ABSTRACT
The impact and potential of ICTs
have not been fully exploited in the Nigerian context. While the formal Government
sector continues to play an important role, it is the growth of private
participation in providing affordable computer education, especially to the
socially and economically under-privileged that appear to have provided the
impetus for growth in qualified professionals. Thus this paper argues that
education and training in computer programme and packages is likely to increase
the capabilities for job-seeking, which in turn would change the socio-economic
structure of the households whose members have been the beneficiary of such
programme. The data for this paper were drawn mainly from documentary sources. The results of this study points out that computer
education appears to have tremendous scope and a major source of empowerment of
people especially the socially and economically backward in Nigeria.
Keywords:Information
Communication Technology, Computer Education, Computer Training, Internet,
Poverty Alleviation
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Background to the study
Nigeria
is Africa’s most populous country with an estimated population of about 140
million and more than one-fifth of the continent’s total population. It is also
the second largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa after South Africa with a
gross domestic product (GDP) of about $133 billion in 2005. Potentially,
Nigeria possesses the human and material resources to make it one of the
richest states on the African continent and a major player in the global
political economy. Nigeria (the world’s seventh oil producer) is a member of
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and has highly valued
sources of energy, especially its substantial reserves of petroleum and natural
gas. Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa, producing about an average
of 2.3 million barrels a day of crude oil. Despite the country’s vast oil
wealth and abundant human resources, fluctuating oil prices, endemic corruption
and mismanagement of the nation’s resources, have undermined Nigeria’s economic
progress and resulted in about 60% of Nigerian population living in abysmal
poverty. The Nigerian economy experienced almost two decades of poor economic
performance after the collapse of oil prices in the early 80s, when a series of
military dictatorships ignored prudent macroeconomic policies and state
infrastructures. With the return of democratic rule in 1999, the then civilian administration
launched a series of economic reforms designed to address the structural and
institutional weaknesses of the Nigerian economy. The economic reform plan
includes acceleration of privatization, deregulation and liberalization of key
sectors of the economy, fiscal and monetary reforms, infrastructural
development, greater transparency and accountability, and anti-corruption
measures as key elements of good economic governance. In March 2004, these
policies were encapsulated in an all-embracing home-grown economic program
known as the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS).
The federal government also seeks an effective economic coordination of and a
close collaboration with the state and local governments by encouraging them to
design and implement equivalent programs based on the NEEDS model with acronyms
like (SEEDS) State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy and (LEEDS)
Local Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy respectively. It is
estimated that about 60 per cent of a total population of about 140 million
live on less than one dollar a day in purchasing power parity terms. This gives
Nigeria the third-largest number of poor people in the world after China and
India. See World Bank, Country Partnership Strategy for the Federal Republic of
Nigeria (2005-2009), Report No. 32412-NG, June 2005. 2
In a world where one out of every four Africans is a
Nigerian; where in fact one out of every eight black persons globally is a
Nigerian, it is worth saying that the answers which Nigeria goes around the world seeking from
Europe to Asia are in the hands of Nigerians themselves, That we have more
human resources than most developed nations, but have not started to harness
what we have. And that since we have failed to define ourselves in the global
community, others have stepped in to define us and the picture they are
painting, is not pretty.
Aniebonam (2002) states that the global economy is highly segmented
not everybody is included, but everybody is affected. For Nigeria, it has been more
exclusion with heavy effect; and the time has come for us to participate
starting from the lower level (starting with computer literacy).
A review of the new rules of engagement that directly impact
today’s global reality include:
•
The new economy is powered by the Internet – the equivalence of the electrical
engine, of the Industrial Age, making possible the operation of the network
enterprise, the historical equivalent of the industrial factory. Information technology –
including information
based transportation systems are the basis of connectivity and knowledge-based
production.
•
New rules for labor. Highly skilled labor is critical, flexible, adaptable,
self-programmable, and able to innovate by working in flexible enterprises.
Today’s reality is one of networks of high skilled workers
and entrepreneurs, moving back and forth between different nodes of production
and innovation.
