Luke Judge

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“The number onebenefit of information technology is that it empowers people to do whatthey want to do. It lets people be creative. It lets people beproductive. It lets people learn things they didn’t think they couldlearn before, and so in a sense it is all about potential” – SteveBallmer (Microsoft Plc)

“Informationtechnology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don’tthink anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking aboutthe other” – Bill Gates (Microsoft Plc).

Let us analyse bothquotes above from two individuals who have contributed immensely to thecurrent information technology revolution in our time.

With the advent ofthe personal computer, smart phones (including blackberry phones) andthe internet especially; the way we work, study, communicate,collaborate, and even the way we live over the last 20 years haswitnessed a metamorphosis of incredible dimensions or magnitude.

Information technology strategy

As a matter ofurgency, It is very crucial that developing countries such as Nigeriaclearly invest in creating and implementing an effective informationtechnology strategy that would cover the following;

>>Provide ICTcentres equipped with computers that have high speed internetconnectivity across all primary, post primary and all tertiaryinstitutions across the country.

>> There must be at least one computer system in use for every 7 pupils or students.

>> Implement a basic computer literacy curriculum across the whole educational system.

>> Provide suitable scholarships to individuals who excel in the area of ICT across primary and post primary institutions.

>> Provideexchange programmes that will allow deserving students and pupils inNigeria to visit other countries and gain further knowledge.

>> AtUniversity level, specifically for computer science and ITundergraduates seek to revamp their existing curriculum to provide themwith better hands on experience.

>> ProvideICT training centres which will provide free of charge (or atdiscounted rates) to civil servants, business owners and other privatesector workers specific training to cover basic computer literacy inMicrosoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Project etc

>> Makeavailable discounted computer systems for individuals to purchase andpay for it in instalments from their salaries or regular income.

Investing inproducing a more computer literate workforce is absolutely crucial andwill assist in raising productivity, efficiency, provide better forvalue for money in the products and services available to us as asociety.

Partnership

The governmentshould work in partnership with Internet Service Providers (ISP’s),provide them with incentives (implementing the relevant policies) toencourage and assist them in providing fast, cheap and reliableinternet access to the public.

In addition thestate needs to own and run its own ISP as an efficient concern tofurther assist in providing the required competition.

This might all seemlike a long shopping list but we can certainly afford it based on oursizeable oil revenue over the years and it is very crucial indeed, ifwe are to partake and not be left behind in the current geometricprogression of information technology.

We need to equipour society with the basic computer literacy skills to ensure that eventhe electronics dealer in Alaba Market (Lagos) or the recharge cardseller in Uyo (Akwa Ibom State) has basic skills to capture theirprofit and loss or their daily sales or stock inventory in a simplespreadsheet.

In capturing suchdata even on a small scale as advocated, buying patterns and trends caneasily be established assisting such Small and Medium Sized Enterprises(SME), in providing a more competitive, effective, and responsiveservice to their customers which will make for an all round betterconsumer experience.

Informationtechnology can enhance our everyday life experiences; from ensuringthat a complete comprehensive health record of every individual is heldelectronically and is easily retrievable when required, to being ableto track and audit products that we purchase on a daily basis(especially when the product malfunctions or there is a need to recallsuch a product for whatever reason) and the list goes on and on.

We must seek to useinformation technology to improve our standard of living as a whole, asan aid to education, better healthcare, in the provision of goods andservices in general. We must use IT to improve all aspects of our dailylife and fully automate processes in our society to include vehicleregistration/licensing, personal and investment banking, personalidentification & validation, computerised land registration,provision of utility services, implement directional – navigational GPSsystems and even in entertainment etc.

In a nutshell we can use IT to improve our everyday lives and ultimately assist in raising our overall life expectancy etc.

As NicholasNegroponte (a professor at MIT – founder of the one Laptop per childscheme) rightly puts it “Computing is not about computers any more; Itis about living”.

The writer is an international IT and Business Process Consultant.

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