Inaugural 1

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ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY

TO THE SERVICE OF THE NATION

1. INTRODUCTION

Technology, simply defined as knowledge pertaining to theproduction of goods and

services, is now generally accepted as being crucial to the development of any nation.

Electronics and telecommunications technology is central to the discussion in this lecture.

It is concerned with the design, fabrication, and applications of electronic devices on the

one hand and the development and usage of equipment, systems, and techniques for

electrical conversion, processing and transmission of information on the other.

This inaugural lecture highlights the lecturers modest but significant contributions

to the field of electronics and telecommunications technology over the past three decades

as the roles of Electronics and Telecommunications technology in national development

are discussed. These contributions essentially and expectedly involve educational training

for human-capacity development, research and development, and rendering of engineering

professional services.

In discussing the roles of technology in national development, issues on

technological capability and economic competitiveness are usually raised and addressed.

As a result, this lecture examines Nigerias capability in electronics and

telecommunications technology as well as assesses the competitiveness of the country in

the manufacture of electronics and telecommunications goods and services.

It is said (Halty-Carrere, 1979; Dahlman, 1990) that the three principal agents of

technological development are government, industry, and educational/research institutions.

Based on this concept, governments main role is to formulate policy and strategy for

promotion of technological development while educational/research institutions are to

generate scientific and technological knowledge, which is to be applied by industry to

produce goods and services. Consequently, the examination of Nigerias capability in

electronics and telecommunications technology in this lecture begins with a review of the

countrys industrial policies on electronics and telecommunications. This review is

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followed by a discussion of Nigerian electronics and telecommunications industrial sectors

manufacturing activities and its significance to the national economy.

Because modern technology involves the application of scientific knowledge, any

discussion of a countrys technological capability would also naturally include an

examination of the quality of university and polytechnic education in the country. This

lecture therefore examines the performance of the nations polytechnics and colleges of

technology in the field of electronics and telecommunications technology. Also examined

are the impacts of these institutions on the industrial sector of the economy.

The above presentations are followed by a discussion of the roles of electronics and

telecommunications technology in national development that involves an examination of

the real and perceived contributions of key areas of electronics and telecommunications, as

presented in the open literature.

Against the backdrop of the above discussions, the lecture in the concluding

sections suggests strategic actions that Nigeria may adapt to harnessing the potentials of

electronics and telecommunications technology for national development.

2. NIGERIAS POLICY ON ELECTRONICS

The lecturer in the last two decades devoted a lot of his time to the study of government

policies on Electronics and Telecommunications technology (Olubajo, 1987, 1996 and

2008) and participated in two nationwide surveys of the electronics sector of the Nigerian

manufacturing industry (RMRDC Industrial Surveys, 1996 and 2006). The outcomes and

recommendations of these studies/surveys form the basis of the discussions in this and the

next two sections.

Electronics technology as indicated in the preceding section is concerned with the

design, fabrication, and applications of electronic devices. The first generation of electronic

devices referred to as vacuum-tube devices or valves include the triode, which wasinvented in 1904 by Fleming. Because of the limitations experienced with the applications

of vacuum-tube components, Brattain, Bardeen, and Shockley spearheaded the

development of semiconductor devices, which, it can be said, has led to the information

revolution that the world is currently experiencing.

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Electronic devices are used in the production of electronic circuits, which are

employed as key components in the manufacture of all types of electronic products

including consumer electronic products, communications equipment, control systems and

computers, to mention but a few.

Though the advent of electronics technology is relatively recent, important

developments in this area are many and varied to the extent that the developed countries

now regard electronics technology as crucial to their future socio-economic development.

Accordingly, they have initiated numerous programmes involving the expenditure of huge

sums of money for its development in their respective countries (Dahlman, 1990). The

principal rationale for government involvement in the development of electronics is that

electronics is a key input into many other areas of economic activity and therefore has the

potential for spurring economic progress across a broad front. It is also considered to be a

strategic input in advanced defense, and in a broad sense, a base for national economic

strength and international competitiveness.

The importance attached to electronics technology by the developed countries

attracted the attention of some researchers in the early 1980s. Of particular interest are the

works of researchers who investigated its nature and effects (Jacobsson and Sigurdson,

1983). Though these studies were limited to the experiences of the developed countries,

they revealed, among other things, the potential manufacturing applications of electronics

technology. These applications were such that some development experts believe their

realization by the developed countries would enhance significantly their international

competitiveness and worsen the already unequal world economic order (Hoffman, 1985).

In order to prevent the latter, some international development agencies, particularly the

United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), sponsored a number of

programmes meant to sensitise the developing countries about the then emerging scenario,

urging them to also regard electronics technology as strategic to their development efforts

and, to formulate long-term and elaborate policies and strategy for its development in their

respective countries.

The main areas of the technology currently engaging the attention of the developed

countries are:

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Microelectronics

Software engineering

Computers

Telecommunications Optoelectronics (Fiber Optics)

Information processing

Computer integrated manufacturing

Developments in the areas listed above constitute the much talked about state-of-the-art of

electronics technology.

