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Nigeria: Jigawa Informatics - Base for Country's Silicon

4 September 2008

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Lagos — When the former governor of Jigawa State, Saminu Turaki, embarked on the information technology projects, little did he know that the state was on its path to IT revolution. The products of Informatics Institute in Kazaure remain a strong pointer to that dream. Taiwo Olawale writes

That the Jigawa State owned Informatics Institute in Kazaure has become the face of the state's Information Technology revolution is not in doubt. In less than eight years, the school has continued to prove that its creation in the heydays of the IT dream is about the wisest aspect of the much touted IT revolution initiated by the former administration of Governor Saminu Turaki.

Turaki had pursued information technology with unparalleled commitment. He spent billions of Naira on his declared dream to turn Jigawa State into the number one IT state in the country. A lot of people felt his government's pursuit of this dream was greatly misplaced. Most of those who saw the investment as a waste pointed at the fact that the level of poverty in the state was one of the highest in the country. They argued, and with some level of justification, that the heavy investment in the sector could have made more sense in other sectors such as education, agriculture and rural development.

In spite of the controversies surrounding the heavy investments though, the fact that the creation of the Informatics Institute is the wisest part of the whole IT dream is almost undisputable. Unlike some aspects of the IT programme which are now in some sort of remission, the Informatics Institute has had no problem so far. In fact, instead of any form of crisis, the school has shown signs that it would outpace initial expectations that it would be the foundation of sustainable IT development in the state.

With a unique master franchise rights deal with the Informatics Holdings Limited, a reputable ICT training Institute based in Singapore, the school was established in 2001. And, in less than eight years, it is gradually becoming the hub of present and future investments in IT development in the state.

According to the Rector of the School, Mr George Kong, the main aim of the school at inception is to produce IT professionals that would lead the IT revolution expected to launch the state's economy into the 21st century. He noted that IT is the backbone of the phenomenal growth of the Indian economy and stressed that the school is "gradually creating the nucleus of IT professionals that would eventually turn the state into the IT Mecca of the IT development in the country."

Kong said about 7,000 students have so far graduated from the school with Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas. He declared proudly that the certificates are recognised internationally because of the school's affiliation to the Universities of Wales and Portsmouth in the United Kingdom. He however noted that the school is not relying on its international recognition alone as it has gone far in its efforts to meet all conditions for local accreditation and recognition of all the courses and certificates produced by the school.

And, in order to achieve this goal, he explained that the state government is also making serious efforts to meet conditions set by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for the final accreditation of the school. One of such efforts by the government, he explained, is the recent signing into law of the Act which established a Governing Council for the school. He said, with the act, the state has met one of the conditions for final accreditation by the NBTE. He further explained that the school itself is reviewing its curricula to meet the two year National Diploma programme of the NBTE.

"You know, our Diploma and Advanced Diploma programmes are one year programmes. For us to be able to meet NBTE requirements for the award of National and Higher National Diplomas, we have to review the curricula. The new curricula are almost ready and I can assure you that by the beginning of next academic session, the school would be running ND and HND programmes" he said.

If this promise becomes reality before the end of the year, then, the school would finally prove that it is truly a wise investment. For, when the first ND certificate is awarded, the school would have become a monotechnic specialising in IT training. In the first place, it would be the first such IT monotechnic in the country. Secondly, with the facilities on ground and such specialised training, it would not be long before the school would become a reference point in IT training in the country.

And even before the first ND or HND certificate is awarded, the value of the school is no longer in doubt. During a visit to the school recently, Governor Sule Lamido saw this great potential when he submitted that the school was, indeed, a wise investment. Lamido, who was in the Institute as part of his working tour of the state, hailed Senator Saminu Turaki's foresight in establishing the Informatics Institute in Kazaure as the hub of IT Development in the state.

Describing the establishment of the school by Turaki in 2001, as a "good investment" in the right direction, he said, "I must say here that my predecessor's decision to invest in the development of IT as a way of creating wealth was a right one. In particular, the establishment of Informatics Institute as the hub of the IT development was a good investment which would yield a lot of dividends for the state."

He said he was aware that many people expected him to reverse or even bury all the programmes initiated by Turaki as soon as he became governor, declaring that there was no basis for such cynicism. He said the former Governor initiated some good programmes, stressing that the institute was one of such good programmes.

"There is no competition in government. No matter who initiates a programme or policy, it is the overall benefit of the programme or policy that matters. This school is of immense benefit to the government and people of Jigawa State and we are determined to build on it," he said.

He commended the school's strides in the international IT world, but declared that the state government was determined to indigenise the school to enable it meet NBTE requirements for the award of Nigerian degrees. He said the recent signing into law, of an act establishing a governing council for the school was part of his government's efforts to meet NBTE requirements.

The Governor also praised the commitment of the Rector and staff of the school to the building of the school into "a model in IT training in the country." He pledged his administration's readiness to make the school a model in IT training in the country. Kong responded by expressing gratitude to the state government for its commitment to the success of the school at local and international levels. He promised that the school would continue to train the needed manpower for the state's technological take off.

With such pledges from the highest possible quarters, the IT investment can only get better. In the past seven years, products of the school have become players in the state's march towards economic and technological growth. Many are now employed in both public and private sectors in the state. In fact, five out of six IT professionals in the state's public service passed through Informatics Institute, Kazaure. In the private sector, the ratio is almost the same. And, many of those who have worked with or are working with these products attest to the fact that IT graduates from the school are no push over.

An employer who has one of the products on his staff told THISDAY that he is proud of the competence of the school's products. He said, "One of my staff graduated from Informatics Institute. He handles all IT related issues in the office and I can confidently confirm that he is just as good as any IT professional anywhere in the world. He handles both software and hardware issues expertly. I believe the school is doing a good job and, from my experience, all of us in the state should be proud of the school's products."

If this assumption is correct of all products of the school, then the school is indeed a good investment. For, if the school continues to churn out good quality products, the much expected IT revolution would not take long in coming. And, just as the school's Rector rightly noted, such a revolution would, no doubt, trigger sustainable economic development in the state.

Alhaji Musa Aminu, a parent whose child is a product of the school believes that the school is on track. He however urged the state government to create the enabling environment for products of the school to realise their full potentials as quickly as possible. He said this can be achieved if the products are encouraged to become self employed. He said with such encouragement, the products would practice their software and hardware skills.

"This way, they would become creative. And, as you know, it is creativity that makes the computer world tick. See what India has become. The country has become a big player in the computer world and it is benefiting fully from outsourced software and hardware jobs from Europe and America. Jigawa can become great too through such outsourcing. Our children are just as good as computer gurus anywhere in the world. Very little more needs to be done to fully unlock their potentials," he said.

As it is now, the Informatics Institute promises to open the door to economic development in the state. Part of that promise is already unfolding with what the school has achieved in the last seven years. It has created a new class of professionals who can create job opportunities for themselves and others. So, no matter how controversial Turaki's IT dream is, the Informatics school has so far proven that its establishment was a good investment and its continued existence may yet lead to a true technological revolution.

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