4th Industrial Revolution: NITDA Excited and Ready to Balance Concerns and Advantages – DG

4th industrial revolution could trigger job losses and security risks and the regulator says it is working round the clock to manage the outcome while developing and updating regulatory framework that serve and benefit the people

IT News Nigeria:

As studies indicate that some jobs are vulnerable to automation in the next decade and how companies and organisations get to adapt to the rapid transformation, security risks triggered by digitization, the Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE has said that the agency is working round the clock to balance the concerns and advantages of Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR).

The DG who represented by Dr Usman Gambo Abdullahi Director IT Infrastructure Solutions, said this during an International Conference on Information Technology in Education and Development (ITED 2020) organised by Academia in Information Technology Profession, Ahmadu Bello  University Zaria; an affiliate of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS).

4th Industrial Revolution: What did NITDA say?

He stated that in order to adapt to the Information Technology Development in the 4^th Industrial Revolution, the agency is developing new and updating regulatory framework putting into consideration economic, environmental and social aspects in a way it serves and benefit the people.

He assured participants that NITDA is quite aware of the concerns as it has and will continue establish adequate regulatory system for new business models and services, while allowing the economy and the society to benefit from innovative ideas.

“One of our priorities as a regulatory agency is to strengthen the innovation capacity of the IT industry, which is why we have been deploying hubs and technology infrastructures in various parts of the Nation,” he noted.

He also added that, “We provide assistance to SMEs, start-ups and researchers by funding projects in line with digital innovation.”

Mallam Abdullahi emphasised that in order to better understand the FIR, it’s of importance to focus on the technologies driving aspects, which are: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Block-chain, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality, Holographic storages, Nanotechnology, Robotics, Biotechnology, IOT and many others.

“It is important to note that with the 4^th Industrial Revolution presenting both immense opportunities and challenges, utmost cooperation is required to ensure it benefits our economic, social, cultural, and individual lives”, said Kashifu.”

“This is the reason we are ensuring that all stakeholders from civil society, private and public sector are fully involved in the decision-making. We do engage stakeholders in our policy making processes”, he assured.

4th Industrial Revolution in Nigeria

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) upends current economic frameworks. Who makes money – and how – has changed. Demographics have changed. Even the skills that brought our society to where we are today have changed. Leaders must account for these transformations or risk leaving behind their companies, their customers and their constituents.

The top three economic frameworks in most urgent need of a 4IR overhaul include income generation, labour force participation and gross domestic product (GDP) measures. Let’s unpack these concepts one at a time and redefine what they mean as we advance bravely into the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Nigeria is now a reference point in the chronicle of the 4th Industrial Revolution but needs to take up the challenge of re-storying the gains in the context that makes meaning by recalling how NCC shepherds the great impact of ICT and telecoms in all spheres of Nigerian life