The Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson has berated the Osun State government for neglecting local content in the manufacture of the 'Opon Imo' device that was recently launched by the state government.

Johnson however commended the state government for its initiative on the 'Opon Imo', which is regarded as a Tablet of Knowledge. The minister, who spoke at the 11th International Conference of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), which held in the state, said: "I will like to pause and acknowledge the Osun State government for the many ICT industry initiatives they are pioneering under the leadership of Rauf Aregbesola, especially with the development of technology device called 'Opon Imo', but my only regret is that the device is a foreign device that lacks local content."

Unsatisfied with the minister's comment on local content, with reference to 'Opon Imo', Governor, Rauf Aregbeshola of Osun State, came out bold during the Presidential Dinner organised by NCS in honour of the governor and the minister, to put issues straight, concerning the level of local content materials that went into the development of the Tablet of Knowledge.

According to the governor: "Out of the 100, 000 units of the device, only 50, 000 units were imported, and the remaining 50, 000 units will be locally sourced in Nigeria and developed in Nigeria, using local materials." He added: "We understand the need for local content development and our Tablet of Knowledge devices have been localised to meet the needs of country's educational system."

The State Government of Osun, under the leadership of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, in its resolve to champion inspiring innovations from Africa, has undertaken a groundbreaking step to utilise the ICTs to concisely tackle the learning problem through the Opon Imo Initiative. The State, through its Opon Imo Technology Enhanced Learning System, (OTELS), developed a learning tool that could revolutionise learning in developing states around the world. This tool is called the Opon Imo, "Tablet of Knowledge".

The Opon Imo, "Tablet of Knowledge", is a standalone e-learning tablet that provides the senior secondary students with the contents required to prepare for school leaving examinations. It provides three major content categories; Text Books, Tutorials and Practice Questions. 100, 000 of these tablets are being distributed to all senior secondary students across state schools in a move that is expected to radically democratise 'access' to learning, regardless of means, location or status.

Consequently, the initiative seeks to bring school closer to the students and serve as a silver bullet to the learning challenges facing our continent. It is one of Osun's multipronged efforts at reforming education.

Opon Imo delivers compelling self- paced standalone courses, conducted in a highly interactive computer- based learning environment and synchronised to a library of relevant e-books and a computer- based testing environment. Opon Imo is a first of its kind initiative in Nigeria and arguably Africa, which tackles the learning problem using contemporary ICTs, indigenous content and taking into account socially embedded factors accordingly. The tablet is a portable electronic device, which is controlled through its touchscreen interface, and is available across the open source Android operating system.

Opon Imo is a combination of Tablet and Personal Computer (PC), which is a mobile learning tool that the student can use in multiple locations, such as home, school, among others.

Opon Imo comes with 54 e-Textbooks covering 17 subjects, 54 Tutorials covering 17 subjects, over 40,000 practice questions and answers, as well as 6 extra-curricularbooks.

In spite of its many advantages as a technology device for learning, the minister still feels that the device should be made up with more of local content materials than foreign content materials.