Verily, Verily I say unto you, Children of Nigeria: Unless you consciously change your ways and attitude and fully embrace Science and Information Technology, God may surprisingly shock the nation and her citizenry, if Nigeria fails to take advantage of the Digital promise and opportunities of knowledge automation presented by 21st century information society!
Indeed, if we have faith in God and his recent election message to Nigeria – for transparent leadership and governance throughout Africa, then, this is the time to listen to the wakeup call of making Information Technology the centerpiece of our national development mission or perish?
The above subject matter was informed by my informal discussion with ‘Uncle Sam Amuka’ – Publisher
of Vanguard News Paper – an accomplished and inspirational Nigerian knowledge model, better described as a citadel of monumental humility and bundle of wisdom – after my recent appearance on Channels Television to discuss “Technology, 2015-Election and Governance in Nigeria”.
of Vanguard News Paper – an accomplished and inspirational Nigerian knowledge model, better described as a citadel of monumental humility and bundle of wisdom – after my recent appearance on Channels Television to discuss “Technology, 2015-Election and Governance in Nigeria”.
In the feedback encounter with Uncle Sam Amuka one significant thing was identified and perhaps reveled. That is: The audacity to belief and build trust. According to Uncle Sam, “In life, there is need to believe in something. Nigeria has started to have faith and build the trust for the future of sustainable democracy”.
Indeed, the outcome of Nigeria 2015 Presidential Election is a sign of God – applying and using Information Technology to commence the delivery of free and fair election. Secondly, the most critical lesson learned from the 2015 Presidential election is that all the problems of Nigeria (incorporating Corruption, Terrorism, Technophobia, Nepotism, Ignorance, Tribalism, Anti-Merit syndrome, Hate and Excessive Greed, etc) translate into ‘the absence of the culture of truth and contentment’ and indeed, the absence of a credible institutional umpire to administer truth, fairness and justice at all levels – in the face imperialism and the blatant failure of the custodians of the rule of Law!
While we congratulate INEC & Nigerians, there is need to unequivocally emphasize that Information Technology is the CENTRE of gravity of the current success of electoral processes in Nigeria! Today, the world is electronically connected with over 16billion devices on the Internet – providing access to knowledge transmission of quantum of trillions of terabyte of data, (IPv4 to IPv6). Relevant white papers show that, five (5) years from now, over 40 billion devices will be connected to the Internet.
God help the nation that neglects to strategically respond to the current challenges of building commensurate capacities and innovative capabilities for her survival. Nigeria be warned! If we have the privilege to mine existing electronic Data in the Nigeria IT Space, – It will reveal that the 2015 election was technologically decided 4 Years ago on Social Media, going by the post election data on the 2011 election. With 70% of Nigeria’s population who are youth and equipped with more than 80 million smart phones of the available over 134 million Mobile phones, it no surprise that the 2015 election is and will predominantly be decided by mobile technology interface.
General Buhari as CEO is elected to govern 180 million Nigerians, but he may not deliver the dividend of Democracy, unless Information Technology and IT Professionals are at the centre of his leadership program. It is practically impossible today to govern effectively and transparently without Information Technology. Paper Ballots: The first use of paper ballots to conduct an election appears to have been in Rome in 139 BC, and the first use of paper ballots in the United States was in 1629 to select a pastor for the Salem Church.
All in All, Information Technology has made the great difference in the 2015 Presidential election. It has relatively rescued transparency and restored truth as the ultimate currency for the prosperous future of Nigeria. Therefore, sustaining the critical path and role of information technology to deliver peoples-first, smart and innovative governance is a strategic imperative for our survivability and global competitiveness.
I am concerned, just like other IT Professionals and Practitioners that while technology is at the centre of the electoral processes, Nigeria IT professionals have been totally eclipsed out of the process – against the spirit of Nigeria Local Content ACT 2010 and CPN Act 49 of 1993.Whereas, more than 40 Years ago, a Nigerian Dr. Issaic Odeyemi, became the 1st African to earn a PhD in Computer Science. Today, we have only 129 Universities for 180 million people. Whereas, the city of Hanoi (Vietnam) with 7 million people has about 103 Universities and Mexico has more than 300 Universities. Those countries have clusters and centres of excellence for Software: OS, Applications, Bandwidth, Embedded Systems, Firmware, Utilities, etc. No wonder therefore that Nigeria is currently at the end of looser ladder in global IT e-Readiness rating.
The word Technology is a compound name of: two Greek words: Techne meaning Art Skill or Craft AND Logos – which means “To Speak” centered on the collection of Techniques, Methods and Processes required for the production of goods and services. Having said that: Science is concerned with ‘HOW and WHY things happen’, whereas, Technology is concerned and focuses on making things happen. Nigeria’s e-readiness ranking over the years remains unimpressive. We need a bold and extra sharp vision to re-focus the IT profession and Industry for national survivability. Thanks to Information Technology, the snatching of electoral ballot Boxes has diminished from over 90% in the past elections in Nigeria to an insignificant percentage in the 2015 election. However, there are still much work to do on electoral infrastructure and ICT Tools, Software Application and Database Management.
Technology is the application of knowledge to the practical needs of human life. The norm of the civilized world is: Train a doctor, build hospital, train Lawyers, build Court Rooms, train Computer Scientists and Technologist and empower them with local content laboratories and national tasks to create digital solutions. The worlds has moved on, and now talk about IPv6, Embedded Systems, Trojan Horses, e-Innovation, CyberSpace Intrusion, e-Warfare, Automated Government, Superlative Start-ups etc. while we are busy wasting precious knowledge time defining Card Reader out of context and talking about calculator- based election results! IT and Software-Nigeria has come of age and must be trusted, empowered and challenged to perform.
Resolving the National IT Challenge:
*Mandatory automation of all Government processes, functions and operations (long overdue)
*Create a consolidated and centralized National Database (overdue 40 years ago)
*Establish Office of the Chief Information Technology General of the Federation
*Approve the pending National Software Strategic Policy and Cyber Security Bill. (long Overdue)
*Create 10 IT or Knowledge Innovation Parks in the 1st 100 Days in Office
* Establish 2 Software Engineering Institutes (SEI) within 2 years in Office – in fulfilment of the spirit of the Local Content Development ACT
*Convert the NYSC to an IT Retooling Camp as IT Capacity Disaster Recovery Strategy
*Create a meaningful Stimulus Package to empower the IT Industry.
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