IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Infrastructural decay exists in almost all sectors of Nigeria. The same rot seeps through the academic system and has today touched the very soul of the university system of the country: its information and communication technology. In this report, Head, Education Desk, IYABO LAWAL, explores what makes a difference between government-owned universities and their private counterparts.

Since 2015, everything and anything that could go wrong in Nigeria’s education system has gone wrong and the whipping boy is Adamu Adamu, who has presided over a taciturn education ministry.

The Babangida administration refurbished that into what he called the National Rolling Plans, of which each year’s budget was to be an integral part. After IBB, there was Vision 2010 of the Abacha regime, and after Abacha died, we still remained where we were, more or less. Then came Obasanjo and NEEDS, and four years less 25 days after Obasanjo left, we are still where we were. Late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua came, and we had the Seven-Point Agenda

The vice chairman, represented by the commission’s director of public affairs, Mr Tony Ojobo, disclosed this at the 3rd West African Information and Communication Technology Congress. He noted that the commission has commenced preliminary appraisal of the smooth take off of broadband to achieve sub-regional integration.

Cloud Computing is simply the use of hardware and software that are delivered as a service over the Internet. In 2011, according to Johnson, federal government’s estimated spend on data centres was a whopping N19.4 billion. This figure, she reckons is “unsustainable” and must be managed in the face of growing ICT usage and in the interest of judicious use of public funds.

President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Olusola Teniola, has disclosed that one of the focus of the federal government this year would be funding mobile broadband revolution, so that investor confidence is not eroded any further.

Teniola, who heads the affairs of ATCON, the umbrella body for all telecoms companies in Nigeria, speaks on this and other issues.

"I know I want to be a computer scientist," says a Senior Secondary School Student, Ruby Tagema Sakema, "but I just need more direction on whether to go for hardware or software."

There is need for both the government and universities in the country to work together towards implementing critical reforms that will boost service delivery not only in the public service, but across Nigerian Ivory Towers, says Mr. Dasuki Ibrahim Arabi.

Arabi, the Director General, Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), stated this when he received a delegation of the Postgraduate Representative Council of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria.

A former Registrar of the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), Mr. Sikiru Shehu, has said that the Lagos State Government would need to establish an ICT development agency fashioned after the federal government’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

Sikiru, who stated this during a symposium organized by the Body of Computer Cadres in the Unified Local Government of Lagos State (BCLG), said the establishment of such an agency has become expedient to create an enabling environment that would ensure that the grassroots governments are flowing in line with the Lagos State Smart City agenda.

NITDA's Director General, Prof Cleopas Angaye, who disclosed this in an interview with journalists at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja last week, said the training would provide the lawmakers the necessary information on e-governance.

He said the new identity/payment card will further usher Nigerians to first class payment solutions hinged on electronic transactions as a result of improved identity management in the country.

The potential of ICT to contribute to women development, including eliminating gender disparities, is currently compromised by unevenness in the pace and spread of these technologies. Today, the gender imbalance is evident, as the number of female personnel specialised in ICT is less than half of that of their male folks. Therefore, it has become very crucial if not urgent to address this particular issue while moving towards a gender-balanced information society through proper human resources development initiatives in ICT.

Wisdom Kwati Smart City has announced the launch of a new multi-million project called Hilltop Smart City to tackle housing deficit and expand to various locations within Nigeria.

The new project was officially unveiled in a groundbreaking ceremony in Abuja on October 13.

For an administration trying to stage a comeback this week’s presidential election, any promises made and kept before election day will definitely not go uncelebrated. It is therefore not out of place for officials of government and other stakeholders to have focused on the launch of the company registration portal by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) for most part of last week.

The collaboration between the ministry and WITIN, is part of measures to further bridge the technology gap between girls and boys in the country.

The new city expected to spring up outside Port Harcourt has rolled into action as Governor Sim Fubara has flagged off the construction of the new mega smart Port City in Eleme local government area of Rivers State.

This is as a world class sustainable smart city is expected to also kick-start in same Eleme also by a private developer, creating both high-end and low-end options in the Eleme axis.

Works will begin on the 18,000-hectare Ilorin Smart City Satellite Town next year, Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, has said.

Ilorin Smart City Satellite Town is an offshoot of the Ilorin City Master Plan, designed for the expansion of the capital city.

The governor said the capital city deserves constant infrastructural upgrade, maintenance, and expansion, following its position in the state and central Nigeria.

The summit, hosted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), was jointly organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDP. By way of further information, the summit attracted more than 1150 WSIS Stakeholders from more than 140 countries, more than 20 ministers and deputies, ambassadors, chief executives and other delegates.

As will be seen elsewhere on these pages, many Nigerians of varying accreditation attended the event, and participated in the various sessions of the summit.

Port Harcourt in Nigeria will soon be equipped with a green infrastructure package as part of its transformation into a smart city. The project, jointly developed by real estate company Green Enclave and Zugacoin, a crypto-currency platform, will create jobs and digitalise public services for 3 million people.

Nigeria is in the era of technological solutions to ensure the well-being of its 201 million inhabitants. The real estate company Green Enclave intends to transform Port Harcourt, the main oil refining city in Rivers State, into a smart city. The project will be spread over 1,000 hectares of land in Omerelu in Ikwere State Council and will be funded to the tune of $10 billion by crypto-currency company Sam Zuga Business Empire.

Four years after it was launched into the orbit, Nigeria’s communication satellite, NigComSat-1R, has yet to deepen broadband penetration as promised and can’t be seen as playing any critical role in the country’s development agenda despite the huge taxpayers’ money sunk into it, DAYO OKETOLA reports

Nigeria’s first communications satellite, NigComSat-1, was put in the orbit in May 2007, but deorbited in November 2008 following a power fault. However, the country’s presence in the communications satellite industry was not jeopardised for too long as some insurance arrangements made it possible for a replacement satellite, known today as Nigcomsat-1R, to be built by the China Great Wall Industries Corporation. The replaced spacecraft was successfully launched into the orbit in December 2011 amid high expectations among Nigerians.