FOR Nigeria to stem the increasing tide of capital flight arising from the purchase and use of foreign software in the country, experts in the software industry, including the Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Liyel Imoke have said that increase patronage and local capacity were critical to the growth of the country's software industry.Imoke said that it had become important to promote conscious national awareness on the imperatives for developing Nigeria's indigenous intellectual property in the software knowledge space, adding that that would help to harness the country's collective IT potentials, resources, capacity and capability as a national priority for global competitiveness.The Cross River State Governor, represented by his Personal Assistant on Information Technology, Mr. Henry Asor, stated this in Lagos recently, while announcing the state's support for the 2012 National Software Competition, organised by the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON).According to him: 'Today, digital revolution'as a fruit of ICT usage'has not only exerted a profound impact on modern business life or on our daily ways of working or living, but has entered deeply into the public domain.'In the word of ISPON's President, Mr. Chris Uwaje, without adequate patronage for indigenous software developers, Nigeria would not be able to develop the required capacity for software development.Uwaje said that it was important for the government to develop policy to deliberately leapfrog the marketability of local software.In view of this, the ISPON president said that the National Software Policy had been developed with local patronage and capacity development central to it.Uwaje, who insisted that government must initiate programmes to develop capacity for local developers, said: 'In recognition that the emerging African ICT market is big and growing very fast, ISPON's goal is to become the continent's software market leader as a medium term goal and engage the youths and emerging start-up companies to successfully handle the development, production, business management processes of products and services that will fulfill our national needs and export demands with quality assurance.'That is why we are leading the advocacy for the establishment of National Software Policy and the creation of National Software Policy and Innovation Fund.'With the theme: 'The Cloud and the Future of Software Nigeria', Uwaje noted that ISPON hoped that the conference/competition would 'unleash the currently suppressed ideas and creativity of Nigeria software professionals and the entrepreneurial spirit and skills of our teeming youths.'As part of preparations towards to the conference/competition, ISPON had appointment the former Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, as 'Distinguished Knowledge Ambassador' to help ISPON ensure sponsorship and promotional success of the competition.Ndukwe said that with the abundant brains, the country was blessed with, it had become critical to put the youths' energy into proper use by creating an avenue for them to contribute meaningfully to the growth of the economy.Ndukwe noted: 'Nigeria can lead Africa, if only the energy and talents are judiciously tapped. The telecoms industry has shown that and we can replicate that in IT, software industry because we have the population that can do the magic.
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