Preparing Nigeria for Internet of Things

THE Internet of Things (IoT) is opening up a world of real opportunities and rapidly transforming communities, cities and the daily lives of people worldwide. Today, the IoT encompasses more than 14 billion things connected to the Internet.

The IoT suggests a world where all humans and objects are connected via WiFi, constantly sending data back and forth.
Already, reports have it that consulting companies are taking a close look at IoT and are predicting a rosy future for the technology with forecasts of compound yealy growth rates (CAGR) of between 30 and 33 per cent over the next four years.

The IoT is seen to have the potential to be much larger than the existing Internet. According to Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group, it recently predicted that some 25 billion ‘things’ will be connected to the Internet by 2015, and 50 billion by 2020.

Already, the globe has been projected to realise about $19 trillion through the application of IoE, about $500 billion is expected to be available to Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and other sub-Saharan African countries in another 10 years.

Presenting a study, last year at Cisco Connect, in SunCity, South Africa, Cisco Vice President for Africa, David Meads, said that $19 trillion in IoE value is at stake in the private ($14.4 trillion) and public ($4.6 trillion) sectors over the next decade across the globe, but about $500 billion is open for Nigeria, South Africa and other sub-Saharan African countries to realise.

As such, the need to tap this huge opportunity formed part of Nigeria’s participation at the 35th GITEX Technology Week in Dubai, United Arab Emirates last month, where African countries were challenged on their preparedness for the IoT revolution in order not to be left behind.

Indeed for Nigeria to benefit immensely from this revolution, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the government agency responsible for Information Technology (IT) policy implementation and development, which led the Nigerian delegation to this year’s GITEX, tasked
delegates on IoT.

The GITEX technology exhibition, which is the leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, was held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, and attracted more than 130,000 visitors from over 150 countries of the world, including Nigeria.

With the theme: ‘The Internet Future of Everything’, highlight was on how the IoT technology, which was described as disruptive technology with the capacity to disrupt exiting technologies and pave the way for the technology can be more beneficial to mankind.
NITDA’s strategy
Established to implement the National IT policy for Nigeria, NITDA has been involved in developing local talents and exposing them to the global world, where they could compete favourably.