It would appear that it was in response to the afore-mentioned sensitisation from the

international development agencies that Nigeria came to recognize the electronics industry

as a strategic industry (Nigerian Government, Federal Ministry of Industries, 1980). A

study of Nigerian government policy on electronics technology (Olubajo, 1987) indicates

that it entails essentially the use of industrial incentives involving tax holidays, protective

tariff regimes, import licenses for inputs and production equipment, etc. to promote the

development of the electronics industry with investments in the sector left essentially to the

private sector of the economy. In addition to controlling and regulating the industrial

environment, government has also been involved in the establishment of educational and

research infrastructure for the training of the required manpower for the sector and for

conducting research and development in electronics technology. However, the weak link

that exists between the educational/research institutions and the electronics industrial sector

has meant that the former play only a marginal role in the technological development of the

electronics industrial sector. More details about the performance of the

educational/research institutions will be provided later in the lecture.

3. NIGERIAS TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY

Telecommunications technology involves the development and usage of techniques for

electrical conversion, processing, and transmission of information. Telecommunications

plants, which constitute a major category of products manufactured by the electronics

industry, are used by the telecommunications industry to provide telecommunications

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services such as voice, data, and video communications. Nigerias telecommunications

policy addresses the provision of telecommunications services in Nigeria.

A study of Nigerias past and current telecommunications policies (Olubajo, et al,

2010) revealed that since independence, Nigerias telecommunications policies have

mirrored those of the member countries of the International Telecommunications Union

(ITU) excluding the United States. Up to the late 1970s, most member countries of the ITU

embraced telecommunications policies that foster a single telecommunications service

provider in their respective countries. These telecommunications service providers were

usually public utilities shortly referred to as PTTs (Post, Telephone, and Telegraph), which

operated as monopolies. The conditions existing then were such that afforded well-run

PTTs to provide effective and efficient telecommunications services.

With the emergence of large telecommunications companies in the US in the late

1970s, which offer world-wide modern telecommunications services at highly competitive

prices, most countries started to review their telecommunications policies to take advantage

of this development. Nigeria, in particular, turned towards a policy that allows and

encourages both Nigerian and foreign privately-owned companies to invest in the Nigerian

telecommunications industry thereby breaking the monopoly of the Nigerian PTT utility,

that is, Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) (Nigerian Government, Federal

Ministry of Communications, 2000; Alabi, 1996; and Owomero, 2007).

Nigeria actually began the change from a monopolistic industrial regime to a

competitive market-oriented policy in telecommunications with the establishment of the

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) through the promulgation of the Nigerian

Communications Commission Decree 75 of 1992. The objectives for establishing the NCC

include:

Creating a regulatory environment to facilitate the supply of telecommunications

services and facilities;

Facilitating the entry of private entrepreneurs into the telecommunications market;

and

Promoting fair competition and efficient market conduct among all players in the

telecommunications industry.

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The Nigerian Federal Ministry of Communications published the maiden edition of the

Nigerian Policy on Telecommunications in 1998. A revised edition of this policy was

launched in October 1999 by the Obasanjo administration. On 1st February 2000, the

Chairman of the National Council on Privatization (NCP), the then Vice President Atiku

Abubakar, inaugurated a 22-member Telecommunications Sector Reform Implementation

Committee (TSRIC) that reviewed the existing Nigerian telecommunications policy. In

May 2000, the Federal Government of Nigeria through TSRIC introduced a new Nigerian

Telecommunications Policy (Nigerian Government, Federal Ministry of Communications,

2000).

The overall objective of this policy is to foster a liberalized, competitive, and

privately owned Nigerian telecommunications industry that is adequately developed to play

its expected roles in the socio-economic development of the country. Perhaps, it needs to

be mentioned that this new policy is also in agreement with current policy trends in most

countries of the world.

The new Nigerian telecommunications policy makes NCC the independent regulator of

the telecommunications industry while at the same time subjecting it to the control of the

Nigerian Federal Ministry of Communications and the Nigerian Federal Government,

which makes one to ponder the meaning of the word independent. Another remarkable

aspect of the policy is that it subjects NITEL to the full control of the NCC in an attempt to

create a level playing field for all telecommunications service providers. Whether NCC

will be able to do this is something most people are keenly waiting to see. The Policy listed

the functions of NCC to include the following:

Licensing of telecommunications operators;

Assignment and registration of frequency to duly licensed operators;

Administration of national numbering plan;

Facilitating private sector participation and investment in the telecommunications

sector of the Nigerian economy;

Promoting and enforcing a fair competitive environment for all operators as

outlined in the Policy;

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Defining standards for economic regulation of dominant operators including tariff

regulation as outlined in the Policy;

Establishing mechanisms for promoting universal access to telecommunications

services in Nigeria as outlined in the Policy;

Establishing and enforcing technical operational standards and practices for all

operators including the imposition of penalties for violations; and

Ensuring that public interest is protected.

