A Digital Minister With a Diabolic Mind
#NITDAbillofdeath
A Digital Minister With a Diabolic Mind.
As a child I loved folklore especially the Yorùbá folklore with the songs. Animals were personified and imbued with characters that teach.
One of such stories was that of a world ravaged by famine. The famine was so severe that the animals decided the best way out was to eat their mothers. This they all did and for a long time all was well (Tamatoa the giant crab in the hit animation Moana said he eat his grandma for two weeks. LOL). After the maybe two weeks, the famine came back in full force and despondency hit the land.
One animal that was all bright full and shiny was -the Hare. He did not eat its mother. Instead he hid his mom in the sky and visited her via a celestial rope. The loyal and wise Hare was blessed with sumptuous meals each time he ascends to the sky via the celestial rope.
Nigeria, indeed the world is reeling from an economic famine occasioned by an insidious pandemic and a double dose of a global recession.
Countries worldwide are climbing the “celestial ropes” and making the most of the few opportunities to create new skies so they can climb figurative ropes out of the recession. They are doing this with their young vibrant citizens who are creating a brand new world with technology and startups.
Like the other animals in the folklore, Nigeria is planning to eat no, not her “mother” or like Tamatoa her grandmother; but the best of her very young- technology companies creating a new kind of wealth for her country.
A new bill to REPEAL THE NATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY ACT, NO. 28 2007 is in the works in the national assembly and the content of the bill indicates that Nigeria is dealing with a real and present pandemic that will eat up the startup ecosystem and impoverish all of us old and young.
The name of this diabolic Pandemic is DR. Isa Pantami The Minister for Digital economy. In January this year, I wove this thread on twitter about him. https://twitter.com/wandyvirus/status/1351591448903360516?s=20. I was wrong about his mind. He has a brilliant mind….brilliantly diabolical.
In that thread I warned about his sinister agenda which has been made all the more evident with his Jihadist stance and reverence for terrorist organizations like the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Hear him:
“This jihad is an obligation for every single believer, ESPECIALLY IN NIGERIA”.
“Oh God, give victory to the Taliban and al-Qaeda (Allahumma’ nṣur Ṭālibān wa-tanẓīm al Qā‘ida).”
Since the last SIM registration saga (enforced like the Taliban he is and unreasonable like the al-Qaeda) followed by the brouhaha over chilling revelations that the 48 year old man in charge of our digital assets (Including our orbiting satellites and THOSE NO LONGER IN ORBIT) is a terrorist sympathizer; we felt the viral load of the Pantami virus was reducing in our system. We were wrong. It was mutating.
A new variant of the Pantami virus has emerged and if allowed to replicate, no economic antiretroviral can stem the inevitable- total invasion and control of our economic and private lives. The new mutant is the NITDA bill which to all intents and purposes is a Lord of The Rings- One Bill to rule them all. Having failed to infect the Nigeria Communications Commission and have it bow in disease, the Minister is forging a ring so powerful and far reaching that it is the new definition of Kábíyèsi.
The Dark lord Sauron’s … I mean Pantami’s bill flies across the face of reason (in other words it is al-Qaedaic if that is a word). Let us examine the facts and the content of this diabolic bill.
I said it in my tweet that The Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency is a toothless agency that has become a cesspool of rent seeking, extortion and corruption. Its mandate is very clear: A DEVELOPMENT AGENCY. It is to formulate polices and regulate the adoption of such policies. It is NOT a regulator and was not set up to be one. At best it is to develop policies that will improve regulation.
See section 6 of the NITDA act 2007:
In all its years since it has been established, NITDA has been perhaps the most useless duplication of agencies and Departments in Nigeria. If there is any repealing of the NITDA act 2007 it should be to make it an appendage of the NCC with immediate effect.
The NCC survived the fantastically corrupt and cerebrally impotent Dr Eugene Juwah and has maybe survived the aggressive control bid of this “young” minister. We pray it survives many more and gets stronger.
