Nigeria loses bid for position in global Internet body
Jonah Iboma
Nigeria�s bid to become a member of Nominating Committee in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the body in charge of technical management of the Internet, has failed.
This fact emerged following the release of final list of selected members for the committee by ICANN on Monday.
In all, citizens from 34 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Congo and Nigeria vied for the nine positions left in the body�s NomCom.
On June 30, ICANN made a �Formal Call,� for candidates to fill its NomCom and received 102 recommendations of potential candidates from all over the world. Out of 84 individuals who subsequently submitted a Statement of Interest, ICANN said, �NomCom selected nine outstanding individuals for staggered terms in these leadership roles in ICANN. The terms range from twelve to thirty-six months in length .�
The selected members are expected to fill position in four of ICANN�s leadership bodies: the Board of Directors, the Council of the Country Code Names Supporting Organisation (ccNSO), the Council of the Generic Names Supporting organisation (GNSO) and the Interim At Large Advisory Committee (ALAC). The Nominees will join the already seated members of these bodies at the conclusion of the ICANN Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, December 1 � 5, 2004
The failure of the Nigeria represents another setback in the attempts to be a major influence in Internet policy issues in Africa and the world.
Apart from the position of the Vice President of African Internet Service Providers Association held by Lanre Ajayi, Pinet Informatics, the country hardly has a voice in the continental Internet management issues.
Much of this is probably traceable to the years of infighting that had existed among members of the Internet community in the country.
However, Nigeria is not alone in the loss as only one African, Yassin Mshana of Tanzania got nominated for the ccNSO group of ICANN, whereas USA alone got two out of the eight nominations. Geographically, Europe and North America, led mainly by Canada led the pack of nominees with 29 and 26 per cent, respectively. Africa, with its solitary nominee has 13 per cent.
Predominance of American hold on ICANN has for sometime been in the front burner of International discussions on Internet management issues. A few countries including Brazil, India and China have called for a new body to take over its responsibilities due to its strong American roots. ICANN has an ongoing Memorandum of Understanding with American Commerce ministry, which is due to expire by 2006.
According to ICANN, an independent Nominating Committee is a key element of its structure. The committee is composed of a diverse set of individuals chosen by the groups and entities that make up ICANN.
The NomCom is charged to act in the interests of the global Internet community rather than in accord with specific interests. NomCom is presently responsible for selecting eight of 15 Board Directors, five of fifteen Interim ALAC Members, three of 18 ccNSO Council Members and three of 15 GNSO Council Members. In the current process, nine of these positions needed to be filled.
