Nigeria needs 25 million PCs to attain MDGs, says Zinox boss

Ben Uzor Jr

If Nigeria intends to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 especially in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) industry, the nation needs to deploy a minimum of 25 million Personal Computers (PCs) in the next three year, Leo Stan Ekeh, chairman, Zinox Technologies Limited, disclosed at the weekend. Ekeh, who made this revelation at a celebration of 10 years of ICT revolution organised by the ICT Publishers Alliance in Lagos, said that 3.7 million of these PCs should be deployed for each of the 6 geo-political zones. According to him, 2.5 million PCs should be deployed in Abuja, further adding that it would encourage even development; hasten the realization of the MDGs by 2015 thus placing the nation firmly on the road to actualising vision 20:2020.

“These PCs would be targeted at youths who leave secondary school with 6 ‘Alphas’ , and all graduating students from the polytechnics, Colleges of Education and Universities. The machines are to be funded by the federal government under an arrangement that requires all corporate persons to pay 1 percent ICT tax for a period of 5 years. “On the alternative savings from the sovereign wealth fund could be ploughed into the provision of these PCs in the next three years”, he added. According to him, these 25 million PCs are produced and delivered by the indigenous Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

Ekeh stated that this would address the problem of capacity building as Nigerians acquire more technical competencies. He said that prices would be forced down appreciably enabling the local OEMs to compete with their foreign counterparts, adding that Nigerian banks are not lending money to local OEMs and vendors because of unpredictable patronage. “Boost the local industry with 25 million PCs and you can be sure that banks would line up with all kinds of finance packages. Besides, the deployment of large numbers of PCs would boost participation in the development of software applications, the internet and social media and we can start talking of the ICT revolution in real terms”.

This huge investment, according to Ekeh, will power domesticated technology and place in the hands of Nigerian youths the equipment to launch an era of ‘unlimited possibilities’. “These young men and women would form the nucleus of a new generation of job providers while kick starting a new knowledge economy. Those of them who go into paid employment would be IT savvy enough to introduce a new era of efficient service delivery in public and private sectors. The Zinox boss criticized government’s inability to provide employment for graduates averaging 600, 000 per year because they still concentrate on deploying outdated solution in a digital century.

“This generation closely interconnected by satellite television, social media and the internet would give rise to a new ICT based work culture, increasing productivity and self sufficiency; reducing corruption and the kinship that leads to ethnicity; and enabling a self interpretation of faith that would undermine religious extremism”, Ekeh posited. Industry analysts say Nigeria’s low PC penetration hold significant prospects for local OEMs as growth in PCs penetration will be sustained by increasing awareness levels in the population, especially the youth, spurred by education, the internet and deliberate initiatives from industry stakeholders.