Chris Uwaje
23 July 2008
analysis
Lagos — DIGITAL Disasters come in shape and sizes. The entire nation may be plunged into a national emergency if her Central Bank Data is wiped off or infected by incurable worms and virus.
The Aviation Industry may find it impossible to guarantee the safety of incoming International flights if a major Databank fails - and may lead to the grounding of all operations at our airports. National Population and Census information may be affected. So can the digital health care and electoral records also be damaged. The Stock Exchange may collapse if there is no fail-over network. All these will present a nightmare to any nation in the knowledge society, if the e-Readiness plans are not well grounded. Speed is the common denominator for success in IT development and delivery.
However, experience has shown that we have been very slow and seemingly reactionary in the implementation process of the National Policy for Information Technology. I feel greatly concerned as the pioneer and one of the originating champions of the National IT Policy that for more than seven years, no IT Framework and/or IT Infrastructure Security Bill has been passed! No Board of the established Agency is in place. No IT Research Foundation is set up. No Software Corridor and/or knowledge Park established. Information Technology was entirely left out in the national development Agenda! Due to the fact that the core features of IT is clothed with "speed", it therefore becomes imperative to act fast and decisively to save this nation from the negative impact that will inevitably befall "Digitally porous" Societies of the future.
There is an urgent need for concerted drive for generating Information Technology awareness nationwide. IT diffusion should be multi-pronged with extensive coverage of the media, shared costs of training programmes for public and industry and access to necessary tools. Implementation of demonstration and pilot projects that visibly improve the quality of services to public utilities is capable of bringing technology usage closer to the people.
Undoubtedly, developing and sustaining software exports will not be possible without a vibrant domestic market. Market forces alone are incapable of accelerating the development of informatics technology - due to its fast pace - government must therefore bring forth the political will to shore-up IT development. Government is the catalyst. It is time to look at the overwhelming benefits of: the Internet within the angle-view of e-business. e-education, e-governance and nanotechnology..
Computers and Internet connectivity in every school and colleges throughout the country within the next five years is feasible and should be implemented. We must prepare now to begin the shift from mass consumption to mass creativity and production - applying and using information technology. To do this, we must re-engineer the entire educational system and empower the youths with IT Tools and facilities. We must also start now to consciously prepare for the production of a minimum of 300,000 IT-related Engineering students annually from our universities and polytechnics. Core attention should be placed in Mathematics, English, Physics and Statistics.
Needless to state that Research, Design and Development (RD&D) is fundamental and a strategic imperative. A Digital Research Village is urgently needed. Special grants should be given to IT Companies willing to re-locate their operational sites or create new branches within the vicinity of our universities - this is absolutely necessary, if we must bridge the gap of theory-only student material.
Establishment of IT Software Packs and production centers nation-wide should be encouraged as a matter of policy. And indeed, it is imperative that a National Centre for the study of Digital Sciences and future Societies be put in place as we approach the 21st century. Finally, experience show that our major weakness is the inability to develop a winning teamwork culture.
A greater part of our time is used in discussing people rather than discussing topical issues scientifically and backing them up with proof of concept and action. Such attitudes - especially by professionals, retard IT development growth and sustainability.
If Nigeria lags behind in the global IT knowledge equation, that may represent the gradual disintegration of our people from the face of this planet! This is because the digital revolution holds the promise to change all things on the face of the planet earth and beyond: from the way we think, work, live and play. It is capable of re-focusing the mind set.
At the end of the tunnel Digital Hostages would have been taken by knowledge-powered nations, while their victims will become the digital slaves of the century. We therefore owe it a duty not only to ourselves and to future generations, but indeed to mankind to contribute meaningfully to the development of global informatics knowledge technology. Time is running out.
The new economic order for the 21st century will be innovation-led information technology. By implication, such an economy will demand new policies and new generation of political thinkers. Consider where we are coming from with a popular perception of Information Technology and computers as being in the incomprehensible domain of lab-coat wearing, bespectacled, techno-geeks. Personal Computers and the power of self-expression that they represent have moved information technology from the padlocked tool shed in the backyard into our living rooms.
Our national leaders, key policy advisers, and educators must understand clearly that the new economic order will be driven primarily by information technology. To participate fully in this economy, we need first to understand its dynamics and then to consciously plan and implement policies that create the capacity to compete.
The continuing emphasis in Nigeria on local manufacture of computers (whatever that means) almost blinds us to the contemporary reality that the significant component of the total cost of ownership of an IT solution lies in the software not the hardware. Perhaps as a consequence, we have taken so long to bring to bear the force of our industry's lobby behind the articulation of an IT policy.
This is the Communication Age, not the Industrial Age, or even the Information Age. The country that controls communication and information and is able to gather it better and faster will become the super power of the 21st century. We must adopt the paradigm that to be educated is to be able to read, write, and use a computer. We need to instil in the students that a Bachelors degree is no longer enough. A Master's degree is not enough either. We must teach them that their future will be based on a lifelong learning experience.
We must recognise that the control over the means of production is no longer exclusively in the hands of a few and motivate our students to believe that they can compete internationally. Software development offers the fastest stairway to actualisation in this brave new world and we must equip as many as we can to become true knowledge workers with skills capable of attracting globally benchmarked compensation plans.
