President Muhammadu Buhari has directed security institutions to immediately leverage Fifth Generation, 5G, technology, when deployed, to enhance security in the country.
Launching the National Policy on 5G for Nigeria’s Digital Economy, the President said the Federal Government would take full advantage of the opportunities of 5G for the economic, security, and well-being of the nation.
Buhari also allayed fears of health safety of 5G, affirming that such issues have been effectively addressed in developing a policy that suits the country.
On the benefits of 5G technologies, he noted that it could support virtually every sector of the economy, including enhanced connectivity, improved healthcare, support for education while fostering smart cities, and boosting agriculture.
The President noted that 5G technology was significantly faster than earlier digital technologies, saying it would provide near real-time communication.
Muhammadu Buhari who stressed that 5G would enable the nation’s security institutions to effectively deploy robotics, autonomous vehicles, augmented virtual reality to address security challenges being experienced, said the policy, which is in line with the commitment to supporting the digital economy as an enabler for the diversification of the national economy, also seeks to make 5G a major driver of the economy.
He assured investors that the Government would continue to provide an enabling environment for their businesses to be successful as Nigeria would begin the roll-out of the technology.
The President directed the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami, to supervise the implementation of the Policy, being done by the Nigerian Communications Commission with the support of other government institutions.
Responding, Professor Isa Pantami affirmed that the sector had recorded unprecedented achievements with increased remittances to the Federation Account, resolution of lingering issues in the industry, and successful auctioning of the 3.5 gigahertz spectrum for the deployment of 5G technology.
He thanked the President for the consistent support to the sector, announcing that within two years the Federal Government completed 1,667 ICT-related projects.
The Minister expressed confidence that given the experiences from other countries and available research, Nigeria would derive maximum benefits from the deployment of 5G technology.
RN
