The Federal Government (FG) through the Ministry of
Communication Technology, Wednesday launched the Open Data Development
Initiative (ODDI) to support Federal Government’s objective of driving
innovation, investment and economic growth by enabling access to government
data, reports DigitalSENSE
Business News.
The Special Assistant Media to Minister of Communication Technology, Efem Nkanga, reiterated this to DigitalSENSE Business News, and quoted Mrs. Omobola Johnson as saying that data has become increasingly important in all aspects of life.
The Initiative, she said, was a consultative and inclusive process that
will open up high value data sets from across government ministries to Nigerian
citizens, businesses and the rest of the world, for free.
The commencement of this process makes Nigeria the world’s
first federal Open Data initiative to simultaneously launch inclusive and
continuing consultations with both government and nongovernment communities on
their Open Data priorities to develop the country’s national Open Data
implementation plan.
The Nigeria Federal Open Data Initiative, she said is supported by the World Bank and DFID aims to
highlight the potential efficiency, innovations and public value that can be
achieved when government uses technology to open its data Over 50 countries have launched
federal-level Open Data initiatives.
The
impact on economic growth can be transformative; an analysis by global
consulting firm McKinsey indicates that Open Data generates more than $3
trillion of new economic value for the U.S. economy alone. Also the weather
data of the US is worth $30b annually, while the total worth of Global
Positioning System GPS data is worth $90b.
Mrs. Johnson highlighted that when data is analysed and presented in an
intelligent format, data is essential to making informed decisions that produce
value. The essence of publishing non-sensitive government data online is to
deliver value-adding insights that benefit citizens.
"We would like to ensure that our Open Data initiative is
driven by demand. We will be guided by the practical needs of Nigerians to
ensure that Open Data fuels innovation and grows the Nigerian economy,” she
said.
Johnson also said
that the launch of the Open Data Initiative heralded by an Open Data
Stakeholder Engagement Workshop brought together more than 120 representatives
from across MDAs, and the private and nonprofit sectors to identify priorities
and actions to inform the implementation of the Nigeria Federal Open Data.
The workshop, she pointed out was designed to explore the
role of Open Data in organizational innovation; highlight the public value that
can be created by opening government data, as well as challenges and mitigation
strategies associated with these efforts; discussing best practices and lessons
learned in opening up government data from across regions, through the lens of
the Nigerian context and enable data user communities, including MDAs,
citizens, and businesses, to identify valuable data sets that can drive
innovation, investment and job creation.
DigitalSENSE
Business News recalls that the initial stakeholder consultations held
recently with a kickoff meeting hosted by the Ministry of Communication
Technology, attended by 63 representatives from across MDAs
This consultation
process, she said, aims at government talking openly and freely about their
Open Data priorities, and detailed discussion of policies, management, and
technology and capability changes necessary to build an Open Data ecosystem in
Nigeria.
Pix: Mrs. Johnson, CommTech Minister
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