In less than ten years, the local software industry can grow from a two million-dollar industry today to potentially a US $10 billion industry. Indeed, the software sub-sector offers a chance for a QUANTUM LEAP by achieving the following five significant applications to national growth and development:
- As an instrument for transforming existing data and information structures into standardised databases for efficient productivity, transparency and accountability.
- As a solid foundation and engine of economic activity and revenue generation on its own.
- As a fundamental tool for functional and result oriented education, Research & Design & Development (RD&D) and for the promotion of Art and Culture.
- As a friendly instrument of governance and security protection for the citizenry.As a significant instrument for International Relations and competitiveness.Our national leaders, key policy advisers, and educators must understand clearly that the new economic order will be driven primarily by information technology. To participate fully in this economy, we need first to understand its dynamics and then to consciously plan and implement policies that create the capacity to compete.
The continuing prioritization and emphasis in Nigeria on local manufacture of computers (whatever that means) almost blinds us to the contemporary reality that the significant component of the total cost of ownership of an IT solution lies in the software not the hardware. Perhaps as a consequence, we have taken so long to bring to bear the force of our industry's lobby behind the articulation of an IT policy.
This is the knowledge Communication Age, not the Industrial Age, or even the Information Age. The country that controls knowledge and can communicate information and is able to harness and deliver it better and faster will become the super power of the 21st century. We must now adopt and apply the paradigm that to be educated is to be able to read, write, apply and use a computer. We need to instil in the students that a Bachelors degree is no longer enough. A Master's degree is not enough either. We must teach them that their future will be based on a lifelong learning experience.
We must recognise that the control over the means of production is no longer exclusively in the hands of a few and motivate our students to believe that they can compete internationally. Software development offers the fastest stairway to actualisation in this brave new world and we must equip as many as we can to become true knowledge workers with skills capable of attracting globally benchmarked compensation plans.
In ten years, the local software industry can grow from a two million-dollar industry today to potentially a US $10 billion industry. Indeed, the software sub-sector offers a chance for a QUANTUM LEAP by achieving the following five significant applications to national growth and development:
- As an instrument for transforming existing data and information structures into standardised databases for efficient productivity, transparency and accountability.
- As a solid foundation and engine of economic activity and revenue generation on its own.
- As a fundamental tool for functional and result oriented education, Research & Development (R&D) and for the promotion of Art and Culture.
- As a friendly instrument of governance and security protection for the citizenry.
- As a significant instrument for International Relations and competitiveness.
Undoubtedly, for establishing and sustaining software exports to the emerging African markets, a vibrant domestic market is required. Market forces alone in incapable of accelerating the development of informatics knowledge technology - due to its fast pace - government must therefore bring forth the political will to shore-up I.T development. Government is the catalyst. It is time to look at the overwhelming benefits of: e-business. e-education, e-governance and the internet. Computers and Internet connectivity in every school and colleges throughout the country within the next five years is feasible and should be implemented.
We must prepare now to begin the shift from mass consumption to mass creativity and production - applying and using information knowledge technology.
To do this, we must re-engineer the entire educational system and empower the youths with I.T Tools and facilities. We must also start now to consciously prepare for the production of a minimum of 300,000 I.T-related Engineering students annually from our universities. The core attention should be place in Mathematics, English and Statistics. Needless to state that R&D is must-have.
All the above will amount to a pipe dream, if the accelerated establishment of IT Knowledge and Software Parks with testing facilities is not established as a matter of top urgency. A Digital Research Village is urgently needed. Special grants should be given to I.T Companies will to re-locate their operational sites or create new branches within the vicinity of our universities - this is absolutely necessary, if we must bridge the gap of theory-only student material.
Establishment of I.T Software parks and production centers nationwide should be encouraged as a matter of policy. And Indeed, it is imperative that a National Centre for the study of Digital Sciences and future Societies be put in place if we must master the 21st century knowledge society dynamics and earn from its benefits embedded in the global revenue basket. To succeed, we must act as of yesterday...today may be too late! Who will act? First is the number one citizen of the Federal republic, who delivers the political will to master the emerging storm. Others are core professionals in organizations- big or small. They include, but not limited to:
Chief Information Officer (CIO),Chief Compliance Officer (CCO),Chief Security Officer (CSO),VP Strategy and Architecture, Director e-Commerce, Database Administrator, Data Security, Administrator , Manager Data Security, Manager Database, Manager Disaster Recovery, Manager Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity, Manager Facilities and Equipment , Manager Media Library Support, Manager Network and Computing Services, Manager Network Services, Manager Site Management, Manager Training and Documentation, Manager Voice and Data Communication, Manager Wireless Systems, Capacity Planning Supervisor; Disaster Recovery Coordinator , Disaster Recovery - Special Projects Supervisor, Network Security Analyst, System Administrator - Unix, System Administrator - Windows. Future assignments will include, finding out the scope of works and job responsibilities of all the above players to understand the enormity of the challenges before a nations which aspires to survive in the knowledge society.
Chris Uwaje an IT Strategy Consultant is the Chairman of Connect Technologies and 1st Vice-President of Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) and President of Global Network for Cybersolutions.
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