Nigeria Spends $1.09bn On Importation Of Computer Services In 5 Years

Statistics from the International Trade Centre (ITC) showed that $1.09 billion was spent on software acquisition and importation of computer services into Nigeria in five years.

The breakdown showed that software and computer services worth $123.89 million were imported in 2016, the figure jumped to $216.57 million in 2017, $257.55 million in 2018 and dipped to $159.28 million in 2019, before rocketing to $336.43 million in 2020.

To avert the trend, ICT stakeholders have called on the Tinubu-led administration to place a ban on the importation of computers and allied hardware.

This way, it will help boost the indigenous companies producing the same products in-country, some of which are struggling, they posited.

A fellow of Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Mr. Chris Uwaje, said, the Indian government recently imposed restrictions on import of laptops, tablets, all-in-one personal computers and ultra-small computers and servers with immediate effect.

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“This is in the spirit of product nationalism whereby countries deliberately promote patronage of homemade products and services to boost local productivity, create more jobs, encourage proficiency, and discourage capital flight,” Uwaje averred.

In recent years, indigenous ICT firms have proved capability in both software and hardware engineering, and multinationals including Microsoft, Oracle, Google, and IBM are becoming more interested in hiring young Nigerians.

Uwaje, therefore, called on president Tinubu to adopt the India policy as well as make it mandatory that all foreign computer manufacturers set up local production facilities in Nigeria in partnership with indigenous computer companies.

In the same vein, ICT expert, Mr. Dotun Ali-Balogun has appealed to president Tinubu to mandate all government ICT operations to be run on the technical strength of locally assembled computers, adding that, this is the time for the government to discourage importation of computer services to boost the naira against the dollar.