Nigeria took a significant step forward in its technological advancement on Friday when Vice President Kashim Shettima led a delegation to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with telecom giant Ericsson on a 5G Innovation Lab.
According to a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, the deal is aimed at placing Nigeria among the world’s top users of the 5G network in terms of productivity and boosting Nigeria’s technological capabilities.
The MoU, signed on Friday at Ericsson’s Global Headquarters and Research and Development Lab in Kista, North of Stockholm, Sweden, was witnessed by Shettima and Ericsson’s Senior Vice President and Head of Business Area Middle East and Africa.
Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, signed the MoU on behalf of the Nigerian government while Peter Olusoji Ogundele, Country Manager, Ericsson Nigeria, signed on behalf of the telecom giant.
5G is the fifth generation of cellular networks said to be 100 times faster than 4G, thereby creating unprecedented opportunities for people, businesses and technology across the world.
Outlining the importance of the MoU, Minister for Communications, Tijani expressed optimism that Nigeria will make the most of 5G technology as its wide coverage will lead to rapid development and growth of the Nigerian economy.
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The Minister said: “It is important that we use the strength of the VP’s visit to truly deepen the relationship with some of our tech partners, and that is what the VP is doing in all the meetings he has had.
“So we signed the MoU to set up an Innovation Lab with Ericsson, and the focus of that Lab will be to come up with applications based on 5G technology for our projects and practices in agriculture, mining, education, as well as for the general usage of connectivity to improve the quality of life for our people.
“Again, the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, in particular, ties into what we are trying to do with the reforms. The aim of the reforms is to diversify our economy, and it is clear that we cannot diversify our economy without digital technology”.
Shettima, while being briefed on the company’s technological evolution, radio spectrum matters, standardisation, as well as Cyber and Network Security, inquired about the possibility of deploying 5G technology to help Nigeria improve security of oil facilities, prevent oil theft, and pipeline vandalization.
Shettima noted that it was crucial for management and planning of the nation’s oil economy.
