The Internet Society (ISOC) Nigeria, has expressed its commitment to ensuring that all Nigerians have access to Internet.
The Society, while warning that Nigeria has a lot to lose if it fails to utilise the opportunities that Internet presents, regretted that most Nigerians have no access to internet and that this retards the development of the country.
About 93 million out of the estimated 180 million people in the country have access to Internet, majorly through the narrow band.
Speaking at the unveiling of the ISOC 2018 plan in Abuja, the President, Adewole Ajao, stressed the need for Internet connectivity that can allow openness and innovations and also drive the society into development.
He observed that the society as part of its 2018 plans, intends to increase the Internet accessibility to Nigerians, and would engage industry stakeholders to achieve the target.
According to him, the group would bring together key actors in the Internet Ecosystem including journalists, medicine, engineering and educational sectors and a host of others, to drive the adoption of innovations of Internet technology so that Nigerians can have access, and be open to the opportunities that the Internet presents.
“In Nigeria, the painful thing is that they don’t have access to the Internet. So that is why we need to engage the stakeholders to ensure Internet wider reach among Nigerians. We will use Internet connectivity to bring people together, and to engage them. We intend to carry along the government, policy thinkers to achieve these set objectives.
“We have created a lot of working groups in the aspect of this whole assignment. That is the first step, and the second step is to make people know that these groups exist. We also engage societies, government and private sectors to really make this work. We need to be online consistently to put people together,” he added.
Also, the Secretary General, ISOC Nigeria, Auwal Tata, said: “the Internet is a force for good, and we must work together to keep it that way. The Internet has become increasingly central to many of our lives and societies, allowing us to accomplish things in moments that less than a decade ago were impossible.”
He added that Nigeria stands to lose if it failed to utilise the opportunities that the Internet presents.
“We are at a pivotal moment in the Internet’s development. We risk losing the opportunity to shape the Internet’s future if we fail to act,” he stated.