The NCC in discharging its functions as listed above has set out guidelines for private

sector participation and issued licenses to a number of companies involved in the following

telecommunications businesses:

Installation and operation of public switched telephone networks (PSTN)

Installation of subscriber terminals and related equipment;

Provision and operation of public payphones;

Provision and operation of private network links employing cable, radio

communications or satellite within Nigeria;

Provision and operation of public mobile communications systems;

Provision and operation of community telephone systems;

Provision and operation of value-added networks (including e-mail, voice mail,

internet services, paging, etc);

Repair and maintenance of telecommunications facilities; and

Cabling services

In addition to these NCCs initiatives, the Federal Government through the Public

Enterprises (Privatization and Commercialization) Decree 28 of 1999 changed the

ownership structure of NITEL to allow for private participation as follows:

Federal Government 40%

Strategic investor 40%

Nigerian public 20%

All concerned with the development of the Nigerian telecommunications industry

currently appear satisfied with the new Nigerian Telecommunications Policy and other

related government initiatives and they are quite optimistic that the measures will provide

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the necessary regulatory environment for the rapid development of a Nigerian

telecommunications industry that is able to provide modern, effective and reliable

telecommunications services at affordable prices.

4. Electronic Product Manufacturing in Nigeria

A study of the Nigerian electronics industrial sector (Olubajo, 1987) revealed that except

for a few manufacturing firms producing gramophone records and assembling radio

receivers, the Nigerian electronics industrial sector up to the late 1970s was mostly

populated by firms that served as retail outlets for off-shore firms producing essentially

consumer electronic products. In the early 80s, a combination of factors arising from the

oil boom of the 70s, the Indigenisation Decree and the restrictions placed on the

importation of consumer electronic goods provided an attractive business opportunity for

local entrepreneurs in a market previously dominated by subsidiaries of multinational

firms. Owing to the absence of local capabilities to establish manufacturing operations,

entrepreneurs who had previous trade contacts with foreign firms quickly imported

packaged technology from overseas. This includes assembly processes together with

product specifications, production technology, technical personnel and component parts.

The import of such a packaged technology led to the establishment of new productive

units and an indigenous electronics manufacturing industry in Nigeria. However, before thenew firms could assimilate and embark on the process of adaptation of imported

technology and diversify into more sophisticated product lines, the foreign exchange crisis

that started in the early 80s prompted government to introduce austerity measures which

discouraged further production of consumer electronic goods locally. Recent policy

measures initiated by the government to increase self-reliance within the manufacturing

sector generally have continued to compound the problems facing the indigenous

electronics industry. Majority of those concerned with the development of the sector now

believe that some urgent measures should be taken by government to discourage the

continuing flight of indigenous private capital from the sector (RMRDC, 2006).

The foregoing review shows that with regards to the manufacture of electronic

products, the Nigerian electronics industrial sector is involved essentially in the

manufacture of consumer electronic products and has currently suspended almost all

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manufacturing operations because of the harsh industrial climate prevailing in the country.

As a result, Nigeria depends on imports for virtually all its electronic product needs.

Though no data can be found on Nigerias electronic product imports, it is estimated to be

on the order of trillions of Naira annually (RMRDC, 2006).

The state of the Nigerian electronics industrial sector as discussed above is in sharp

contrast to recent developments in the telecommunications and ICT sectors of the

economy. Since 1999 Nigeria has experienced tremendous growth in these two sectors,

which has impacted positively on virtually all aspects of the economy. However, the

remarkable developments in the telecommunications and ICT sectors of the economy are

not without some economic costs to the nation. The telecommunications and ICT sectors

depend on imports for their plants/equipment. Since these are usually turnkey plants, the

operation of these plants in the country does not provide much opportunity for technology

transfer to the country. Furthermore, developments in the telecommunications and ICT

sectors put considerable pressure on the countrys foreign exchange and pose a serious

challenge to the countrys security on the one hand and its industrial policy on self-reliance

on the other.

4. POLYTECHNIC EDUCATION IN ELECTRONICS

Apart from the lecturers involvement in the study of electronics policy and the electronicsindustrial sector, he has also been involved in the training of manpower in electronics and

telecommunications technology. His experience in this respect is discussed in this section.

Nigerias polytechnic educational setup includes about 71 polytechnics most of

which offer educational programmes in electrical and electronics engineering technology.

The objective of polytechnic education in Nigeria is to produce manpower in engineering

technology, applied sciences, and management sciences. The programmes run by

polytechnics lead to the awards of National Diploma (ND) and Higher National Diploma

(HND) respectively. The entry requirement for ND is secondary school certificate and the

programme has a normal duration of two years. Holders of ND are admitted into the HND

programmes after acquiring a minimum of one-year relevant industrial work experience -

the normal duration of the programme is also two years.

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The ND programme in Electronics and Electrical engineering is designed to

produce engineering technicians in the field. The ND curriculum consists of course units in

general studies, basic science, engineering science, and electrical and electronic

engineering. A recent review of the curriculum increased the number of computer, and

information and communications technology (ICT) course units and made entrepreneurship

studies compulsory (NBTE, 2002).

Holders of HND in electrical and electronics engineering are known as engineering

technologists. The HND curriculum in electrical and electronics engineering provides for

specialization in three areas including electronics and telecommunications, electrical power

and machines, and electrical measurement and control.

Though the curricula employed by Polytechnics are considered to be of good

standard, their graduates are adjudged by industry to be of low quality (RMRDC, 2006). A

myriad of factors euphemistically referred to as the Nigerian factor has been attributed to

this. At the root of the Nigerian factor is corruption. According to some respected national

affair commentators, corruption has rendered and continues to render all major activities

geared towards national development ineffective.

