Telecoms Industry Has Contributed $70bn To Nigeria’s Economy – Danbatta

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and the CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has disclosed that technology-driven telecommunications industry has contributed $70 billion to Nigeria economy in the last couple of years.

Danbatta revealed this in his keynote speech at a Cyberchain event in Abuja at the weekend, stressing that technology has made tremendous impact o the nation’s GDP and created opportunities for the young people.

Represented by the Principal Manager, Digital Economy at the Commission, Mrs Eli Ella, the NCC boss, who spoke on the topic “Using Technology To Grow Nigeria’s GDP”, emphasised that Nigeria’s adoption of 5G, E-commerce, Fintech, Big data have boosted the country’s revenue generation capacity.

He said, “Nigeria’s adoption of digital technologies has enabled it to diversify its revenue and economy, created jobs, improved services and efficiency, reduced wastages, and optimised resources available.

“Telecommunications has contributed over $70 billion to the Nigerian economy, provided over 500,000 jobs in the formal and informal sectors, and improved the lives of millions of Nigerians.

“Most Nigerians today cannot comprehend life without mobile phones. Presently, the liberalised telecommunications sector has brought with it, instant messaging, instant information, financial inclusion, telemedicine, smart farming, eCommerce and virtual learning, however, the best is yet to come. ”

Prof Danbatta said further that “the benefits of technology are endless, “stressing that with technology becoming affordable, accessible, and available, the benefits will increase tremendously.

In his opening remarks, the Convener, CyberChain Abuja, Jude Ozinegbe, noted that Nigeria has made great transformation by embracing tech ecosystem which has brought enormous benefits to the country.

“We are moving from analogue to digital, some people seem to have been left behind, that is why we have decided to gather leaders in the space to educate us. We have leaders in this space that have seen the possibility and opportunity in this ecosystem.

“This is my contribution to expanding digital economy in Nigeria. As much as you can, contribute something positive about the space to amplify the good tidings within the ecosystem,” he said.

He added that the potential of the youth can be unlocked with adequate of knowledge of Blockchain, where they can use their phones and data to maximize their talents.

Contributing, a Crystocurrency Investigator, A and D Forensic, Adedeji Owonibi, admonished Nigerian youths to embrace the gains of Blockchain technology.

Speaking on the topic, “Blockchain Forensics and criminal elements,” Owonibi said a better dimension has been added to Blockchain and Digital technologies in Nigeria with the participation of the government.

“If you are criminal within the Blockchain space, you could do anything in Nigeria, however with our coming and government involvement, we all have a part to play in bringing sanity in the sector,” he said.

He added that decentralisation is a blessing for the good guys in the Blockchain sector and a bad thing for those using it criminally.

He urged Nigerians to be more responsible in a bid to harness Blockchain opportunities.

“If you have any business in blockchain make sure you are in compliance with rules and be crypto security conscious”, he said.

Blockchain technology is that decentralised, distributed ledger that stores the record of ownership of digital assets.