After years of dispute, Nigeria has resolved issues about how its .ng ccTLD should be managed, formalising its relationship with ICANN, reports Computerworld Nigeria.
The death four years ago of Gabriel Olalere Ajayi, who was at the time the domain manager for Nigeria’s ccTLD, kicked off a controversy that rocked Nigeria’s ICT sector.
The report notes that after Ajayi’s death, the fate of the .ng ccTLD was uncertain “as various factions in Nigeria argued about how the Internet should be managed and promoted in the country.” The groups arguing were The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), a professional organization, the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), a nongovernmental body, and the Nigerian Information Technology Professionals in the Americas (NITPA) all became involved in the dispute.
The dispute when as high as then-President Olusegun Obasanjo, who directed that a neutral body be set up to manage the affairs of the .ng domain, resulting in the formation of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA).
The original Computerworld Nigeria story, with more information, is available from www.computerworld.co.ke/articles/2008/12/09/nigeria-resolves-issues-over-ng-management.