Pantami: Start-up Act Will End Harassment of Youth Carrying Laptops

•FG sets up N10bn investment fund for young innovators 

•Microsoft to train 5m Nigerians

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The federal government has disclosed that with the signing of the Start-up Act, the incessant harassment of youth by security agencies, particularly policemen would soon become history.

Briefing newsmen yesterday, at the State House, Abuja, shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Start-up Bill into law, Minster of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, assured that with the signing of the legislation by the president, the Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council chaired by the president would put an end to the nationwide harassment of innovative youth carrying laptop computers.

Several young Nigerians had in recent past complained about being harassed by security personnel for carrying laptops computers and branded internet fraudsters, a situation, which among others, led to the 2020 #EndSARS protest against police harassment.

According to Pantami, rather than the minister lobbying law enforcement agencies to stop the Act, the chairman of the council only needs to give a directive and it would be obeyed by those who misconstrue the youth for internet fraudsters.

He added: “The main institution to address the issue is the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council to be chaired by Mr. President. Number one mandate of the Council is to listen to the challenges of our young innovators and direct relevant institutions there and then to address the challenge. So, with that council, I believe the issue will be resolved.

“At personal level as a minister, I have written many letters to EFCC to IG, to Minister of Police, they have been addressing the challenge, but not consistent.

“If they address it, because of their intervention, after a month or two, the issue will re-emerge, but if the President happens to be the chair of the Council, he cannot lobby the way I lobby, he can only direct and that is why the Council is critical to address that issue and any other challenge that may come up in the future. “When President directs, it must be implemented. And I believe the Council will do that.”

On the initiatives of the Start-up Act, 2022, he noted: “First, there is going to be a Presidential Council, which has been entitled as National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council. Digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship are the two prerequisites to Digital Economy. Digital Economy has two pillars; pillar number one is Digital Innovation. Pillar number two is Digital Entrepreneurship.

“So, these are the two prerequisites to building an indigenous digital economy. So, there is going to be a council and this council is going to be chaired by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the vice chair is going to be the Vice President of Nigeria and the Minister in charge of Communications and Digital Economy will preside over the council in the absence of President and the Vice President and all the institutions that have a role to play in providing the enabling environment for our young start-ups and our young innovators are members of that council; the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, among many others. Also all the institutions dealing with tax collection incentives are members of this council.”

Shedding more light on signing of the bill in law, Pantami stated: “Mr. President has assented to the bill, and also conveyed to the relevant institutions of government for gazzeting today and we are all excited, knowing the benefits that our economy is going to generate from the bill.

“If I’m permitted to comment further on it, this bill is an Executive Bill, meaning the federal government of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari, initiated the bill through the collaboration of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, on one hand, and the Office of the Chief of Staff to Mr. President on the order.

“These two offices coordinated and established the foundation for the Nigeria Start-up Act, 2022 and the approach we adopted was to allow our young start-ups, our young innovators all over the country, to identify the challenges they were being confronted with, when it comes to intellectual property, financing, regulation, incentive among many others. That is the organic approach, meaning bottom-up approach.

“So, young innovators who are engaged in each and every geopolitical zone of Nigeria, where we engaged them to voice out their challenges when it comes to enabling environment for business. From their input, we discovered there was a need to have Nigeria Start-up Act in place so that the Act will provide the enabling environment for them to continue to thrive and be successful.”

The Minister also disclosed that government has set up N10 billion Investment Fund for young innovators along with provision for incentives and tax holidays to encourage local innovators.

He said in recognition of the efforts of the Nigerian government in the Information Communication Technology (ICT), Microsoft has decided to train about five million Nigerians on high demands skills geared towards job creation.

Commenting on the Gitex event he just attended, he explained: “There were many participants from Europe, Asia and from all the developed countries and we defeated them, and they (innovators) came from Nigeria, this is a successful story.

“Secondly, some of the young individuals we took from Nigeria, federal government sponsored eight of them. Then the organizers also sponsored four, and Lagos State government sponsored 15. Among some of them that I met, the first day of the event, a company signed an MOU with them to invest $20 million in that startup.

“Thirdly, it is there during the event that we concluded our discussion with Microsoft that they will come to Nigeria and train five million citizens on high demand and cutting edge skill in the digital sector. Five million Nigerians and this is one of their corporate social responsibilities.

“Even today, before I came here, I signed a letter conveyed to Microsoft the proposed date for the commencement of the training. So for you to get that opportunity for five million Nigerians to train.

“I know those basic digital skills are in high demand. They partook in an investigation evaluation, they discovered areas where there were opportunities globally. So, the forecast where there is job before that, our citizens will be trained in this area. These are only few of the major achievements in addition to many more.”

While noting the contribution of the digital sector to the economy, Pantami, however, observed that Nigeria is blessed with young innovators that are making the nation proud.

He added: “With the government policies we have in place, before assenting to the bill today, a lot has been achieved when it comes to providing the enabling environment for our young innovators.

“This law is all about to consolidate and to provide the legal and strategic framework for the growth of the sector. For example, today in Africa, we have around seven unicorns, five of them originated from Nigeria.

“On behalf of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, three months ago, I was with them and I visited the unicorns to have an engagement with them so that we will hear from them their challenges and all these issues were accommodated in the bill.

“Unicorn is an ICT company, a local ICT company that has a market value of a minimum of 1 billion USD and all these. Five of them, attained this position of unicorn during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.”