IT and Nigeria's 2020 Goals

For a country that missed its second industrialAs of 2001, there were well over 500,000
revolution to a chaotic political and economicbusiness operating across the country, engaged in
history, it is a potentially grave prognosis. Nigeriamanufacturing, services, retail and wholesale. Most
now runs the very real risk of failing to achieveof these companies stand to benefit from IT
what historians call the third industrial revolution: ofproducts, services, or training. Nigerian software
computerised digital technology,developers stand to both contribute to and gain
telecommunications and the internet, which haveimmensely from this situation. The growth curve
collectively altered every aspect of life and living.for indigenously-developed IT is potentially steep.
There is no denying that ICTs can spikeAlthough there is hardly any empirical data in
development and eventually help improve thesupport, Abuja insists proactive policies, especially
condition of individual lives. Developing economiesthose taken since 2000, have spiked IT
that fail to register on the Networked World canpercolation and application in diverse sectors. That
therefore only fall into progressively deeperthere is some truth in the claim is borne out by a
grades of underdevelopment and poverty.visible spurt in internet accessibility (through a
This is precisely the fate Nigeria rejected whilemushrooming of cyber cafes, especially in urban
adopting the ambitious 2020 goals, a radicalcentres) and the increasing popularity of
blueprint intended to jumpstart growth andweb-based services like e-banking and online
establish the country as both a regional and globaladvertising. The following are some of the notably
economic powerhouse. Nigeria's considerable oilencouraging developments for Nigerian IT so far:
wealth was squandered over decades of civil war• Nigeria signed the Regional African Satellite
and military takeovers, inept governance andCommunications Organisation for multimedia
corruption that brought it to the brink oftelecommunications services in 2001, visibly
economic disintegration. Deficient publicincreasing government participation in IT.
investments spawned endemic poverty and• The Nigerian Telecom Company (NITEL) a
decimated traditional livelihoods and economies.government-owned monopoly was privatised in
The transition to civilian rule in 1999 opened the2006 to encourage private-sector participation and
doors to much-needed reforms and a redrawinginnovation in IT and communications.
of national priorities. No longer content with its• Multinational corporations have led the way in
third-world heritage, Abuja approved plans forintroducing online banking operations that have
accelerated and sustainable development in abegun to catch on with resident and expatriate
time-bound manner. Its existing IT infrastructureNigerians.
and initiatives however continue to be far less• E-commerce initiatives in the B2B and B2C
than adequate.segments have been running successfully, even if
In fact the whole of Western Africa suffers frommost of the IT content and equipment has had
endemic 'information poverty', and Nigeria isto be entirely imported.
certainly no exception. While credible, current dataBy themselves, these measures are evidently not
is largely inadequate or absent, the records areenough to promote IT as a growth fundamental.
unanimous about the country receiving its firstNigeria has to take up a raft of coordinated
digital computer in 1963. Installations remained lowinitiatives in order to meet its IT obligations, and
even after many individual universities,more importantly, to drive and capitalise on the
government departments and public sectordigital revolution. The most pressing requirements
undertakings had acquired some amount ofin this connection are:
computing power towards the end of the 1970s.• Improving the telecommunications
While the number of internet service providersinfrastructure, upgrading communication techniques
(ISPs) and cyber cafés mounted over theand improving the reach of mobile and fixed-line
years, IT development received meagre officialtelephony services across rural and urban areas.
stimulus in the last century. Abuja in fact had no• Enhancing basic computer skills and advanced
IT policy until 2001, when it finally instituted theIT education through a structured overhaul of the
National IT Development Agency on a $28 millioneducation system; specific focus on tertiary
grant. Tasked with making Nigeria "a key player ininstitutions offering engineering programmes.
the Information society", the agency has been• Patronising indigenous software over imports,
widely criticised for ineffectiveness and failure tofunding research and promoting private and public
align with other national policies.sector cooperation for innovation and enterprise in
The synonymy of digital expansion and economicthe IT sector.
development is an obvious inference in this case.• Developing sound policies that propagate IT
Nigeria's IT potential has been significantlyas a crucial component of business culture;
underachieved, and consequently, its efforts tofostering IT-enabled practices as a means of
drive rapid enterprise development across sectorsgovernance and administrative optimisation.
have failed to deliver to expected levels. The• Active promotion of procedures that
country's long-term development targets areintroduce computerisation and IT to the industrial
contingent to a large extent on its IT capabilities,process, through use of advanced digital
but this challenge is also an opportunity.technologies and office automation systems.