ICT that can solve Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges

Introduction

From the Vision 20 2020 transformation agenda to the Millennium development Goals (NDG), Nigeria’s socioeconomic challenges can be summarized as follows: power and energy infrastructure, food security and agriculture, wealth creation and employment, mass transportation,  land reforms,  security, corruption and education. Each of these problems has significant negative impacts on Nigeria’s economy.  In fact, many close watchers of Nigeria hold the opinion that Nigeria’s future depends not on oil but on the quality of her human capital.

Judging from the prevailing circumstances, the country may not have enough money to address all these problems as required. Thus, one shortcut is to diversify the economy using Information and Communication Technology as a major plank. This will address poverty (by creating wealth and employment), build and improve capacity, provide an enabling environment for exposing corruption, reducing our security problems as well as provide a direction for solving our education problems because Nigeria needs  a large pool of ICT-driven manpower if she is to make a headway in this millennium. In the past 10 years, Nigeria’s development strategies and goals have focused more on poverty reduction, wealth creation and employment generation through the development of an enabling environment for growth.

This writ-up is a series that identifies the Information and Communication technologies that Nigeria could develop to diversify the economy, reduce poverty, create wealth and generate employment in the short-term. It also discusses the opportunities and challenges.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Webopedia defined Information and Communications Technology as the study and/or business of developing and using technology to process information and aid communications. This is a very broad concept and it is often used as an extended synonym for Information Technology (IT), but it is a more specific term that stresses the role of a unified communication and the integration of telecommunications (GSM, telephone lines and wireless signals), internet, computers as well as necessary software, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information. As a business, it can be applied to many sectors such as learning, work, recreation, entertainment and innovation and other areas of human endeavour.

Globally, information is the key enabler of the current information age. ICT is driving the knowledge economy to exploit knowledge from all sectors of the economy. It facilitates the acquisition and absorption of knowledge, offering unprecedented opportunities to change educational systems, improve policy formulation and execution, and widen the range of opportunities for business. It could also support the process of learning, knowledge networking, knowledge codification, tele-working, and science systems. ICT could be used to access global knowledge and communication with other people. ICT altered fundamental methodologies of doing activities and gave rise to e-services in communication, trade, employment, education, government, health and so on.

ICT enables utilization of information in the workplace, in the provision of public services and in the performance of the private sector. Information, knowledge and opportunity epitomize the digital era. This is the age of information. The benefits have made ICT an essential requirement for survival, progress and development since ICT business and services are required across different sectors of the economy.

This is the opportunity that Nigeria can exploit to diversify its economy from oil to knowledge based economy.  There is the need for Nigeria to exploit ICT socioeconomic development and growth by tapping into the benefits derivable from the exploitation and deployment of ICTs.  It should be used to improve competitiveness, service provision, strategic resource management, taxation and gross domestic product (GDP).  This will basically drive diversification and development of the economy and address our socioeconomic needs like poverty eradication, improved healthcare, wealth creation, job creation and education.  In order to derive these benefits from ICT, Nigeria must provide the enabling environment.

Thank you very much.

Augustus ZEKARYAH

Telephone: +234-803-951-0725,

E-mail: augustus@firstplus.ng

About the author

Augustus is a management, banking and business computing professional with over 20 years of documented success in the field. Augustus is recognized for the application of software to solving business problems, Software Project Management, Enterprise Architecture Strategy, and Delivery of learning solutions with focus on adaptability, Development and execution of business plans, General management and administration, Operations management and  Best practice development. Augustus founded and manages FirstPlus Integrated Business Solutions (http://firstplus.ng) as a Software and Business Consulting outfit that specializes in Software development and integration, E-Learning development, Business and Marketing Planning, Consulting and training. Augustus brings to his work a high level of energy, passion, commitment and humour. He is married with children.

Other articles published by the author in this series at https://firstplus-ibs.com.ng that may be of interest are.

1. ICT opportunities in Nigeria
2. Technologies that can diversify Nigerian’s economy
3. The state of ICT in Nigeria
4. How ICT development can solve Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges

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