The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has challenged the Jigawa State Government and Galaxy Information Technology and Telecommunications (Galaxy ITT) to adopt a strategic approach to digital transformation as a pathway to sustainable economic development.
Inuwa made the call yesterday in Abuja at the Galaxy ITT Repositioning Retreat, where he expressed concern over the continued dependence of Jigawa State and other parts of Northern Nigeria on federal allocations despite the region’s abundant human and natural resources.
He urged Jigawa State to rethink its development strategy by identifying, developing and harnessing its youthful population, land and other resources to build a sustainable economy capable of reducing its dependence on federal revenue.
The NITDA chief identified the absence of clear development plans and an excessive focus on politics as among the major factors undermining development across Northern Nigeria.
According to him, sustainable development at the individual, state and national levels requires clearly defined objectives, strategic planning and measurable targets.
He therefore challenged Jigawa State to establish specific development priorities for the next two to three years and develop practical strategies for achieving them.
“In development, you must first define what you want to achieve. You need to have clear objectives, a strategy and measurable targets. Jigawa needs to determine where it wants to be in the next two or three years and work backwards to identify what is required to get there,” he said.
Inuwa also recalled the pioneering role of former Jigawa State Governor, Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, in establishing Galaxy ITT and promoting information and communications technology as a tool for development in the state.
He said the initiatives undertaken by Turaki demonstrated considerable foresight, but regretted that the absence of continuity in subsequent administrations prevented the state from fully capitalising on the foundation that had been established.
According to him, Jigawa was among the early states in Nigeria to embrace technology-driven development through initiatives such as Galaxy ITT, but had subsequently lost ground as technology became increasingly central to global economic growth.
“Technology is now at the centre of economic development. If you look at the most valuable companies in the world today, most of them are technology-driven businesses,” he said.
Inuwa urged the management of Galaxy ITT to develop a clear strategic direction for the company’s repositioning, leveraging its experience and understanding of Nigeria’s information technology landscape to become a major driver of digital transformation in Jigawa State.
He, however, stressed that Galaxy ITT could not deliver the desired transformation in isolation, noting that appropriate legal, policy and institutional frameworks were required to support its operations.
He called for closer collaboration between Galaxy ITT and the Jigawa State Information Technology and Digital Economy Agency, particularly in policy implementation and the development of the state’s digital economy.
The NITDA Director-General also used the occasion to outline the evolution of the agency and its role in Nigeria’s digital transformation.
He said NITDA was established in 2001 to promote the adoption and use of information and communications technology in Nigeria, at a time when fewer than 500,000 Nigerians had access to computers and ICT contributed less than 0.5 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
According to him, the agency’s mandate has since evolved from promoting technology adoption to developing policies, regulations and legal instruments aimed at positioning technology as a key enabler of economic activities.
He explained that the adoption of Nigeria’s National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy in 2019 marked a significant shift in the country’s approach to technology, with the sector increasingly recognised as a horizontal enabler of virtually every aspect of the economy rather than a standalone sector.
Inuwa said NITDA subsequently repositioned itself, developed a strategic roadmap and action plan, and began focusing its regulatory and policy interventions on market creation, employment generation and inclusive economic growth through technology.
He said the agency’s vision was to build a digitally empowered Nigeria capable of achieving inclusive economic growth through technological innovation.
Also speaking at the retreat, Turaki, who was the pioneer of Jigawa State’s ICT development drive, commended NITDA for its efforts to advance Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
Turaki established Galaxy ITT during his tenure as governor, an initiative that later evolved into Galaxy Backbone.
The retreat underscored the importance of strategic planning, policy continuity, institutional collaboration and sustained investment in technology in repositioning Galaxy ITT and strengthening Jigawa State’s capacity to participate meaningfully in Nigeria’s emerging digital economy.
