BusinessDay 23 Aug 2018

4 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556
NEWS
Why Nigeria lags, plays catch-up
with industrialised nations
nological frontiers. Though
the country has people with
skills to develop its industries,
the operating environment
has almost killed their
knowledge and morale.
There are many institutions
in Nigeria including
universities for technical
innovation but they concentrate
on assessment and
analysis of one process or another
while the real innovations
are left in the hands of
ill-trained people.
To achieve the required
volume and standard of machines
and plants that can
turn local processes, operations
and productions into
products and services that
create new industries, experts
advise governments to
pursue technical innovation
with deliberate intention
and sincere commitment to
create a true foundation for
technology diffusion, transfer
and development.
Ogunbiyi specifically advised
that engineers in ministries,
departments and agencies
(MDAs) should also be
exposed to actual engineering
and construction works
awarded to contractors to
help them gain experience
to take up professional challenges.
NCC takes proactive steps to actualise
30% broadband penetration by 2018
CHUKA UROKO
In many spheres of
growth and development,
be it ease of doing
business index, ease
of registering property
for housing development,
equipment procurement
for mechanised agriculture
and industrialisation, political
development, Nigeria,
Africa’s largest economy, is
always lagging behind and
playing catch-up with its
peers.
Similarly, among industrialised
nations, Nigeria is
lagging behind and experts
have attributed this to the
country’s low investment in
technical research and development
of machines and
equipment for industries,
which, according to them,
are major hindrances to economic
growth.
“A country that is not
industrialised will remain
behind. Nigeria is currently
rated among the third world
countries, which should not
be; we should be among the
developed nations of the
world considering our size
and the human resources
we have,” Robinson Elijah,
national chairman, Nigerian
Institution of Mechanical En-
National Association
of Telecommunications
Subscribers
(NATCOMS) says Nigeria
Communications Commission’s
(NCC) licensing of
more infrastructure companies
(InfraCos) is a proactive
step toward achieving the 30
percent broadband penetration
target. Adeola Ogunbanjo,
national president of
NATCOMS, made the disclosure
in an interview with
the News Agency of Nigeria
in Lagos on Wednesday.
Nigeria developed a fiveyear
strategy (2013-2018) in
2013, through the Presidential
Committee on Broadband.
The aim is to drive
internet and broadband
penetration in the country
and to scale up NCC’s
broadband growth by 30
percent in 2018.
According to Ogunbanjo,
we have only four months to
go, and actually, the target
cannot be met and that is
what is worrying the NCC,
which is leading to the licensing
of more InfraCos.
“Honestly, NCC is taking
a good step in the right
direction by ensuring licensing
of more InfraCos,
because it will lead to more
gineers (NiMechE), said.
There is always a direct
positive connection
between investment in
technical research and development
and the level of
economic growth, as technical
innovation remains
the driver of prosperity and
sustainable development in
nations across the world.
Because Nigeria is not investing
in all of these, it is unable
to compete favourably in
the global knowledge-driven
economy even within Africa
and so, global funds could
not be attracted to empower
the citizens of the country to
drive away poverty.
“The right kind of machines
and plants can only
come from technical innovation,
research and development
carried out by trained
Nigerians to bring about new
industries, products and services
to generate new wealth
from global funds, earned
through non-oil goods and
services produced,” Abdul
Ogunbiyi, director, research
and development, Lagos
State Ministry of Works and
Infrastructure, said at a forum
in Lagos recently.
In Nigeria as it is today,
technical innovation remains
very low and far from techexpectations
and more robust
broadband penetration.
“There is also the need
for private sector’s participation
to help government to
achieve this target,” Ogunbanjo
said.
He decried many obstacles
hindering the actualisation
of the broadband’s target
such as the Right of Way
(ROW), many taxes and levies,
saying that they should
be looked into.
He said as regards some
of the hindrances to broadband
penetration like ROW
and also security of base
stations, “it behoves on the
executives, states and Federal
Government to do their
parts.”
He urged some state governors
to emulate the Lagos
State governor, Akinwunmi
Ambode, to reduce their
charges on the right of ways,
saying, “For broadband penetration
that will ensure better
and standard network, all
hands must be on deck.
“The number charges
and multiple taxes on telecommunications
operators
and the environment that is
tightened, not conducive at
all, do not allow them to operate
fairly.
Thursday 23 August 2018
Oil approximately
$74 on report of US
inventory drop, Iran
sanctions
Brent oil rose to approximately
$74 a
barrel on Wednesday
as an industry
report showing a drop in US
crude inventories and US
sanctions on OPEC producer,
Iran, pointed to tighter
supplies.
The American Petroleum
Institute reported US
crude stocks fell last week
by 5.2 million barrels, more
than three times the drop
analysts expected.
“The API inventory data
published after the close of
trading yesterday are lending
buoyancy to prices,”
Commerzbank analyst,
Carsten Fritsch, said.
Brent crude, the international
benchmark, rose to
approximately $70 a barrel
by 1006 GMT. US crude rose
to $66.62.
Oil also found support
from a weak dollar that
has slipped this week in
response to US President
Donald Trump’s comment
that he was “not thrilled” by
the Federal Reserve’s interest
rate increases.
A weaker dollar makes
oil less expensive for buyers
using other currencies.