ISPON blames federal government for death of IDEA Hubs
The Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) has blamed the federal government of killing innovations that would ordinarily take Nigeria out of the current recession.
ISPON, the umbrella body of all software practitioners in Nigeria attributed government actions and inactions as responsible for the death of IDEA Hubs established in the country, which were designed to incubate technology startups in the area of software apps development.
ISPON said during its 2017 President’s Dinner held in Lagos recently that “The present government has by their action and inaction killed the several initiatives put forward by IT practitioners that needed government support and funding. For instance, the federal government should be blamed for the collapse of IDEA Hubs established in the country.”
The Co-chairman of the 2017 ISPON President’s Dinner, Dr. Dotun Sulaimon, revealed that the federal government, through the former Minister of Communications Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson, had established two IDEA Hubs in Lagos and Calabar, but the centres collapsed after Johnson left office as minister in 2015.
The Calabar centre, he said packed up shortly after Johnson left office, while the Lagos centre located in Yaba, eventually collapsed last week, as a result of the inability of the centres to pay salaries of its staff as well as vendors like MainOne that had been providing internet connectivity at the centres since they were established.
Sulaimon expressed his worriedness, considering the state of the country’s economy, stressing that government ought to be proactive in supporting technology initiatives that would boost skills development in the country.
Daily Times recalls that the IDEA Hubs were established with the intention to train software developers among the youths who will in turn attract seed investors that may be willing to invest in some of the apps considered commercially viable.
It also gathered that a few months into the establishment of the centres, the federal government withdrew its financial support, leaving the place to cater for itself, leading to its eventual collapse.