Without the complete control of the NCC, GYARA (slow burn jihad which he espoused will be the best sort of Jihad for Nigeria) will not happen. He has under his control our national Identity system, our communication satellites, access to our SIMs and phones. All these linked to our BVNs, our passports and permanent addresses. It seems he has it all… NO. There is still that section of the economy that is immune to this Pantami virus.
A resilient band of optimistic Nigerians with the sword of Isildur- Entrepreneurs. They defy all odds and can quickly build systems that can disrupt establishments in days even minutes. I know this ‘cos I am one of them and in my work as a Director in the world’s largest pre-seed accelerator @foundingLAG I have worked with some of the most brilliant minds this country has ever seen.
They are the modern day Ṣàngó.
Ṣàngó was the third Alafin of Oyo, following Oranmiyan and Ajaka. He brought prosperity to the Oyo Empire. He was a warrior too and is known for his many battles and victories especially against marauding Jihadist. These Nigerians can stop any Jihad- slow burn or high burn with their passion, innovation and ruthless execution.
To the Virus Pantami, they represent a clear and present danger and they need to be controlled. The NITDA act that seeks to elevate the agency from a policy maker to a regulator seems the obvious answer. What he may not bargain for is our resolve and the fact that there has never been a more imbecilic bill than this.
It starts out with making all the politically correct statements about the economy. Example:
Section 1 — Purpose
(3) encourage local and foreign investments in information technology and digital economy through regulatory interventions.
Then it goes horribly south from section 5 where the key word is REGULATE a very far departure from the words used in section 6 of the Current act. The intent is clear.
In the first instance it is bad enough that NITDA is not one small cubicle at the gorgeous NCC building in Abuja. It must also abdicate its responsibilities (one it has never taken seriously except for the revenue generating but useless NDPR) and start issuing the same license as the NCC.
In Part V section 20 (especially (2)) and 21 it states:
Section 20 — Requirement for Licences, registrations and authorisations
(1) The Agency shall by Regulation issue licenses and authorisations for operators in the information technology and digital economy sector, and such regulation shall provide for licensing and authorisation criteria including renewal, suspension, and revocation conditions to promote free-market operation and competition, among others.
(2) THE AGENCY SHALL DETERMINE AND REGISTER OPERATORS IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL ECONOMY SECTOR. SUCH REGISTER SHALL BE PUBLISHED.
(3) Any person or body corporate who operates an information technology or digital economy service, product, or platform contrary to the provisions of this Act, commits an offence.
Section 21 — Classes of Licences and Authorisations
The Agency shall classify its licenses and authorisations under any of the following:
(1) Product License
(2) Service Provider License
(3) Platform Provider License
This is preposterous!!!! The NCC does all of these already. What is the duplication about? It gets funnier.
While the agency has a process for appointing a DG and the JD of the DG is unambiguous, PART VII section 24 actually says the minister runs the show!!
Then the One ring to rule them all is finally forged in Section 25.
Administrative Redress Process
(1) Except otherwise provided in any other law, the Agency shall by regulation prescribe an administrative redress process to address issues that may arise from the regulatory activities of the Agency.
In simple terms: WE WILL NOT OBEY ANY COURT ORDER!!! OUR LAW IN THIS AGENCY IS FINAL!
The diabolic intent of this bill is very clear- an attempt to stifle innovation, control commerce driven by technology and DETERMINE which startup gets to operate and which one does not. This bill is the beginning of the Jihad against our collective economy. We need to stand up to this. That Pantami is still a serving minister is an embarrassment to the nation itself. That he has access to our information is dangerous.
This bill should have been thrown out by the national assembly and the sponsor of the bill investigated. But how many members have actually started a business and run it successfully? Aside from Oloye Akin Alabi, I know very few. It matters not now.
This diabolic bill should be thrown out with immediate effect. NITDA should become a department at the NCC.
This is the time to for everyone in the ecosystem to rise up and speak up. This is not the time for your useless elite cliques or classism. Save it for after the battle. The Jihadist must be sent back to his base and defeated roundly.
