michael, said the country must continue to enhance the capabilities of its engineers to national growth.

The event with the theme, “Technology, Infrastructure and Business in the 21st Century,” saw Michael stating they would continue to engage the government to contribute in research and development for the emerging technologies to benefit both members and the nation.

Earlier, the newly inducted NIEEE VI Chapter President, Taiwo Okharedia, maintained the chapter would continue to guide Nigerian engineers with interest across the various specialities and disciplines both in practice for the development of public and private sectors.

Delivering his keynote speech on, “Technology of Nations-Nigeria,” Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe, said across human history, technology has defined the wealth of nations.

“Nigeria must deepen its technological capabilities to advance economically. Indeed, Nigeria’s challenges in this 21st century is to have a translation from being an invention society to an innovation society.

“The 1990s gave us the new generation of banks. The 2000s brought voice telephony. The 2010s ushered mobile internet. The 2020s would deliver the era of application utility across industry sectors and market territories.”

Speaking also on, “Technology in Infrastructure Development: Leveraging AI, IOT and Big data for infrastructural Transformation,” the Chief Operating Officer, MDXi Data Centre, Gbenga Adegbiji, said the big issue was how Nigeria would not miss out on the opportunity IOTs provides for economies.

According to him, the country has been witnessing massive investment inflows by big tech firms like Amazons, Facebook and Google to better position themselves in the emerging virtual economy.