Other factors that have been adduced to the falling standard of education generally

in the country include, poor funding, incessant industrial actions by workers in the

education sector, unplanned expansion of education, and low-quality manpower resources.

The nations polytechnics have also been weakened by the unnecessary and

unproductive perennial national controversy over the caliber of polytechnic graduates as

compared to university graduates that has led some Nigerians to regard polytechnic

education with contempt thus denying the polytechnics of quality manpower and students.

In order to put a stop to this, the government is taking steps that will lead to the conversion

of polytechnics to universities. This is, by and large, the approach adopted by Britain, from

which we inherited our educational system, when faced with a similar problem.The experience of the developed economies indicates that three categories of

engineering professionals are required to perform the engineering function involved in

national development. These are craftsmen/artisans/technicians, engineering technologists,

and engineers. Engineers are usually required to plan engineering projects, technologists

are needed during project implementation to supervise related engineering activities, and

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technicians/artisans/craftsmen carry out the basic project activities. This approach to

implementing the engineering function has been found over time to be effective and

efficient.

Therefore, if and when polytechnics are converted to universities, the government

should ensure that the new universities continue to run engineering technology

programmes in order that the country may not be denied the services of engineering

technologists in future.

5. RESEARCH IN ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Research forms part of the duties of a lecturer in a Polytechnic. Therefore, the lecturer has

been involved in the conduct of a number of researches in the last thirty years. These

involved studies of electronics and telecommunications policies (Olubajo, 1987, 1996 and

2008) and surveys of the electronics industrial sector (RMRDC Industrial Surveys, 1996

and 2006). The other researches are on micro-controller applications (Adegbenro and

Olubajo, 1990) and microelectronics devices particularly CMOS devices (Olubajo, 2000).

Apart from researches, the lecturer has also been involved in the design of electrical,

electronic, and telecommunication systems, as part of his professional duties as registered

engineer. These designs include designs of electrical systems for buildings, designs of

electronic gadgets (e.g. audio amplifiers, power supplies, inverters, mains stabilizers, trafficcontrol systems, controllers, and fire/ burglar alarms) and designs of telecommunications

facilities for business enterprises (Olubajo, 2010).

The following discussion on the nature and significance of electronics and

telecommunications research in Nigeria is based on the lecturers research experience.

Research in electronics and telecommunications actually takes place in the

countrys universities, polytechnics, and research institutes. University researches are, in

most cases, basic research and are, by and large, not of direct/immediate interest to industry

(RMRDC, 2006). The overarching objective of university research is to publish papers in

internationally reputable journals. As a result, areas of research are determined by factors

that are often far removed from national development goals.

During the glorious period of polytechnic education in Nigeria, polytechnics

engaged essentially in applied research. Then, polytechnic staff because they possessed

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knowledge and skills related to equipment design and fabrication engaged in applied

research that involved replication of imported equipment. The absence of a component or

spare-part manufacturing sub-sector and good engineering companies, however, made most

of these efforts to go unnoticed by prospective investors (RMRDC, 2006).

The identity crisis that bedeviled polytechnics since the early 1980s has made the

institutions to shift emphasis from applied research to basic research with the country being

the loser. Both research types are required for national development, as the experiences of

Japan and some of the Asian countries referred to as the Asian Tigers, for example, have

very clearly demonstrated. Through applied research the country may adapt known and

practicable solutions to solve local problems, for example, by adapting (copying) imported

technology. Basic research, on the other hand, should, when directed at local problems, be

useful for the purposes of bringing about improvements or innovations on indigenous and

imported technology (Olubajo, 1996).

The major research institutions that are involved in research and development in

electronics are:

Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC)

Electronics Development Institute (EDI), formerly, Center for Adaptation of

Technology (CAT)

The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) conducted between

1989 and 2005 five surveys of the ten industrial groups of the Manufacturers Association

of Nigeria (MAN) including the Electrical and Electronics industrial group in which the

lecturer served as a member of the 1996 and 2006 survey teams. Complementary to these

were interactive sessions organized by the Council in conjunction with MAN at which

challenges in the local development of raw materials for the Electrical and Electronics

industrial sector were considered and solutions proffered. These surveys and interactive

sessions afforded the Council the opportunity to obtain information on the manufacturingactivities and raw materials utilization of firms in the manufacturing sector of the economy.

The Council used this information as inputs to the process of formulating research plans for

the local development of industrial raw materials for the manufacturing sector. In the case

of the Electrical and Electronics sector, the projects that have been identified and sponsored

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by the Council included the local production of certain electronic components (i.e.

resistors, inductors and capacitors), welding electrodes and printed circuit boards (pcbs).

The Council also annually sponsors national competitions on process equipment

design. Award-winning designs are sent to RMRDCs Computer-Aided Process Equipment

Design (CAPED) Unit to be upgraded to the level of industrial designs. The lecturer was

the electrical engineer on the CAPED team that upgraded the design that won the 2007

award. This design involved ball mills.

