HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF ICT DEVELOPMENT IN SOKOTO STATE:
HOW GOVERNOR AHMAD ALIYU IS REPOSITIONING THE DIGITAL ECONOMIC SECTOR FOR TRANSPARENCY AND PROSPERITY
By: Dr Daniya Daniya
nasirdaniya@yahoo.com
Bafarawa's Initiation: 1999-2007
The 'Seat of the Caliphate' is neither a newbie nor an amateur in being a pacesetter on several facets of human endeavour. Sokoto State was among the few states that started domesticating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in 1997.
By the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999, the then Governor, (DR) Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa (Garkuwan Sokoto), established the 'Internet Office' under the supervision of its pioneer aide, Kabir Ahmad of blessed memory.
The major contributions were avenues created by the Internet office where Sokoto citizens send emails directly to the governor for immediate action. Several problems were solved that time as a result of the internet office at Government House in the state.
The However, Governor did not institutionalise it. Bacause apart from the then Ministry fo Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, no other Ministry, Department of Agency (MDA) primarily used the internet for the provision of goods and services to the people.
Wamakko's Instutionalisation: 2007-2015
By 2007, when former Governor and Distinguished Senator (DR) Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (Sarkin Yamman Sokoto; Sarkin Yakin Sokoto) took office, the Internet Office, and by extension the ICT Sector received its deserved recognition and was elevated to the Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on ICT. Nasir Shehu Zarummai of blessed memory was appointed the Special Adviser with his office located at the Government House.
That gave the sector a massive boost because before his appointment as the S.A., Zarummai was a graduate of computer sciences, also a lecturer at the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, his alma mater. After initial administrative supervision by the then Permanent Secretary of Government House, Aminu Haliru Dikko mni, for the first time ICT was institutionalised and got a vote of charge on its own.
It was the same year the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was statutorily established in Nigeria. Meaning that the Sokoto State Government's practical actions to develop the ICT sector supersede those of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The Office of S.A ICT was later relocated from Government House to accommodation at Block 6, Shehu Kangiwa Secretariat. It was during Wamakko's time that the first ICT Blueprint was developed by a strategic team led by Ahmad Isah Chafe of the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto.
Similarly, it was during Wamakko's time that the ICT attracted the attention of the leadership of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) and their delegation under the leadership of the then President, Professor Charles Uwadia, FNCS came to Sokoto and organised events for some secondary and tertiary students.
The team also inaugurated the first leadership of the state chapter of NCS under the leadership of Bello Hassan Almustapha (BH) as Chairman and the writer as Secretary of the chapter. Dr Muhammad Ali Inname was later redeployed as the S.A ICT after Zarummai was nominated as Commissioner, Federal Character Commission (FCC).
Interestingly, the first draft bill for the establishment of the Sokoto ICT Development Agency was drafted around 2009.
Nevertheless, Wamako was also the forst that recruited fresh graduates to the ICT, majority of them now hold strategic positions at Sokoto State University (SSU), Sokoto State Pilgrims Welfare Agency (PWA) and other MDAs across the state.
Nevertheless, no legal instruments were promulgated.
Tambuwal's Restructuring: 2015-2023
By 2015, ICT had already transitioned and got considerable adoption across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the state when Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Mutawallen Sokoto) became the Governor of Sokoto State.
He subsequently appointed Nasir Zarummai as Commissioner, Ministry of Science and Technology (MST). Furthermore, he converted the office of SA ICT into the ICT Directorate and placed it under the supervision of the Commissioner, MST.
The Directorate shared accommodation with the MST. This arrangement allowed the ICT sector to have a supervisory commissioner who could present its issues to the Sokoto State Executive Council (SOEXCO).
After the Federal Executive Council renamed the Federal Ministry of Communications to the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy in 2019, Tambuwal subsequently appointed the first Director General ICT Directorate and established the Ministry of Technology and Digital Economy out of the MST in Sokoto State. Similarly, bo legal or regulatory instrument on ICT was promulgated by that administration.'Amadun Alu's Decisiveness and Actionable Interventions: 2023 to date..Soon after the emergence of Dr Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto as the Governor of Sokoto State, he established the Ministry of Innovation and Digital Economy (MIDE), immediately after a similar ministry was established by President Bola Ahmad Tinubu.
The first governor to do so in Nigeria. MIDE being a very strategic ministry that regularly hosts high-profile individuals and corporate organisations from within and outside the country, Governor 'Amadu' went ahead and purchased a befitting one-storey building in a very strategic location for the ministry.
The first ministry to have such a gesture from the new administration. Furthermore, for the first time in the history of the ICT sector in Sokoto State, the governor presented a bill to the Sokoto State House of Assembly (SOHA) for the enactment of the SICTDA law. Swiftly, SOHA did the needful and gave the bill an accelerated consideration, and it was passed into law within 8 weeks.
The law reshaped the entire digital ecosystem in the state, and the ICT has gotten its deserved recognition. Within two months, Amadu solved a difficult and very complicated puzzle that took the state over 16 years to fix.I. the previous yesrs, MDAs tend to misuse budgetary allocations that were meant for digital infrastructure One of the smartest things the Governor did was approving a policy that mandates all MDAs channel their computing and ICT-related requests to the MIDe for implementation.
The Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning was also mandated to ensure strict compliance with such a policy. Currently, adoption of such a wise stratefy enable the State centralised all its ICT-related procurement issues under the MIDe for transparency, accountability and open government adoption.
Sokoto now has the following advantages:
1. An institutionally recognised public agency that is mandated by the law to design, develop and regulate ICT in Sokoto State.
2. ICTD now could attract FDI through facilitation of strong collaborations for MDAs on technology and using technology in the interest of the state.
3. The State Government now has a strong instrument to support Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs), especially the likes of the EFCC and the ICPC, in fighting financial crimes, economic crimes and the rampant cybercrimes around the Nigerian domain.
4. The state government is now poised to access legitimate grants and gratifications from credible local, national and international institutions, like the Globacom, Microsoft, Google, Apple, BUA, Dangote and MTN Foundations, etc.What the Government needs now is more support, prayers and cooperation to adopt, implement and transform the State to an Ai-driven society.
