Nigerians still avoid .ng despite government efforts to push it
By Jeph Ajobaju, Editor-in-Chief
Nigerians remain reluctant to adopt their country code top-level domain (ccTLD), .ng, despite the efforts of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) and Abuja’s directive to its bodies to embrace the Nigeria identity in cyberspace.
Registrations for .ng fell to 179,420 in May 2022, according to NiRA data, down 1% from 181,176 in May 2021.
– Advertising –
Even though most Nigerian websites prefer foreign domain names, the country’s Internet asset managed by NiRA has seen steady growth between 2018 and 2019.
NiRA has set a goal of one million active .ng web addresses in five years, starting in 2019. But there are currently fewer than 200 registered .ng websites.
Why Nigerians Avoid .ng
.ng is Nigeria’s online identity, like physical naira and dialing code +234
The benefits of registering websites on this domain chain include geo-targeting, reduced capital flight as well as contribution to the economy.
– Advertising –
Some website owners based their domain name choice on the advice of their web developers who featured .com because .ng would localize their business.
Also, the cost of listing on .ng is higher than that of a .com home in the US.
________________________________________________________________
Related Articles:
Huawei and CISCO to train 30,000 Nigerians in ICT
Abuja plans to train 1 million software developers by 2023
Nigeria Acquires More Satellites to Boost Digital Economy, Global Profile
_________________________________________________________________
NiRA effort
NiRA announced in March a 40% reduction in the cost of obtaining .ng which NiRA Chairman Muhammed Rudman hopes will facilitate the growth of a digital economy.
To improve awareness, adoption and support for the .ng brand, Rudman revealed, NiRA worked with stakeholders including the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the National Technology Development Agency. information (NITDA).
“As a result of NITDA’s drive to compel the adoption of Nigeria’s country code top-level domain name, particularly among Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), a 14-person enforcement committee was inaugurated to properly monitor its implementation,” he said. Nairametry.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the National Policy on Second-Level Domains on February 16, 2022, mandating the adoption of .ng for all government websites and official electronic correspondence of all government personnel.
Rudman said NiRA is mandated by NITDA law to manage and administer .ng, which gives NITDA the power to award and administer .gov.ng; .edu.ng; .mil.ng; .sch.ng; and any other second level domain names approved in the future.
But there was no increase in registrations for .ng
Comments are closed.