Nigeria cannot be cut off from the rest of the world technologically because it is going through difficult times, Minister of Information Lai Mohammed said on Wednesday.
Mohammed who made the statement while briefing newsmen at the Presidential Villa after the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari was speaking against the background that Nigeria must meet June 2017 deadline for migration from analogue to digital broadcasting given by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
He said the council only considered a single memo on digitization in its two hours meeting at the Chambers of the Presidential Villa and reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that Nigeria meets the June 2017 global deadline.
Nigeria is currently in a state analysts describe as technical recession, even as industry watchers say they are surprised that the FEC could not discuss burning economic issues alongside whatever was discussed at the meeting. “Yes Nigeria might be going through very difficult times it doesn’t mean that we are going to be cut off from the rest of the world.
“20 years ago Ethiopia had a famine that ravaged the whole country they have risen from the ashes of that famine to become one of the strongest economies of the world. The fact that we are facing temporary problems does not mean that we are not going to be at pace with technology development all over the world,this is a global issue,it simply means that if we do not move from analogue to digital broadcasting we may not be able to even receive signals on your television.
“Again the government would assist to subsidize in getting the boxes but look at the job creation that digital migration is going to bring to Nigerians. Look at the opportunities it offers our young men who are very talented to provide content to television stations,so its going to impact very largely on the broadcast industry, even piracy which has been a menace to us today, with digitization it means that musicians and film-makers can release their films or records direct on digital broadcast such as video on demand and we are now going to cut off the entire pirate network which has been a bane to our creative industry.
“If we look at the advantages of digitization in terms of changing the entire economy of providing more jobs for the people, even the 13 manufacturers of set up boxes who have been licensed,two of them already are producing are also going to employ but I think that the fact that we have a temporary setback does not mean we are going to be cut off from the entire world” the information minister said .
The pilot scheme of the Federal Government’s digital transmission, from analogue to digital was kicked off in Jos at the end of April this year. Mohammed said Council directed that the relevant ministries work together to achieve to achieve the deadline adding that the ministries would also determine the amount needed for the transit from analogue to digital which included funds for signal distributors, procurement of 1miillion switch over boxes, enlightenment and sensitization campaign and advertisements.
“Don’t forget that if money is allocated to a ministry, at the end of the year, if that money has not spent it has to be returned to the treasury. So, is not as if that is in the account of NBC as we speak. With the (Treasury Single Account) TSA, every money that government has today is in the Treasury Single Account. “And that is why we are sitting down together to determine how much
do we need to transit from analogue to digital which will now include not just money for the setup boxes or the money for signal distributors it will also include money for advertisements, advocacy, and enlightenment,’’ he said.
On the procurement of the switch over boxes, the minister disclosed that 200,000 out of the expected 1millon of the items had so far been delivered by the relevant contractors.
