Nigeria Leading Communications Revolution in Africa

[Bullet1987]

http://allafrica.com/stories/200804030653.html">AllAfrica.com

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...However, despite the challenges the country is facing at home, it has been celebrated for its astonishing growth especially in the area of telecommunications by being officially recognised as the largest telecoms market in Africa....

...From less than half a million connected lines in 2001, the country has garnered about 42 million active subscriber base and still counting in less than six years, pushing South Africa aside to the second position. Hardly had the news hit the airwaves that Nigeria was now officially the largest telecoms market in Africa, than it got another endorsement from no other than the United States government, which stated that Nigeria and South Africa were both in the forefront of a gradual shift in the balance of power around the globe. Reports over the weekend quoted the Director for Public Affairs and Diplomacy for African Affairs, US Department of State, Gregory Garland, as describing Nigeria as a rising strategic power that has used its diplomatic, economic and military power to shape the continent for the better, leading the US government to change its African policy...

...The benefits of this recognition in addition to that of the World Bank report, which described Nigeria as one of the nations to look out for in the year 2020 if properly harnessed, can indeed catapult Nigeria to the one of the top 20 economies by 2020. But this will be largely driven by the full adoption of information communications technology (ICT). ICTs are technologies that enable communication and information processes and transmission through electronic means. It includes the deployment of telephones, media, radio, television, computers and the internet for information transmission. It is a known fact that development, power and wealth of nations are directly proportional to and dependent on its uptake of ICT. This is instructive and should not be taken lightly especially as the global ICT market hits 4.6497 trillion dollars.
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I don't know if you guys have heard of Africom, but it's basically an American initiative to establish a footprint on the African continent. Right now Nigeria supplies America with 10%-15% of its oil...I've read reports that by 2020 it could be as high as 20%-25%. With knowledge that Nigeria and South Africa could be serious powers in a little over a decade...it's no wonder that we in America want to establish a mega base somewhere to watch the development of these nations (and like others after Nigeria and South Africa who will follow their model).

[jaysunb]

1. Yes...they communicate a lot

mainly asking for my bank account number. :evilgrin:

[Juche]

2. China too

Hopefully the US and China will compete to see who can develop Africa the fastest. That would be nice to see.

[Bullet1987]

3. China needs to stop funding the Janjaweed first...

[Juche]

4. They do other stuff

http://www.american.com/archive/2006/november/chinas-new-scramble-for-africa

[DCKit]

5. Why does everyone need to have a personal telephone?

Internet and (educational) television, yes, but the phones? And an educational television system doesn't require the infrastructure and could supplant the need for internet as well.

How many diplomats (trying to smuggle money out) can one country have? It's more of a plague than anything.