CAPED after upgrading the 2007 design went further to fabricate a model plant

based on the upgraded design and to publish materials on the design. One of such

publications is titled Basic Concepts in Process Equipment & Plant Design, which the

lecturer wrote two of the chapters. The chapters are on Electrical Power Design and

Instrumentation Design (Olubajo, 2007).

The Electronics Development Institute (EDI) is involved essentially in applied

research in electronics. Some of the products that have been developed by the Institute

include inverters, mains regulators, welding machines, audio systems, and so on. The

Institute is also currently collaborating with RMRDC in developing national capability in

printed circuit (PC) technology. In this respect, the lecturer is involved as a member of the

training team set up by RMRDC to disseminate PC technology in Nigeria. So far, the team

has conducted training in western and eastern Nigeria. The third and final edition of thetraining is scheduled for northern Nigeria and its expected to hold before the end of the

year (2011). Though these efforts are in the right direction, it is doubtful if investors will

take up the local manufacture of the items developed by EDI because of the following

reasons:

Weak national capabilities in the manufacture of industrial equipment, machinery

and spare parts

Weak local capability to un-package, adapt and possibly improve imported

technology

Lack of engineering companies that have capabilities to design and develop

equipment, systems, process/manufacturing plants, etc.

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6. ROLES OF ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS

TECHNOLOGY IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

As mentioned earlier in this lecture, the developed countries have identified the following

areas of electronics technology as having great potentials for their socio-economic

development:

Microelectronics

Software engineering

Computers

Telecommunications

Optoelectronics (fiber optics)

Information processing

Computer integrated manufacturing

The roles of electronics and telecommunications technology in national development will

be considered at this juncture from this perspective.

Microelectronics

Microelectronics is the state-of-the-art technique for designing and fabricating electronic

devices. Microelectronic devices are in fact integrated circuits having different levels of

integration that may range from a few tens to several millions of components. The

advantages of microelectronic devices include small size, high functionality, high

reliability and low cost (Olubajo, 2000). The availability of microelectronic devices has

revolutionized every field of human endeavor especially computing, telecommunications,

information processing and manufacturing.

Nigeria needs to develop capability in microelectronics in order to achieve any

meaningful success in the pursuit of its self-reliance economic development policy. This is

because the microelectronics sub-sector supplies the raw materials or inputs required by theother sub-sectors of the electronics industry and its, therefore, regarded as the bedrock of

the industry. Without capability in microelectronics, Nigeria cannot undertake the design

and manufacture of any type of modern system whether electronic or not because

microelectronic devices are at the hearts of all major modern systems used for computing,

communications, information processing, manufacturing, and so on. For example, India, a

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developing country like Nigeria, realized the need to develop capability in the development

and manufacture of microelectronics devices in pursuant of its self-reliance industrial

policy, and, as a result, established a number of public corporations to develop its

electronics industry and also formulated detailed policies on electronics that laid the

foundation for the liberalized growth of the industry. As a result, India witnessed a

significant growth in the electronics sector during the 1980s and 1990s. In comparison,

Nigeria, in spite of also realizing the strategic importance of the electronics industry, has

left the development of the industry entirely to the private sector with the result that the

industry is currently comatose.

The importance of the microelectronics sub-sector is further demonstrated by the

top three electronics producing countries, that is U.S., Japan, and France, respectively. The

U.S. government has targeted heavy financing toward R&D in electronics. For example,

the Department of Defense (DOD) funded Texas Instruments research on integrated chips

and helped set up Motorola. In the 1960s, the whole development of CMOS and NMOS

integrated circuits came from NASA programs. In 1984, the U.S. government enacted the

National Cooperative Act that facilitated the establishment of the Microelectronics

Computer Corporation, SEMATECH, and other research consortia. DOD contributed $600

million in matching funds to SEMATECH over six years in the 1990s. SEMATECHs

objective was to develop advanced commercial production technology for standard

integrated chips such as dynamic random access memories (DRAMs). In the case of Japan,

its Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI) was responsible for the majority of funds

devoted to microelectronics research since the late 1970s. One of such programs is the very

large-scale integrated circuit program of the late 1970s. The French government used the

R&D portion of the 1977 Le Plan des Composants to support research works on very large-

scale integrated chips (VLSICs) as well as microprocessor applications. The European

Economic Community (now EU) also initiated and funded the four-year Microelectronics

Program in 1981 to stimulate R&D for production and testing equipment for very large

integrated circuit manufacture (Dahlman, 1990).

It suffices to state at this juncture that a country with appropriate microelectronics

policy and good educational and research institutions should not find it difficult to engage

in integrated circuit (IC) design. Such a country would normally have to undertake IC

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manufacture overseas as done even by some developed countries because of the very

capital-intensive nature of IC manufacturing. Concrete steps on how Nigeria may develop

capability in microelectronics are discussed later.

Software Engineering

Modern systems consist of two main parts hardware and software. The software of a

system controls the operations of the system. Capability in software engineering is required

in the development and manufacture of all types of modern systems. In fact,

microelectronics and software-engineering capabilities are related and are normally

developed together.

