Expert Calls for Technology Adoption to Boost Nigeria's Low GDP

 

Emma Okonji

The Managing Director of Rack Centre, a Tier 111 Collocation  Data Centre, Mr. Tunde Coker, has called on governments at all levels to adopt technology in order to bridge the wide margin that exists between the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its huge population size.

Coker, who made the call in a chat with THISDAY, said there was need to bridge the existing gap between the country’s GDP and its population size, using technology as an enabling factor to boost Nigeria’s economy and make it more productive.

According to him, “The population size is growing fast, but the GDP growth is not commensurate with the fast growing population rate and this is a challenge for the Nigerian government. We need to grow GDP beyond its current low level and technology is the enabler.”

He added: ’’There is need for us to drive the country’s GDP to close the gap. If we do not do that as a nation, our population will continue to grow while the GDP continues to be static. So we need a catalyst that will drive GDP growth of the Nigerian economy.

We need to drive big data growth and encourage the establishment of certified Tier 111 Data Centres to drive GDP growth.’’

Furthermore, he said: ’’What we deliver at Rack Centre, sets Nigeria on a global map because of our technology offerings and the quality of our services. Currently we have four designs certified and this speaks volume of the kind of quality data services that we offer.’’

Coker called on ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government to consider hosting their data in Nigeria, as against the practice of hosting local data abroad, thereby increasing international traffic at the detriment of local traffic that will add economic value to the Nigerian system.

Coker who frowned on the situation where Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest economy by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) size, is not among Africa’s top 10 countries with high GDP per capita, insisted that technology adoption by government at all levels could change the narrative.

GDP per capital is a country’s gross domestic product divided by its population, which is about how much money is available to an individual in the country.

According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, Seychelles, an island nation that records the smallest population in any of Africa’s independent state, has the highest GDP per capita of any African economy, returning a figure of $15,400.

The IMF attributes this growth to the role of tourism in the country, highlighting a need for the much touted diversification of Nigeria’s economy that is largely dependent on oil with prices that have crashed.

The GDP per capita in Nigeria, when adjusted by purchasing power parity, is equivalent to 32 per cent of the world’s average. GDP per capita, a situation, Coker said is abysmally low.

 

 

 

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