ITU Secretary General lures bankers

Speaking at a dinner party in his honour organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) at The Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, Dr. Toure said that the African continent is a unique place for investment, mostly by financial institutions like banks to step in actively.

"My message for the banking industry is that you have a very dynamic market," he said He also said that very soon ITU through its Connect Africa initiative would be calling on banks in Africa, expressing optimism that they would respond positively.

Equally Dr. Toure beckoned on foreign investors to take African markets very seriously by partnering with telecom operators. Partnership, he said, is like the salt of the new age of investment, just as he noted that African renaissance must focus on bringing new image to the continent.

Hence, he is excited that Nigeria, an African nation, has proved that something good can come from the continent through the telecommunications growth brought about by the advent of Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) over the last few years. Information and Communication Technology (ICT), he said, has generated two-thirds of the global jobs, stressing that there is need to create proper capacity building to keep up this pace.

Further, he said, that globally, the human race has entered an era where the capacity of the people depends on the knowledge they have, insisting that Africa has what it takes to change the tide on the continent. He enjoined the federal government led by President Umaru Yar'Adua and his vice, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to remain consistent in providing support for NCC in carrying out its duties.

Nigeria, he said, has remained a very active member of the ITU and urged NCC to continue in its right track. "I would like you to continue in all bureaus. This event is a sign of trust for me. I commit myself not to disappoint you," he said.

Dr. Touré, who was in Nigeria for a three-day official visit, had earlier on met with Vice President on behalf of the government to draw attention to the Connect Africa Initiative of the ITU.

In his remarks, the Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe said, that Toure's visit marked the first time the Secretary-General of ITU, officially visited Nigeria since the establishment of the United Nations agency.

Dr Touré also met Ministers of Information and Communications and the Board and Management of the NCC in Abuja during his visit.

The Connect Africa Initiative being championed by Dr Touré is intended to bring together governments, the private sector and other partners to carry out projects aimed at developing the continent's ICT infrastructure.

The initiative was launched at a summit of leaders in Kigali, under the patronage Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, and the then Chairman of the African Union and President of Ghana, John Kufuor, on 29 and 30 October 2007.

Dr Touré was elected Secretary-General of ITU at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Antalya, Turkey, in November 2006 and took office on 1 January 2007.

It is also noteworthy that the Secretary-General's visit coincides with the period Nigeria attained the position of the largest telecommunications market in Africa by overtaking South Africa in number of active connected lines by January 2008.

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