The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Umar Danbatta has called on critical stakeholders in the manufacturing and telecommunications sector to prioritise research as a panacea to challenges facing the industry.

Danbatta gave the advice while inaugurating a 27- member inter-agency committee at the commission’s headquarters on Friday in Abuja.

The committee whose membership was drawn from different professions was expected to proffer solutions to the challenges in the telecommunications sector.

“We hope to see a road map, which will empower citizens to be able to protect themselves from cyber crimes as well as assist telecoms operators to come up with new ideas and services that will enrich telecoms offerings in the country”.

“The result of research and development will be showcased to stakeholders in the industry including those that will be interested in our research and development, so that we can finally translate an important provision of the communications act in the area of manufacturing into reality”.

“There is no manufacturing taking place in this country and it is the responsibility of NCC to drive either the revival of the sector or to finally translate it into reality by having in place a vibrant telecoms manufacturing sector”.

“So on our part, we have also included in the National University Commission and the National Board for Technical Education, two important regulators, one for the Nigerian university system, the other one for the technical and allocations,’’ he said.

Danbatta said in order to achieve this goal, the Commission decided to deliberately utilise the capacity found in the academia and to redirect it towards getting involved in research activities that could impact on businesses and society.

The executive vice chairman, however, added that it would consequently bring about the development of new products and services for the industry.

Earlier, the chairman of the committee, Elijah Omizegba, reiterated that the mandate of the committee was primarily to enhance the growth of the telecommunications sectors and drive in the future policy of telecommunications in Nigeria.

Omizegba, a professor of Control and System Engineering at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, said that the commission gave them three months to complete the assignment.

He advised that Nigeria should not be a consumer nation; instead, it should channel its wealth of ideas and resources in the country to the development of the country.

“We are putting one or two things in place to make sure that this can be done. We have a platform already created where members can make their own input. Those things are going to be put in the final document and the commission will use it to drive the research as desired”.

“We should not be a consumer nation. The wealth of ideas and resources we have in the country must now be channelled to the development of our country”.

“If we are the ones building it, we will not only build what we want to build, but we can also innovative and pass the culture to the next generation”. (NAN)