Minister’s Week In Review
Last week’s (May 20 – 24, 2024) recap of the activities of Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
INTRO?
I ramped up my investment drive by visiting Estonia on the invitation of the government to explore opportunities for partnership and collaboration towards achieving our shared prosperity. The visit presented a remarkable opportunity to share ideas and take learnings on the challenges, benefits, and resources required to build digitally connected societies.
KEY FOCUS
Digital Transformation: As we implement various initiatives to facilitate the increased use of technology in government, I engaged with partners in Estonia this past week, to explore knowledge-sharing opportunities and secure partnerships to support Nigeria’s efforts to build efficiency in our public service by deploying Digital Public Infrastructure.?
TIMELINE
Monday
I kicked off my week in Estonia where I planned to engage with private and public sector organisations on diverse issues towards the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy.
My first engagement was a meeting with Estonia’s Ambassador-at-Large for Digital Affairs, Dr. Nele Leosk who highlighted the European Union’s journey of partnership with Africa while noting possible areas of collaboration in the future.?
Following this meeting, I attended the e-Estonia showroom briefing at the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs where I was shown the basic features, functionalities, and capabilities of the X-Road, an open-source software and ecosystem solution that provides unified and secure data exchange between private and public sector organisations.
I was later hosted to a dinner meeting by organisers of the Africa Business Forum, an event I was scheduled to participate in while in Estonia.
Tuesday
I attended the Africa Business Forum, an event targeted at initiating, nurturing and expanding business relations between Estonia and Africa. Key topics of discussions at the Forum include promoting connectivity, facilitating startup ecosystems, and building sustainable businesses across Africa.?
At the Forum, I joined a discussion panel where I spoke on the role that Africa must play towards building a prosperous future using the power of technology and innovation.?
Other members of the panel which was moderated by Mariin Ratnik, Undersecretary for Economic and Development Affairs, Estonia, were Mercy Wanjau, MBS, Secretary to the Cabinet of Kenya; Margus Tsahkna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Estonia; and Maryprisca Mahundi, Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and IT, Tanzania.
My next meeting was with representatives of IT companies in Estonia where discussions centred on how the European country’s scalable approach can be adapted to Nigeria’s needs, particularly on how e-Governance has resulted in productivity and high efficiency.?
I then met with Estonia’s Secretary of State, Taimar Peterkop. Discussions at the meeting focused on issues around the introduction of digital government and e-Cabinet Government Office.
My last engagement for the day was at a lunch meeting hosted by Estonia’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Information Technology, Tiit Riisalo.
Wednesday
I started the day by joining a virtual meeting of the Special Presidential Panel on Social Investments. A key part of the discussions included an update on plans to engage telecoms operators in onboarding beneficiaries and registering their National Identification Number (NIN).
I later joined a panel discussion at the Conference themed, ‘Uncovering the Potential of Digital Public Infrastructure’. There, I spoke about steps taken by the government to implement Digital Public Infrastructure in Nigeria with a view to improving public service to the people. Furthermore, I highlighted the potential impact of the Nigerian Stack which will not only deliver government services, but also drive innovation and prosperity for Nigeria.??
Also on the panel were Dr. Nele Leosk, Ambassador-at-Large for Digital Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Estonia, and Tiago C. Peixoto, Coordinator for Digital Government Services, Western Balkans and the EU, the World Bank.
Following the panel, I met with representatives of the Estonian e-Governance Academy. We both discussed areas of partnership between the Academy and our Ministry.
The e-Governance Academy was represented by Hannes Astok, Executive Director, Chairman of the Management Board, and Tiina Viiderfeld, Client Relations Manager.
My next meeting was with top executives of technology companies in Estonia representing the country’s ICT Cluster. Our meeting focused on the role of the private sector in developing Estonia’s e-Governance framework.?
We identified opportunities for training and capacity building to plug the manpower gap in the sector through targeted initiatives such as exchange programmes. Another outcome of the meeting was a decision to create a platform for robust interaction and co-creation engagements between private companies in Estonia and Nigeria.??
My final engagement on Wednesday was a meeting with representatives of Digital Nation – a digital change advisory network – at the 10th e-Governance Conference which took place in Tartu. Following this meeting I headed back to Tallinn, capital city of Estonia.
Thursday?
I led an interactive session with members of the African community in Estonia under the aegis of the African Leadership Union. There, I highlighted my vision towards developing Nigeria’s digital economy for the benefit of the people.
Following this session was a meeting with the Director General of the Estonian Information System Authority, Joonas Heiter; Director of the State Information System, Taavi Ploompuu; and Government CTO at the Ministry of Communication and Economic Affairs, Madis Tapupere to discuss diverse issues including data management, AI in digital government, and the core principles surrounding Estonia’s digital transformation.
My final official engagement in Estonia was a lunch meeting hosted by Dr. Nele Leosk, Ambassador-at-Large for Digital Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Estonia, to discuss takeaways from my meetings and identify next steps towards delivering on agreed deliverables.?
Friday?
I had a virtual meeting with my team to prepare for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-organised World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), scheduled to take place this week in Geneva, Switzerland. I will be leading the Nigerian delegation to WSIS, as well as speak on and moderate a number of panels.
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BLUEPRINT REVIEW
Last week, my activities focused on the Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Capital and Trade pillar objectives of our Strategic Blueprint as I engaged with public and private sector stakeholders in Estonia on diverse issues including training and capacity development, data management, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Artificial Intelligence, and much more.
Cybersecurity Instructor | AI Enthusiast | Technical Support Specialist | I defend information assets, systems & networks against threats by monitoring systems, fixing vulnerabilities, and implementing security controls.
6 个月This scrum report helps us keep track of what the minister is doing and to be honest, we can literally hold him to account. I wish others will do the same.
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6 个月I suspect that Dr. Tijani is accomplishing quite a lot. However, I wish he would figure out a way to have his agencies address basic issues in addition to him focusing on high-brow and very impressive meetings, important as those are. I suspect that not too many people will find controversy in indicating that important as sophisticated traffic management system might be, it does not obviate the need to have paved and maintained roads even though the work required to have the roads maintained might not be as glamorous. Aderemi Adeyeye
Manager at NITDA/Former Judge F.C.T Judiciary/Rural community Dev. Enthusiast/SDG, Social Justice&Human Rights Advocate:Founder Kaka Memorial Foundation/Enterprenuer/Certified Marriage Counsellor&Life Coach
6 个月Reading through the week in Estonia, I kept ticking all we are achieving with every engagement you had. Nigeria is recording an excellent progress under your leadership Dr. ?? What we have achieved and still achieving is tremendous, with our BLUEPRINT serving as a guide and performance indicator. We must also seek internal support and partnership with sectors whose mandate will directly impact the daily living of citizens especially in the underserved communities. We are doing ours already, to give fast,accessible and secure Internet connection, to enhance government services with the DPI, etc. How do we utilise technology to address the ISSUES OF BASIC AMINITIES facing Nigeria? This is one factor that has made us different from the Developed Nation. We have it all(The 5 Factors of Production, or wealth Creation:Land,Labour,Capital,Entrepreneurship and Knowledge). With leaders like you, we are serving and can serve any country "gbas gbos" but most of them are pass the issue of basic things of life (water,light,road,education especially at 5-18 etc.)and are advancing at speed in innovations for all sector using tech. What do we do? Especially with The Renewed Hope Agenda of Poverty Eradication!
The Digital Man! Thanks for all you do sir!
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6 个月At this point I'll say, weldone sir.