Another importance of software engineering is that it can be exploited to create

economic growth, export, and employment. This is clearly demonstrated by India whose

production and export of computer software and related IT enabling services was estimated

to be 5% of the global market for IT enabling services in 2004 (Goldman Sachs Global

Equity Research Report). The NASSCOM-McKinsey report projects about USD 87 billion

in 2008 for Indian IT companies. More than 40 per cent of FORTUNE 500 companies use

the services of Indian enablers. As a result of these projections, India has come to realize

that IT would become strategically as important to the Indian economy as oil. India has

therefore fostered the establishment of software development centers such as National

Centre for Software Technology (NCST) and Software Technology Parks of India (STPI)

(Indian Institute of Science, 2011).

Like microelectronics, software engineering requires appropriate policies and good

educational and research institutions for its development.

Computers

Nowadays, computers are used in great numbers in every segment of the economy. Though

computer technology involves the design, manufacture, and applications of computers,

most countries are contented with developing national capabilities in computer applications

and the manufacture of computer peripherals/accessories.

In Nigeria, there is increasing application of computers in most sectors of the

economy including education, banking, insurance, government, communications, and so

on. In all these applications, the computer is used to automate organizational processes so

as to achieve prompt and quality services to customers. Most of these computer

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applications are not developed locally but imported from the developed countries. As a

result, the applications are often neither cost-effective nor well suited to operations of

computer users. Furthermore, they constitute a drain of the countrys foreign exchange.

In order for the country to derive optimum benefit from the use of computers, it

would need to formulate appropriate policies that would promote computer-application

studies and development in the country especially in the IT sector as this sector provides

the most opportunities. The country would derive benefits in terms of economic growth and

employment generation if it is able to successfully develop computer application software

locally that are required by governments and corporate businesses in areas such as

population census, elections into public offices, national identity card scheme, vehicle

registration, taxation, immigration, education, health and so on.

So far, Nigeria has allowed private interests to control development in the computer

industry with the result that total available resources are insufficient to permit any

meaningful Nigerian initiative in the design, development, and delivery of computers and

computer applications.

Telecommunications

The impacts of telecommunications on human society are there for all to see. The global

communications networks for voice, data, and video have turned the world into a global

village where communications occurs readily and instantaneously. The INTERNET has

provided revolutionary forms of social interaction that redefines the concept of global

village.

Though Nigeria has in place a telecommunications policy and a

telecommunications industrial sub-sector, it still lags behind the developed countries in the

quality and range of available telecommunications services. More serious is the fact that

Nigerian participation in the sector is essentially financial rather than technical. For Nigeria

to address the technical challenge posed by the telecommunications sub-sector it must also

develop capability in telecommunications technology. This involves local development and

manufacturing of all types of communications system and equipment including broadcast

systems, industrial communication systems, satellite communication systems, microwave

systems, optical systems, telephone systems and so on.

Optoelectronics

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The ever-increasing demand for broadband communications systems has renewed the

interest in the development of fiber optics. Optoelectronics is sometimes seen as the second

phase of the Information revolution that the world is currently witnessing, with

microelectronics being the first phase.

The application of fiber optics is not limited to communications - they include data

networks (e.g. SONETS, FDDI, etc), laser printers, optical data storage systems, CD/DVD

players, etc. For Nigeria to develop and manufacture fiber optic systems it first needs to

have know-how related to the design and manufacture of optic fibers, light-emitting (laser)

diodes, and photo sensors/detectors, as these are the essential components of such systems.

Information and Communications Technology

Information and communications technology (ICT) deals with methods for acquisition,

storage, processing, and dissemination of information. The technology represents a

convergence of computer and telecommunications technologies. ICT is used by

organizations (both private and public) for efficient and effective internal and external

communications thereby achieving high-quality and competitive service delivery to all

stakeholders.

Nigerias usage of ICT is on the increase but it is still to be mastered so that the

country can derive the desired benefits from the emerging digital economy. Elsewhere,

governments have taken effective steps for the development of information systems and

utilization of information resources to facilitate planning and programme implementation

in order to further the growth of economic and social development. These successes have

been recorded through the efforts of essentially local IT enablers.

Computer-Integrated Manufacturing

Computer-integrated manufacturing is a modern method of manufacturing in which a

distributed computer system and a communications network (i.e. ICT) are used to provide

seamless communication among the various layers in a manufacturing establishment. The

management layer, which is the topmost layer, receives and processes orders for the

companys products. The result of the processing is sent to the production layer, which

determines how to optimally satisfy the order. Information from the production layer is

routed to the lower layers, that is, the regulatory and plant layers where computer-

controlled plants do the actual production. Though computer-integrated manufacturing is a

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complex method of manufacturing, it has several benefits that include automation of plant

processes that results in uniform product quality, fast response to customers orders, etc.

Examples of computer-integrated manufacturing plants exist in Nigeria. These

include the steel plants, the cement plants, the power plants, the petrochemical plants, the

liquefied natural gas plants and the oil refineries. Since these are usually turnkey plants, the

operations of these plants in the country have not impacted significantly on Nigerias

capability in the design, construction, and operation of this type of plants.

Recently, Nigeria initiated measures to ensure that it benefits from these operations.

The recently promulgated Petroleum Industry Law is one of such measures.

