Nigeria Content Online

In
bid to canvass for global knowledge in Nigeria, experts in the
Information and Communication Technology sector (ICT) have said that
the only solution is through electronic knowledge (e-knowledge).

In
an interview on Monday, Chris Uwaje, the president of Institute of
Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) and also the author of the
book E-Knowledge – Time is Running Out, said that in order for the
country to meet up with the global standard in all aspect of human
life, e-knowledge is a must.

“The
speed and passion at which data, information and images are being
conceptualized, generated, contextualized, processed, transmitted,
retrieved and manipulated through the application and use of
Information Technology (IT) infrastructure has greatly transformed and
continues to influence all known aspects of human life.

“These
complex digital transformation processes will, without doubt,
ultimately lead us to the global knowledge Olympiad Arena. We must
engage it consciously to ensure national survivability via
e-knowledge,” said Mr Uwaje.

Meeting global competition

Mr
Uwaje explained that e-knowledge in Nigeria is in line to meet up with
the concept of preserving knowledge and meeting global competition.

“E-knowledge
is based on the philosophy and concept of ensuring the consistency of
preserving ‘Inter-Generational Knowledge’ (IGK) base, as a model for
sustainable nation building and global competitiveness.

“Yes,
it is time. Nigeria harbours a colossal amount of traditional knowledge
of human-common-sense and it’s time to migrate them into the global
e-knowledge domain. This effort translates into several ‘change maker’
domain activities and emergence of new economy roadmap – a platform
populated by innovation and creative development champions,” he said.

Challenges in Nigeria

The expert, however, added that certain challenges have hindered the growth of e-knowledge in the country.

“The
core challenges are ignorance in and lack of promotion of science and
technology. This is followed by lack of political will of citizens and
leaders to engage the frontiers of IT. Finally, it also amounts to the
fear of technology or technophobia phenomenon, and misconception of
technology with the product of technology.

“In
the 21st century service-oriented economy, the role of a nation’s
policy-makers has grown, as the basis of competition has shifted more
and more to the creation and assimilation of knowledge.”.

Mr Uwaje noted that the challenges affecting IT growth in Nigeria
could be attributed to no appropriate policy on the sector and no
promotions guiding local content, as this has led to abuse of ICT
applications on all levels.