In a wakeup letter to all ITAN CEOs, ITAN President, Jimson Olufuye calls for an urgent ITAN CEO Summit. Here is an abridged version of the letter...

Dear Valuable Member,

WELCOME TO THE NEW ITAN

... 

On March 29, 2007 at the Golden Gate Restaurant, Ikoyi, Lagos venue of ITAN 1-Day IT Penetration Seminar, your respected company (if I may say so) joined other members to elect me as your new President. What a great trust bestowed on me!

I am therefore using this opportunity to thank you very much for your confidence and trust.

I would also like to use this opportunity to outline the challenges ahead for us in our industry – the Information Technology industry.

Since its establishment in 1991, ITAN as you know has championed a number of high profile policy issues with abundant successes. Some of these include:

• The CoVAN Initiative of 1995-1999 that eventually led to local manufacturing of PCs in the 21^st Century Nigeria.

• Technical support for Federal Ministry of Science & Technology on the mitigation of the Y2K phenomenon in 1999

• Drafting and adoption of the National IT Policy, 2001.

• Establishment of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in 2001.

• Formation of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) in 2002.

• Attainment of zero custom duty on IT components to encourage local PC manufacturers (from 32.1% to 5.35% to 0%)

• Passage of the NITDA Act, 2007

The above though lofty is nothing compared to challenges facing us today and the preparedness we need to inculcate in order to address future challenges. Our industry potentials need to be annexed to the maximum even as we have repeatedly articulated our resolve to make IT a foreign exchange earner that would replace Oil as the major foreign exchange earner for our country in the near future. We must of course be the dependable reference point for IT indices in Nigeria. We must be prepared to meet the resolve of President Umaru Yar’Adua for our nation to be one of the top twenty industrialized nations of the world by the year 2020.

There is no doubt that our current ITAN structure can not take us there! There is need for a change in strategy. The Paradigm must shift!

 The paradigm must shift from the present ITAN administrative structure. The paradigm must shift from the present membership and subscriptions structure. The paradigm must shift from the present ITAN advocacy structure etc. We have to do an overhaul for the long haul! Take for example, a situation where I, a CEO managing a busy company is also the President of ITAN; would I be expected to put in my best when my professional service is 100% unpaid? No, of course, for many obvious reasons!

It is in this regard that I am soliciting for your support for a 1-Day ITAN CEO Summit where we can brainstorm all these issues and many others that would be geared towards the creation of wealth for our members in our industry. If this is not done a situation where IT is perceived as Telecom and IT as a subset of ICT will persist among many misnomers.

The time to act is now...

Events

IT FUTURE 2006

EITPiN 2007

News

Olufuye now ITAN President

 Read New President's inaugural speech

President calls for ITAN CEO Summit

The driving force of the information age is the composite stream of applied technologies (Information and Communications) known as Information Technology (IT). It is the engine of modern civilization. The higher a nation or people are in IT pedestal, the more developed the people are in terms of wealth, living standard, know-how and dominance of the world within and without.

- Jimson Olufuye