Information and Communications technology (ICT)
Olakunle Oloruntimehin is the General Manager of Cisco Nigeria and West African Countries. He is responsible for all the businesses in West Africa covering the private and public sector as well as managing stakeholder relationships for these markets.

If you take a look at the data being released from the World Economic Forum (WEF), you look at things from the digital readiness point of view, digital readiness index, measured from the 0 to 25, Nigeria is currently within 7.9 and they look at stages within that index. The three main stages are activated, accelerate and amplify. We are at the level of activation, which is the starting point.

In this interview with ADEYEMI ADEPETUN, he spoke on the urgent need for fresh investments in ICT skills in Nigeria to aid the country’s active participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

I tend to align with what the WEF is saying. I see it not as a problem but an opportunity for us to grow and be deliberate about our own growth. There is no country in the world that does not have its own problems.

Some of those countries are further ahead of us, and we also deal with the problem of a legacy because technology evolves all the time. In some cases, they need to deal with those legacy problems and change infrastructure or mindset to be able to cope with the change required. Having said that, we are at the infancy level if I can put that mildly, to activate in my opinion, we have an opportunity.

Now what we need to do is double down on accelerating. The ideal situation is for us to move from 7.9 to 25 in a few years and I think it’s about making sure the policies are in place, not just policies but we ensure that we adjudicate on those policies and ensure that the regulatory framework and ecosystem is encouraging. So, that in a few years’ time, when the WEF comes out with a new set of facts, we would have moved up the rank.