1.2 Statement of the Study
Poverty is a state
where individual is not able to cater adequately for his/her basic need of
food, clothing and shelter, unable to meet social and economic obligations,
lack of gainful employment skills, asset and self esteem and has limited access
to social, economic infrastructure, such as education, health, portable water
and sanitation and as a result has limited chance of advancing his or her
welfare to the limit of his/her capabilities. Poor people can also be found in
both urban and rural areas though the incidence of poverty is much higher in
the rural areas than in urban areas. Rural poverty is common among small scale
farmers and self employed artisan and petty traders (Oye, 2012). There are two
categories of rural poor: (a) those who do not own enough farmland for
subsistence farming and (b) landless agricultural laborers and other
non-agricultural groups who rely on employment opportunities in the rural
areas. As for the farmers, the unequal distribution of land is the principal
causes of their poverty while the latter poverty consists of not only low
agricultural wages but shortage of unemployment opportunities.
However,
CTA (2006), describesInformation Technology (IT) as the acquisition,
processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numeric
information by a microelectronic base to a combination of computers and telecommunication,
while Information Communication Technology (ICT) is a set of activities that is
facilitated by electronic means through processing, transmission and display of
information (Asian development Bank, 2003). Also, Greenidge (2003) defined ICTs
as those technologies that can be used to interlink information technologies
devices such as personal computers, with communication technologies such as
telephones and telecommunication networks. According
to Adeniyi (2010), ICT has assumed a wider dimension covering multitude of
media such as telephones, television, radio, video, telex, voice information
system, fax, personal computers and the internets. With these, ADB (2003),
opines that ICT has become a powerful tool in providing developing countries
with
varied
opportunities to meet vital development goals, which includes poverty eradication
far more effective than before. Madukwe (2006), strongly believes that ICT may
be the panacea to problems of accessing variety of information sources that are
affordable, relevant and reliable by farmers. According to him, in extension,
ICT facilitates timeliness of extension delivery, leveraging or the electronic
speed of processing, covering, transmitting, storing and retrieving information
and protecting data.
The
rigorousness of poverty and lack have become a alarming menace in the society
and economy at large. The introduction of ICT
have been a blessing is disguise because it has aided to mop the rate of
unemployment within the labor market by providing employment opportunities to
set of individuals who given themselves the responsibility to be equipped on
the models and dynamics of the technology.
1.3 Objective of the study
The
broad objective of the study is to effect of information communication
technology in poverty alleviation in Nigeria. The specific objective include;
- Identify the roles of ICT in
poverty alleviation in Nigeria - Identify the models of ICT that
have aided poverty alleviation - Problems/challenges posed on ICT to
aid in poverty alleviation in Nigeria - Ascertain the level of ICT
compliance in the process in reducing poverty in Nigeria.
1.4 Research Question
- What are the roles of ICT in
poverty alleviation in Nigeria - What are the model of ICT that have
aided poverty alleviation in Nigeria - What are the problem posed on ICT
to aid poverty alleviation in Nigeria - What is the level of ICT compliance
in the process in reducing poverty in Nigeria
1.5 Significance of the Study
The
following people or section will benefit from the finding of the study;
- The citizens will benefit from the
findings of the study, by having a well-grounded knowledge of the benefit
of ICT within the country - The organization/firms will
generate a good information by knowing hos ICT can aid reduction of
poverty, thought their social responsibility commitment to their
environments. - The economy will adjust their
policy on reduction of unemployment towards ICT which will be a good tool,
to aid the high rate of unemployment which end result is poverty. - Academician will use the findings
to adjust in their teaching mode in schools and university of teaching
students
1.5 Scope of the Study
The
study was conducted in Abia State – South east geopolitical Zone of Nigeria
with a population of about 2.3 million people (NPC, 2006).The state is
demarcated into three agricultural zones of Aba, Ohafia and Umuahia (ADP,
2004).The study utilize the questionnaire to generate the primary data to be
used. The study employed the simple percentage and frequency to express the
demographic features
1.6 Definition of Terms
Information communication
Technology; It is the set of activities facilitated
by electronic means through processing, transmission by a microelectronic base
Poverty; Is
the expression of life condition and state of mind of want within a social
content.