7. STRATEGY FOR HARNESSING THE POTENTIALS OF ELECTRONICS

AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The review of publications on the experiences of some countries in electronics technology

[Lalor, 1984; Lalor, 1985; Morehouse and Chopra, 1983; UNIDO, 1984(a); UNIDO,

1984(b); and Dahlman, 1990] revealed that there are three main approaches or strategies

that these countries have adopted in developing their electronics industry. These are:

Self-reliant strategy

Export-promotion strategy

Import-substitution strategy

Countries that adopt a self-reliant strategy to develop their electronics industry usually

operate in such a way as to be self-sufficient in all the areas of electronics technology.

Examples of such countries are U.S., France, China and India. The main governmental

instruments used to implement this strategy include:

Direct participation through state enterprises

Trade protection

Publicly financed research and development (R&D)

Fiscal and financial incentives for industrial R&D or establishment of firms

Government procurement

Regulation of direct foreign investment

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Industrial organization instruments to prevent monopoly or to encourage

concentration to increase international competitiveness; and

Development of technical human resources

The extent to which each of the four countries mentioned above has used these instruments

differs. The developed economies rely essentially on manpower development, public

purchasing, public funding of R&D, and the fostering of a competitive industrial

environment. The developing countries tend to use trade protection instruments, control of

direct foreign investment and state enterprises to develop a self-reliant electronics industry.

Countries that use an export-promotion strategy concentrate more on application of

technological knowledge than on its generation since the overall objective is to gain access

to foreign markets. This strategy appears to be the fastest way to develop an internationally

competitive electronics industry. However, the success of the strategy depends on many

other factors, including the level and quality of human resources, the quality of the

supporting technological infrastructure, and the dynamism and quality of management and

entrepreneurship in the private sector. Where these are of poor quality, the result is usually

heavy reliance on foreign capital and technology. Countries using this strategy include

Japan, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

A country that is at the initial stage of development will normally use import-

substitution industrialization strategy to promote local production of imported goods andservices. Such a country will apply appropriate policy instruments (i.e. industrial

incentives, restriction of imported goods and control of direct foreign investment) to

protect and nurture local industries, while demanding improved performance by forcing

firms to compete abroad and at home.

In Nigeria, current government industrial policy places emphasis on increasing self-

reliance in the manufacturing sector. Considering the present state of the technological

infrastructure in the country, a strategy of self-sufficiency in electronics technology is not

likely to succeed in the country. The approach that appears reasonable to follow is that

which is referred to elsewhere (Olubajo, 1996) as selective self-reliance. This strategy

requires the country to identify sectors of the electronics industry where it has comparative

advantage and to deploy the needed resources to develop these sectors to a level that they

are strong and internationally competitive. Thereafter, the undeveloped sectors are

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developed in turn until the entire electronics industry is developed - a sort of gradual

development of the sector as opposed to the extreme approach that involves technological

leapfrogging.

This approach to industrial development involves the use of technological capacity

complemented by selective imports of sophisticated technology from abroad to develop the

industry. The strategy takes into consideration that no country is self-sufficient in its

immediate or short-term technological needs. It, however, operates in such a way as to

always reduce technology importation to a minimum. In fact, rather than regard this

strategy as a distinct evolutionary process, Kim (1980) presented it as an advanced stage in

an evolutionary process. Countries operating a selective reliance strategy direct most of

their efforts to the supply and demand of indigenous technology. The four main goals of

the strategy as identified elsewhere (Halty-Carrere, 1979) are:

To promote the utilization of local technological supply by reinforcing the

technological infrastructure and by improving the linkage between the

technological and production systems.

To regulate the flow of technology imports in order to make better evaluation of

appropriate technology, more adequate selection of appropriate technologies, and

more effective negotiation when purchasing foreign technology.

To balance both inputs in a manner that will gradually incorporate more indigenoustechnology into the new technology mix.

To promote the demand for technological change and to steer adequately its rate,

concentration, and direction through proper mechanisms of technological diffusion.

When specialized to electronics technology, a strategy of selective self-reliance

should have as the main goals the following:

To formulate plans and policies on electronics technology.

To establish appropriate institutional arrangement and infrastructure for

implementing plans and policies on electronics technology.

To strengthen research and development and technological innovation in the field

of electronics technology and to increase both the financial and human resources

devoted to them.

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To establish an appropriate legal framework laws, regulations, and rules to

regulate transfers of electronics technology and foster its national development.

To promote technological co-operation with other countries in the area of electronic

technology.

To promote awareness on the uses and applications of electronics technology.

When these goals are translated into policies, the specific priority placed on each policy

objective and the option chosen to realize each of them will altogether constitute the

strategy for the technological development of the Nigerian electronics industry.

At this juncture, each of these elements of the strategy is examined in more details so as

to reveal the actions called for by each of them.

Plans and Policies on Electronics Technology

The formulation of plans and policies on electronics technology should, within the

framework of the strategy, constitute activities of utmost priority. Furthermore, because of

the socio-economic importance of electronics technology, these activities should form an

integral part of the overall planning process in the country. Decision-making on technology

generally should involve expressing the major components of the countrys development

plan, which normally comprises of several projects, in terms of the technological options it

entails at a given point in time as well as over a period and to delineate these options and to

translate them into details for the near future and into broad directives for the medium- and

long-term. This exercise when carried out specifically for electronics technology will yield

plans and policies for the development of the technology in the country. This would lead to

specific plans and policies that target the electronics industry as opposed to general

industrial policies.

