IT NEWS NIGERIA:
Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has said there is a need for Nigeria to rethink about smart cities implementation in collaboration with stakeholders as it work to realize it.
Pantami was speaking in Abuja yesterday as a panel chair at the ongoing Smart Cities Nigeria 2017 titled : “Leveraging on Technology Solutions to Emprove the efficiency of Cities.”
He added that “working towards realizing smart cities is a must for the government in collaboration with stakeholders. However, as a developing country, with our peculiarity as a country, there is a need for us to rethink about smart cities implementation. “
According to him, we need to explore smart technologies and infrastructure, communication technologies, Platforms and IoT (Internet of Ihings)Applications required for achieving smart cities. “We need to know smart city fundamental Infrastructure and Networks requirement; Safety and security issues; application of urban technologies like Geographic Information Systems, Internet of Things, cloud computing and big data analytics etc.; how intelligent transport solutions can help solve transportation challenges in our cities especially traffic monitoring and efficient logistics and how these systems can be integrated seamlessly to create social and economic value.”
He explained that as a country, we should be innovative about it and ensure implementation are sustainable.
“We need to be conscious of climate change. There is need to build a sustainable business model, our own architecture for smart initiatives and ensure the right infrastructure are available. Infrastructure such as broadband; 5G; electricity, smart devices and agents; smart urban spaces; web-based applications, mobile technologies and e-services as well as open government data issues are crucial to achieving sustainable smart cities.”
“We are, however, working diligently and partnering strategically with relevant stakeholders in the country and international development partners to ensure fundamental infrastructure is available to realize the promises of the ICT. We are also rolling out a regulatory framework for IoT-enabled applications to provide a standardized framework for smart initiatives in government to ensure data generated through smart applications are protected and centrally available for the creation of social and economic value. We would support this with the right PPP regulatory framework and guidelines to create a friendly investment environment for smart initiatives.’’
I have commissioned two committees to fast track implementation of National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to ensure data/information exchange within and outside the country is secured and we earn the trust and confidence of our people and the international community in using Nigerian cyberspace and e-services generated through smart cities, He addded.
