By 
By Chinedu James
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta has stated that Nigeria faces not so bright a future without continuously investing in ICT capacity and infrastructure development.
Danbatta made the statement during a recent function in Lagos where he noted that many countries, having diversified their economies, are driven now largely driven by disruptive technologies, a pivotal turning point in ICT research and deployment.
Infrastructural development across sectors will grow the economy significantly and position the country strategically in the global market, said the NCC’s boss while emphasizing that the country needs to move from oil-dependency to a 21st century economy driven by ICT.
“Oil and gas have propelled our economy over the years and it cannot improve the economy any further because the global economy of the 21st century is driven by Information and Communication Technology. Living and dying as a matter of fact, is driven by ICT; and except we are able to provide infrastructure we will not be able play effectively in the competitive global market. His words:
“The world has gone beyond crude oil, it is now driven by Information and Communication Technology – for this purpose, there is need for improvements in the ICT sector in Nigeria.
“Agriculture is the way to go forward and opportunities can be created in this sector to grow and diversify the economy and ICT has a great role to play in it therefore investors should look into various areas so they can leverage ICT to grow their business and contribute to national development.”
