By 
By Oluwatobi Opusunju
CEO of Precise Financial System (PFS), Mr. Yele Okeremi has tasked the government on expediting the adoption and implementation of local content policy. Okeremi said proactive actions not talks were needed to push home the urgency and strategic importance of the ICT local content policy.
Okeremi while speaking with IT Edge News recently in Lagos said local content ought to be ingrained in the country’s policy thinking and implementation as is the case in other developed countries.
According to him, local content development and adoption is hinged on the willpower of a focused government where local content promotion is pursued aggressively without just necessarily talking about it alone.
“The thing about local content, people are talking about it, but ordinarily, in some responsible and sane climes, people go about it and do it without even talking about it. It is usually ingrained in the system .Today, you hear Trump talking about America first, but to some people, he might not be making sense, but that is what any responsible government should do,” he said
“Local content can be implemented as a policy without necessarily mouthing it. At the level Nigeria is today, local content should be part of the fabric for national planning without having to publicly say it. It should have been our way to support indigenous firms,” he added.
While commending the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for increasingly demonstrating a sense of commitment towards ICT local content, he said industry stakeholders also need to build a strong common front to put government to task and ensure the sector enjoys the crucial level of support to grow.
Also while addressing the issue of lack of trust in local content or the cliché “Naija made” amongst Nigerians in general, he said it’s due to the nature of not being able to see the long term but short term of patronizing local made products and services He, however, reckoned that if Nigerians could break the cycle of lack of faith in the system then things will turn around for good in the country.
“Nigerians do not believe in the system and do not have faith in the system. People are too short termed in nature. What is required of us to do is to break this cycle of lack of faith in the system,” he advised.
