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| Nigeria's
ICT sector has witnessed a phenomenal growth in the last five years
occasioned by the sudden deployment of ICT tools and applications
in public and private businesses. ICT awareness is getting higher
and higher and there are prospects that the sector will witness even
greater development in the future. But what was it like in the sector
about three years ago? We serve you in this package a well-researched
work on the level of diffusion of ICT in Nigeria about three years
ago…. |
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| which,
as they develop and spread, create more markets, more goods, more
services and other physical assets to generate wealth and higher incomes.
Consequently, the desire to deploy ICT to conserve increasingly costly
human inputs of time and resources, and to exploit the available opportunities
(e.g., access to vast amounts of information) for the production of
new applications which, in turn, will improve all sectors in the Nigerian
economy, has grown exponentially. In recent times, increasing emphasis has been placed on the importance of usable knowledge for development and the development of knowledge-based societies. ICT also has numerous significant prospects. It has the potential to ensure the widespread use and dissemination of information and, thus, facilitates information sharing and knowledge creation, irrespective of geographical location or time. It is generally considered capable of creating earning opportunities and improving delivery and access to basic needs such as health and education. It also provides increased opportunities for transparency, accountability and effectiveness in government, businesses and non-profit organizations all contributing to promoting an enabling environment for development. |
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In Nigeria, the use of ICT has assumed increasing significance, but the operational effectiveness of applications has been far below expectations. Owing to the high level of poverty and inadequate basic infrastructure in the country, the | ||||||||||||||||
| potentials
of ICT utilization have suffered from the population's weak
purchasing power. Application failures have been
attributed to inadequate policy in which the introduction of ICT has
not been in coordination with other efforts such as the development
of adequate supporting infrastructure and utilities, efficiency in
telecommunications infrastructure, regular power supply, education
and training of users and organizations. Moreover, deployment of ICT
appears to have taken place without much understanding of its organizational
culture and context. Probably the most phenomenal change that Nigerians have experienced in the last three years has occurred in developments in information and communications technology sector. For instance, Nigeria has been experiencing an explosion in the use of wireless phone systems in recent times. It is estimated that just 15 months after Nigeria got onto the GSM phone bandwagon in August 2001, about 1.11 million people had acquired mobile phones. |
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| capital
investment of $4 billion (N500 billion) within the next 2 years to
develop the telephone network that would provide additional 2 million
fixed and 1.2 million mobile lines as stipulated in the current National
Policy on Telecommunications approved in 1999. The use of the Internet is also lagging behind with only an estimated 20,000 - 30,000 Nigerians on the Internet, even though Nigeria has the distinction of being one of the 11 African nations to have more than 20,000 Internet subscribers. Cyber cafés are springing up in major cities, towns and university campuses at a very high rate, providing greater access to cheaper phone calls and the Internet. However, Internet access from the home is still the preserve of the rich. The Internet is increasingly being used to support the works of several organizations in Nigeria, especially research scientists and it is changing the ways in which research is being carried out. Many businesses now have computers installed and often rely on wireless technologies to transact their businesses. The speed with which the revolution in information and communications technology (ICT) has taken place is truly phenomenal. The changes are not limited to one single sector of the Nigerian society. Nowadays, cars, offices, homes, etc., carry microprocessors and computers serve as post offices, word processors, bank windows, shopping centres, CD players, photo shops, news media, and, of course, vast libraries (virtual libraries). The changes have been faster, deeper and more sweeping than anyone could have imagined only two or three decades ago. The first revolution in ICT started during World War II, with the first large (50 feet long, eight feet tall, and weighing five tons), automatic, general electromechanical calculator, called "Harvard Mark 1".The second ICT revolution has its roots in the 1970s, when the first "processors on a chip" and magnetic discs were constructed. The third revolution involves microprocessors being embedded in an ever-increasing range of products: the steering systems of airplanes, the control panels of hydroelectric power stations, domestic air conditioning systems, traffic lights in streets, video players, credit cards, remote controls, cameras, hotel room door locks, smart buildings, digital scales in bathrooms, electric toothbrushes, car fuel injection systems, etc. The fourth revolution can be traced to the late 1960s when the United States Department of Defense drew up guidelines for a communication network among computers. Organizations and universities in and outside United States were later hooked up to it and some people started to use it to send messages. This has now transformed into the Internet. The fifth revolution is the wireless phone known as the mobile phone. Although initially big and bulky, the phones have now been transformed into small devices with so many functions (transmission of messages, radio broadcasts, pictures, movies, music, etc). |
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| In all these revolutions,
Nigeria has only played the role of "user" of the finished
products and often very many years after they had been in existence
elsewhere. Nigeria's role in the advancement of technology has been
very small indeed. The ICT revolution has transformed all known technologies, the means and methods of doing and transacting business, the methods of studying and teaching in schools, the means of providing medical services, the manner of investment and expenditure of resources, and the very way we think about what our economy could be and should do. With the Internet, it is possible to access materials for investment, business and learning anywhere. Organizations in Nigeria are developing greater interests in ICT and some have started to use telecommunications and computers for various applications. The opportunities available on the Internet are enormous and those organizations making use of them seem much better off for it. Business materials can now be posted on the Internet for easy access to organizations and business plans can be communicated through e-mail messages. Employment opportunities can be accessed around the clock by the new modes of transmission. But the question remains: What strategies has the Nigerian society adopted to improve ICT facilities? Are current policies, strategies and funding levels sufficient for the present and for the near future? Is the Nigerian society coping with the challenges open to it in this vital sector? The ICT revolution offers new intrinsic opportunities as well; it can dramatically change what we learn and by whom, at what pace and with what ease; what we produce and provide by whom, and at what speed and with what ease. These potential changes, however, pose new challenges for the growth of the economy. The challenges include, but are not limited to the following: · Improving infrastructure for ICT development in Nigeria. Communications facilities, including the telephone, VSAT and computers need to be increased and strengthened for applications in a variety of situations. Higher institutions in Nigeria should consider the provision of well-equipped computer laboratories for every academic programme department. Every lecturer should have a PC installed in their offices;· Providing an enabling environment, including the provision of reliable power supply; |
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| confer immense economic benefits
is not at all in dispute. A World Bank report has shown that over
600% of funds invested in telecommunications is generated in economic
returns by its impact on local employment and general economic growth.
The ICT industry is said to be worth at least US $1 trillion in market capitalization, just behind mining, oil & gas, and banking industries. The Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) has registered private companies providing fixed telephony, mobile telephony, fixed satellite, paging, payphone, Internet and GSM services. Although these services are available, their level of penetration and quality of services offered are yet to impact meaningfully on the national economy. The problems and bottlenecks that have been encountered
in upgrading Nigeria's telecommunications include low teledensity,
insufficient trunks leading to congestion, unreliable network design
and/or deployment, poor interconnectivity, insufficient bandwidth,
insufficient human resource development, a poor maintenance culture,
vandalization of facilities, and, exorbitant and sometimes unjustifiable
billings. Culled from Nigeria ICT Handbook (2005), a publication
of Compumetrics Solutions Limited, publishers of ICT TODAY magazine.
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