Minister of Communications, Barr. Adebayo Shittu

The Minister of Communications, Barr. Adebayo Shittu, Minister for Science & Technology,  and other Stakeholders in the public and private sectors are expected to attend the forthcoming Institute of Information Management (IIM) summit and induction slated for November 19, 2016 at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

The theme of the summit is “Information Management for Change: Roles and Responsibilities of Key Stakeholders”.  According to Amb (Dr.) Oyedokun Oyewole, President / Chairman Governing Council, Institute of Information Management (IIM) Africa, going by the present economic realities, the National Summit on information management has become a National emergency following the duplicity of data in various Government agencies, which in itself is costly and difficult to manage.  

This, he said, has also negatively impacted on Government decisions in moving the Nation forward, as lack of centralized, timely, quality and adequate information has impeded on the Economic growth.

“In this era of change, we must recognize that governments alone cannot improve the situation in the country. To achieve our collective goals as a Nation, we need to bring key stakeholders together across the country, from the private sector, to civil society, to government.  If we do not work together, the situation just won’t change. Various stakeholders need to understand their roles and responsibilities on how we can harness information to better help improve the economy. 

“It is essential to identify the individuals and groups in the society who will contribute to the development of the system, identify those that it will affect from its introduction, and then develop a strategy for dealing with them, which is why a summit of this nature is essential at this very point in time, he said”.

Dr. Oyewole described information management as complex and seems overwhelming but as Nation, the country need to understand its essence in this day and age for a countless of reasons. He said that there are so many tasks, information sources, questions, critical connections and processes involved. 

“There are so many agencies and stakeholders who often use their own systems to store, capture and share important data. There are so many priorities and evolution. There are disconnects between the back end and front office. And, last but not the least, there is just so MUCH information and data, ever more unstructured data, big data, small data, fast data, data everywhere which keeps growing at an astonishing pace without any plan in place for proper management and security.

“For a country like Nigeria that is trying to diversify the economy, we need to figure out how information management can help solve pressing challenges, make the economy run smoother, and address the needs of citizens. The good news: the mission of this summit is to create the much desired awareness, culture and conditions to capture, extract and leverage the value in the information managed by various stakeholders in the Country and her ecosystem”, the President, IIM-Africa explained. 

Once again, the theme for the summit is “Information Management For Change: Roles And Responsibilities Of Key Stakeholders” and our special guest speaker is John Christian Montana, Consultant at Montaña & Associates, Englewood Colorado USA.

The summit is also expected to feature the induction and investiture of new members into various membership grades in the Institute. Among those to be honored at the summit include past and present public office holders, professionals, captains of industries including leaders across the various sectors of the economy.

Dr. Oyewole added that Professional Fellowship will be conferred on individuals who have made substantial contribution to the development of the Information Management and Technology profession, its practices or the Institute  of Information Management, while Honorary Fellowship will also be conferred on other professionals with backgrounds outside of the field of Information Management identified as having made significant contributions with direct or indirect impact on the profession,  the society or the Institute.

Dignitaries expected to be honoured during the summit include His Imperial Majesty Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Emir of Kano (Royal Father of the day), Mrs Aisha Muhammadu Buhari (Mother of the day), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje – Executive Governor Kano State, Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan – Hon. Minister for Women Affairs, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar –  Chief of the Air Staff, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu – Hon. Minister for Science & Technology, Barr. Adebayo Shittu – Honorable Minister of Communication, Mallam Adamu Adamu –  Hon. Minister for Education, Amb. Darkey Ephraim Africa – Consul General, South African High Commission, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama –  Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole – Honorable Minister of Health, Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, Senator Benedict Murray, Dr. Cosmas Maduabuchukwu Maduka as well as other Chief executives of major Institutions, Information Management and Technology firms among others.

Other categories of inductees include Graduate, Associate, Professional, Senior Professional and Corporate members.