A leading technology chief, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) Managing Director of Computer Austen Okere, in an interview with The Daily Independent, has called on IT associations in Nigeria to establish a unified body to deal with the number of issues facing the sector. Analysts said that Okere may be on to something with calls to bring together associations under one umbrella to push greater development of the sector. “It certainly is an interesting proposition and one that appears to be getting traction among a number of industry leaders,” said Amare Abayo, a former IT analyst and currently ministry of communications official, in response to the article. “We should definitely look for ways of bridging gaps and creating a more overarching strategy in Nigeria in terms of IT development,” he added. In the interview, Okere said that the large number of associations are weakening the industry's ability to create a common goal to meet the challenges in the country. Okere was optimistic over the recent visit to CWG's Lagos headquaters by ICT Publishers Alliance, saying the alliance idea to forge a unified body could be positive for Nigeria's ICT future. “I want to commend your alliance for the vision with which it was founded and the lofty objectives it has set out to achieve. It is my hope that the various IT associations in the country will come together to form a single strong body at addressing the problems we all face as an industry,” he said in the interview. “At the moment, getting the critical support base is difficult because the bodies are myriad for the software, hardware and even integrators. But the technology industry is one,” he added. BM
