The adoption and use of technology have been described as the bedrock for economic development of any nation. Technological development in Nigeria has however been foot-dragging, largely due to the little importance attached to training and re-training of the Nigerian youth by organisations that claim to have policies that are geared towards corporate social responsibility.
Still rated as a developing country among the nations of the world, Nigeria has made efforts to considerably increase her global competitiveness and build up her economy in line with the country’s vision 20:20-20, through innovation in technology, but this seems not to play out, due to the infrastructural challenges that cut across the country. Based on infrastructural challenges, technology analysts have said the best way to develop Nigeria was to initially develop her youth in the area of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
Technology as a Driver of Economic Growth
Historically, technology has been an important factor in economic growth as the introduction of new technology into manufacturing processes, has led to increase in productivity, enabling each labour hour to produce greater output. The industrial revolution in the United Kingdom, for example, was built on groundbreaking inventions in industries such as textiles and iron and steel, leading to developments in transport such as railways and increasing national income to create the largest economy in the world in the 19th century.
Today, the technology that dictates the pace of economic growth is in the area of ICT as this is the major driver of processes. Developing countries now look to technology to increase efficiency of production and diversify industrial output so as to reduce reliance on primary industries. New technology in the area of ICT can also help to boost the health scheme of the nation, boost educational facilities and enhance transport and communications, and developing countries see a close link between technology and economic development, but this is not without training and re-training in the area of ICT.
Technology Rating
Nigeria has made a less than impressive show in the latest Global Competitiveness Index for 2012/2013, a survey aimed at identifying the quality of the macroeconomic environment, the state of a country’s public institutions and its level of technological readiness. The report put together by the World Economic Forum ranked Nigeria 148 out of 196 countries that were surveyed.
Nigeria maintained a 3.50 score, same as what it recorded in the previous 2011/2012 review behind other sub-Saharan African countries like South Africa, 4.34; Kenya, 3.82; Benin, 3.78; Ghana, 3.65, and Cameroon, 3.61.
According to the World Economic Forum’s description, the 3.50 range Nigeria recorded was low, based on her index rating, when compared with other countries.
One factor that has created a gap in the growth in technological advancement in the country according to a research analyst, Adeyemi Abdul-Rasaq, is the educational system which is said to be lacking in many respects.
In a recent survey, no Nigerian university was among the best 85 universities out of the 7,000 world recognised universities. The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos did not make the list of the first 100, and this paints a weak picture of technology education and training in the educational system, and among the Nigerian youth.
A Call on Corporate Organisations
Worried by the slow pace of technology development in the country, corporate bodies have been called upon to as a matter of urgency, rise to the challenge and assist government in training and re-training of Nigerian youth in the area of ICT development.
Telecoms Lawyer and human rights activist, Barrister Jiti Ogunye, who made the call, told THISDAY that unless Nigeria would begin to train and re-train her youth in ICT development, the country’s technology advancement rating by world bodies, would continue to drop.
According to him, “government alone cannot do it, but will need the assistance of the private sector, especially big organisations with well-meaning corporate social responsibility initiatives, to assist in training Nigerian youth, especially those that have graduated and were yet to get meaningful jobs.
Commitment to Development
Recently, Guinness Nigeria took a bold step in the direction of building growth in the area of technology education, when it sponsored ten youth members on a technical training programme at the Institute of Industrial Technology (IIT) in Lagos, as part of its efforts at supporting the development of the youth and ensuring sustainable human capacity development of the nation.
The Institute of Industrial Technology is an educational institution established by the African Development Foundation to use vocational and technological training to close the gap in educational development by training individuals with the right skills to contribute to the skilled workforce in the technology sector.
Commending Guinness for sponsoring ten youth to the institute, the Director of the Institute Mr. Olumide Akinjo, said: “The purpose of the programme is to use technical and vocational training to close the gap in educational development and we are happy to have an able supporter such as Guinness Nigeria Plc, which has supported some students towards achieving their dreams.” Akinjo also said that the programme, which started 13 years ago, had been kept alive by socially responsible corporate citizens like Guinness Nigeria.
Addressing participants of the training programme, Guinness Nigeria Corporate Relations’ Director, Sesan Sobowale, represented by a Senior Manager, Mrs. Nkiruka Ogboruche, said Guinness Nigeria had always been committed to supporting the dreams and aspirations of youth and assisting them in becoming useful members of society.
“At Guinness Nigeria, we are always happy to be involved with worthy projects such as these that can add such tremendous value to the lives of Nigerians. This sort of support forms a core part of our community investment agenda and we will continue to support Nigeria and Nigerians through initiatives and activities that uplift them,” Sobowale said.
Darlington Aibangbee, one of the ten recipients of the Guinness sponsored programme, said “my goal is to become an engineer and I am grateful to Guinness for assisting in making this dream a reality. It is my hope that at the end of this programme I will have the knowledge and skills to add value to the society.”
Apart from the intervention of Guinness Nigeria, telecommunications companies and software companies operating in Nigeria, have in one way or the other, also shown some commitment in enhancing technology development in the country.
MTN Foundation, for instance was involved in the training of young girls in mechanical engineering across the country, and several of them have graduated and had since established themselves with the trade. Etisalat and other telecoms operators had been involved in school renovation and supply of science and technology books for primary and secondary school students across the country.
They have been involved in scholarship programmes, investing in schools, renovations and adoption of schools, teachers training programmes among others.
Also, Microsoft Nigeria has been involved in the training of Nigerian University students in application development, where they are exposed to practical knowledge on how to write software applications that could solve basic challenges across various sectors of the economy.
Although most corporate organisations in the country have made some inputs in boosting technology development in the country through their corporate social responsibility initiatives, Ogunye said Nigerians needed more of such concerted efforts in order to have a breakthrough in technology development in the country.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Emma Okonji
Quelle/Source: THISDAY Live, 21.02.2013
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