REPORT ON THE NIGERIAN IT GLOBAL SUMMIT , SEPTEMBER 23 - 27 2002
By. Manny C Aniebonam, Ph.D
September 27, 2002
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Dear Colleagues;

Let me start this report by thanking the Almighty who made it possible for us to travel to Nigeria on this historic first IT initiative, to reach out to both our professional colleagues and the Nigerian government as a means of discussing strategies for moving the Nigerian IT industry forward. In summary, we were overwhelmed with goodwill; And this trip will go down as the beginning of great future for Nigerian IT industry. This first report will focus on our message to the summit, including two attachments of our presentations; We urge you, our members and our "bosses" , to review the message, digest what we proposed, and see what part of the lot you wish to partake in. The work is pletiful, each looking for a custodian.

1. Sunday September 22:
We were met at the airport by over 20 executive members of the Nigerian Computer Society (COAN,ITAN, ISPON, NIG, etc), along with five press crew and cameras; There are six NITPA members on this trip including Vesper Owei, Edna Eguh, Muhammed Giwa, Chuka Obiesie, Charles Eke, and myself; Our main host, Chris Uwaje truly masterminded the plan and assured a swift execution. After a brief press interview on our mission, we were whisked to Eko Le Meridian in Victoria Island for a reception, hosted by Leo Stan Eke President/CEO of Zenox and TASK corporations; In attendance at the reception were over 50 IT stalwarts who were pleased to welcome us back home; The best was yet to come.

2. Monday September 23:
Monday was an interesting day packed with activities. At the stylish Golden Gate on Kingsway Road Ikoyi, the formal summit opened at 10:00 AM; Present were over 300 participants from the industry, academia, government and general public. Prof Ajayi of NITDA represented the Science and Tech minister, while the SA to the president on IT represented the presidency. NITPA made a powerful presentation on our mission, and I am attaching a copy of the text (work format) for your record; We also made a PPT presentation on who we are, a presentation that really made it clear that we were cut above all bars, as an entity of Diaspora solution providers ready to engage ourselves in nation-building. Needless to say that our message was well received, and followed with over 5 minutes of standing ovation. I will attach the PPT presentation for your record.

3. Tuesday September 24:
Tuesday was a business session with focus on how NITPA may link with the IT business community in Nigeria. We presented strategies on "how Nigerians can successfully conduct business with their American counterpart"; Excellent presentations were made by Edna Egu, Charles Eke and Vesper Owei; We led different team discussions and came up with 10-point resolutions; I will distribute same in subsequent report and ask those of us interested in linkage with this eager community to indicate so; Opportunities exist in telecom, software consulting, IT investment, internet development and education. We will put every request on the NIGERIAN IT PORTAL which will serve as a gateway for enabling all activities.

On evening of Tuesday, "Chairman" Leo Stan Eke hosted another reception for NITPA at his Ikoyi residence, inviting his political movers and shakers to help welcome us. He also quickly placed a call to the Senate President in Abuja and secured a spot for us to meet with Hon. Anyim Pius Anyim to introduce our IT indiginization bill to the legislators.

4. Wednesday September 25:
Wednesday was a transition-to-Abuja day for us; We rested for a few hours and left for Abuja from Lagos, arriving at 6:00 PM to continue with the other side of the journey. Ministry of Science and Technology and NITDA were to host us, providing us with both accommodation and transportation. We thank Prof G.O Ajayi for his hospitality.

5. Thursday September 26:
The public sector meeting at Abuja was opened by Hon. Turner Isoun, Minister of Science and Tech at 10:00 AM. Represented were members of the academic community, NGO's, Natonal Open University, and other ministries. The meeting was useful in mapping out the agenda for "Revamping the IT environment in Nigeria Through effective education process"; We agreed that lots need to be done, with the Minister asking that NITPA continue with its great work towards selfless contribution to Nigerian nation-building. Prof Ajayi pledged an enthusiastic willingness to work with us and others in addressing our issues, and demonstrated same by sitting throughout the sessions and personally seeing that a 12-point "Action Items" were discussed, developed and set in motion. We will distribute same to NITPA members in subsequent reports.

We then proceeded to the House of Assembly Building where we met with the Senate President, Hon. Anyim Pius Anyim, on a courtesy call to the legislative branch of government. We urged him and his colleagues to see IT as the bedrock of sustaainable future development in Nigeria through capacity building, human resource development, and infrastructure development. All hands need to be on deck including all branches of government and the citizenry, with NITPA pleading to do our part. He pledged to support NITPA's efforts as relates to IT in Nigeria and received our suggestions with thanks, promising to pass them over to appropriate channels for deliberation, consideration and possible approval. Needless to say we were pleased.

6. Friday September 27 (Abuja):
We wrapped up our Abuja leg of the meetings the morning of Friday, meeting through the morning with Prof G.O. Ajayi of NITDA, his staff and key participants at meeting of 9/26; We reviewed the areas of cooperation between NITPA, the government, and Nigerian IT organizations including NCS (Nigerian Computer Society), and CPN (Computer Professionals of Nigeria Registry). Upon satisfaction that a new alliance must be developed to allow for all stakeholders to work together, we concluded the meetings with prayers, asking God to bless our new-found strength to move Nigeria forward. We were inspired!!!.

7. Friday September 27 (Lagos):
We left Abuja Friday afternoon back to Lagos to face the Nigerian press; True to their words, the Nigerian Computer Society has arranged to NITPA and NCS to have a joint press conference; Two TV stations and seven print media were present, including Vanguard, Guardian, Punch, Daily Times, Thisday, Champion and others; Our message remained the same - that we must all work together to solve Nigerian IT problems and NITPA was there to help. The 419 menace must be tackled; IT cannot be developed unless we develop our indigenous labor force. Please watch the dailies this week to read the details. I personally urged the press to help report ANY good news about Nigeria, not just the wash our dirty linen in public and turn around to wonder why investors are running away. They were engaging, but I stood my ground; At the end, we all agreed that balanced approach is necessary;

8. Summit Main Outcome:
Chris Uwaje, to say the least, and all other executives of NCS are men/women of their words - And we were VERY pleased at the outcome of this first summit. We plan to have high level contacts from now on, build a common IT Portal, hold one big IT Conference in Nigeria next year, invite their executives to visit NITPA here in the US early next year, begin several university initiatives, realign Nigerian IT curriculum, work with the press, and above all spearhead several B2B linkages where registered NITPA members will directly form alliances with NCS members (20,000 in membership), to execute IT projects both in Nigeria and the United States.

9. Conclusion:
We thank all our members for taking care of the home front in our absence; We thank our compatriots in Lagos, Prof Ajayi, Leo Stan Eke, and the Nigerian Press; The journey has just begun, and the best is yet to come. Please await further reports which I'll send out as I have them prepared, through the PRO and the E-Board. Comments, feedback and suggestions are welcome.

Best Wishes,
With Fraternal Regards,
Manny C Aniebonam, Ph.D
President, NITPA Inc
Washington DC