Nigeria has been ranked high on the advanced state of readiness for digital transformation known as ‘G5’. According to a new report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Nigeria ranks high at 71 percent in comparative legal, policy, and governance frameworks towards G5, with Germany, Finland, and Singapore leading the global chart.
The report prepared by the ITU, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), presented by ITU’s Kagwira Nkonge at the Digital Economy Complex, Mbora in Abuja, made a case study, among other things, for ‘collaborative regulation review to assess and support Nigeria’s transition towards collaborative digital governance, evidence-based policymaking, and agile regulation in the digital economy”.
According to information made available by NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, Nigeria was ranked among Africa’s top seven BEMECS 5G Readiness Index, which represents the country’s readiness to deploy and adopt mass-market 5G networks.
The report titled, “Collaborative Regulation: Accelerating Nigeria’s Digital Transformation”, was unveiled by Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, to a cross-section of key industry stakeholders including service providers, government agencies, representatives of multilateral institutions, West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA), Africa Telecommunications Union (ATU), among others.
In the report, the features of each country’s policy and regulatory environment are assessed according to the pillars of the Generations of Regulation frameworks which track telecom regulatory maturity towards digital transformation readiness, designated at G5 Advanced State of Readiness”, and for which Nigeria currently stands at G4.
The Advanced State of Readiness is benchmarked against four critical levels of accomplishments which include national collaborative governance, policy design principles, digital development toolbox, digital economic policy agenda, with Nigeria scoring 91 percent in regulatory capacity; 82 percent in Market Rules; 81 percent in Collaborative Governance; 76 percent in Legal Instruments for ICT/Telecom markets; 69 percent in National Digital Agenda Policy, among other benchmarks.
Dr. Tijani, in his remarks at the event, commended the ITU and partner agencies and consultants that actualised the report; and expressed the Federal Government’s commitment “to utilise this report as a navigational aid towards the attainment of our regulatory objectives and policies outlines towards achieving a robust digital economy”.
“That is what we will continue to do as a government, ensuring that we can put ourselves in a place to have cutting-edge modern regulations in place to ensure that business is done properly in our sector and to ensure that, where possible, increase the local content of the sector as well,” he said.
Dr. Tijani noted that NCC has adapted over the years in response to how its role and mandate have changed. He explained, “Fifteen, twenty years ago, NCC was just regulating the telecommunications sector, today, NCC regulates the foundation for which any economy would be prosperous.”
The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, who hosted the presentation, welcomed the indicators that promote effective regulation, attraction of greater investment, and development of innovative models for broader digital inclusion.
He emphasised that collaborative regulation would support Nigeria’s transition towards effective digital governance, evidence-based policy-making, and agile regulation in the nation’s digital economy.
The ITU Report can be accessed through the link:
https://www.itu.int/hub/publication/d-pref-them-33-2023/