Institutional Infrastructure

Technology policies and plans require for their formulation the existence of appropriate

national institutions entrusted with this task. A centre that has the responsibility to

undertake such a task in the field of electronics technology, and which perhaps may also

have the functional charge to implement the policies and plans is, therefore, essential. Such

a centre has three broad functions to perform. These are:

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To formulate and where appropriate implement the technological plans and policies

on electronics;

To act as a clearing house and coordinating agency for the identification and

selection of relevant technologies in the field of electronics, and of the sources of

their supply and for the registering and monitoring of transfer of technology

agreements in electronics;

To evaluate specific electronic technologies with regard to their techno-economic

feasibility in the particular instances facing the country and to render the necessary

assistance to the recipient production units on their utilization.

What one is advocating here is similar to what India did in 1999 by creating a new

Ministry of Information Technology (MIT) by merging the Department of Electronics

(DOE), National Informatics Centre (NIC) and Electronics and Software Export Promotion

Council. The Ministry has formulated plans, which it has taken steps to implement, that

would make India an IT superpower in the nearest future.

Research and Development, Manpower and Training

The weakness of the present research and development (R&D) structure in the country is

due to inadequate staffing and funding, its poor linkage with industry and its emphasis on

basic research. Actions to strengthen R&D in the country must therefore be directed

towards: Strengthening and improving the link and flow of information between the actual

agents of R&D and its users.

Increasing the emphasis on the technological development of R&D (i.e. developing

the capability to un-package, adapt and possibly improve imported technology).

Fostering the establishment of design and consulting organizations.

Encouraging firms to engage in in-house R&D through the granting of tax

incentives. Increasing substantially the funds devoted to R&D by imposing tax on corporate

profits.

Establishment of Appropriate Legal Framework

Successful technological development depends crucially on the existence of an appropriate

legal framework that will promote a favourable and beneficial environment for the

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development, transfer and application of needed technologies. Such laws and regulations

that currently exist in the country are operated with the objectives of:

Reducing costs of importing technology through several types of transfer

agreements;

Eliminating restrictive clauses from transfer of technology contracts;

Shortening of the terms of validity of agreements.

Because of the important effects this type of laws and regulations would have on the

technological development of the country, particularly in the field of electronics

technology, it will be necessary for the country to increase its understanding of the

industrial property system with a view to identifying areas where further efforts are still

required.

Technological Co-operation with other Countries

The experience of the developed countries in the field of electronics technology reveals

that a lot of material and human resources are required for the technological development

of the electronics industry. As a result, there will be a need for Nigeria to exploit co-

operation with other countries in order to realize the necessary quality and quantity of these

resources. Ways that have been identified through which assistance can be sought from the

developed countries are discussed elsewhere (Lalor, 1985); they include:

Training of engineers and technologists from the country in the universities,

institutions and industrial laboratories of developed countries;

Seeking assistance in establishing centers for training expert manpower and funding

technological infrastructure in the country.

Regional co-operation between Nigeria and other African countries should be exploited

to achieve the critical mass of effort through sharing experience and information. Areas

that have been identified (Lalor, 1985) as constituting possible areas of co-operation

include:

Regional facilities for integrated circuit (IC) design;

Regional facilities for the fabrication of customized ICs;

Centralized production and/or procurement of special or strategic raw materials and

components;

Regional centers for software development;

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Regional centers for systems engineering and design;

Networked centers for information, advice, feasibility studies and assistance to

industry on electronics application;

Promotion of Awareness

In order to promote the appropriate application of electronics technology throughout the

industry, commerce and administration in the country, it will be necessary to establish

state-supported institutions to raise awareness, provide information, assist in feasibility

analysis and sometimes implement applications in particular environments.

8. CONCLUSION

This lecture has reviewed past and present activities of Nigeria in electronics and

telecommunications technology especially as they concern government policies, industrial

production, human resource development, and research and development in some vital

areas of electronics including microelectronics, software engineering, computer,

telecommunications, optoelectronics, computer-integrated manufacturing, and information

and communications technology.

The review reveals that despite the fact that Nigerias efforts in these areas have

been below expectation judging from its manpower resources and the achievements of

fellow developing countries such as Brazil, India, Singapore, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong,and Korea, Nigeria needs to urgently develop these areas because most countries including

Nigeria regard electronics technology as strategic to their countrys overall development.

This is because of their perception that electronics is a strategic input to advanced defense,

and in a broad sense, a base for national economic strength and international

competitiveness.

In this respect, the lecture has provided an outline of the main elements of a

strategy that can be adopted for the technological development of the Nigerian electronics

industry. Each of these elements has also been examined in details to reveal the actions that

they call for. What remains is for policy makers to translate these elements to policy

objectives and to determine the basic priorities and major options required in realizing the

actions that they call for. These basic priorities and major options that will be determined

by the resource base of the country, its socio-economic conditions and its environment will

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constitute the strategy for the technological development of the Nigerian electronics

industry.

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