Nigeria swore in her new President, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) yesterday, May 29th 2023. While Peter Obi of the Labour Party continues to challenge Tinubu’s victory in court, the President’s plans for his four-year term have generated considerable interest, particularly in the technology sector.
Central to President Tinubu’s agenda is his promise to transform Nigeria into a thriving hub for information and communication technology (ICT). According to the President’s manifesto, he aims to create one million new jobs in the ICT sector within 2years. He has promised to develop policies that will train and build capacity among Nigeria’s youth population to encourage them to offer outsourcing services like India. The President has also set an ambitious target for his administration to achieve the National Broadband Plan’s goal of delivering broadband services to 90 percent of the population by 2025 – 2years from now.
On futuristic technology, his agenda emphasizes the use of blockchain technology in finance, identity management, revenue collection, and the utilization of crypto assets. While these are a few of them, most of the President’s tech plans do not answer the “how” or show a strategy model for his plans.
With a campaign slogan that promised “Renewed Hope,” the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has kicked off on an interesting note.
On one hand, the country’s stocks appreciated by 3.06% after Tinubu’s swearing in yesterday. The highest it has reached since March 30.
On the other hand, however, the new President made an announcement to remove fuel subsidies but was mum about a palliative or contingency plan. This has sparked uncertainty in the Nigerian polity. Most citizens have raised concerns about the suddenness of the decision and the potential repercussions, highlighting the need for a clear-cut strategy to cushion its impact on the economy.
How the new president tackles a corruption-riddled Petroleum industry which he already nudged and a tech sector that was in a relatively toxic relationship with the immediate past president remain yet to be seen.
