Nigeria Ranks Low in Computer Penetration - UNIDO
From Cletus Akwaya in Abuja
Although Nigeria ranks second among African countries south of the Sahara in terms of the total number of personal computers (PCs) owned by nationals, it ranks low in computer penetration. The United Nations Industrial Organisation (UNIDO) representative to Nigeria, Dr. David Tommy, stated this Monday at the commissioning of an industrial information centre established by the Federal Ministry of Industry in collaboration with the UN agency.
Citing the result of a recent study, Tommy said Nigeria was only ahead of Ghana, Kenya an Algeria among the countries covered by the study in computer penetration.
"The number of internet hosts is limited to 100,000 units, which is the lowest level in per capita terms except in comparison with Algeria," the UNIDO boss said.
In the same vein, he disclosed that Nigeria has the lowest number of telephone main lines per capita compared with the comparator countries. He said Nigeria's overall ranking in infrastructure index had remained low, adding that the country deteriorated slightly from the 68th place in 1985 to the 72nd in 1998.
"Firm level surveys of Nigerian manufacturing have confirmed that physical infrastructure is one of the frequently quoted problems facing Nigeria firms, covering inadequate roads, electricity supply, water supply and telephony"
The UNIDO Representative was however of the view that although good infrastructure was necessary, it was not a sufficient precondition for enhancing efficiency and improving competitiveness of the Nigerian industry.
Describing information as power, Tommy stated that technological progress had led to changes in the way enterprises were organised and managed, stressing that new forms of market competition have emerged with increasing importance of clusters, networking and specialisation for enterprise efficiency.
"New managerial techniques have further emerged based on intensive use of ICTs for improving enterprise efficiency and technology. Simultaneously, there is a trend towards stronger, more uniform, more transparent and lately more hones corporate governance, " he stated.
He said the immediate plan of the project was to continue the training of government officials, extend the facility to her government establishments, link the system with key public and private sector establishments, extend network to selected states on a pilot basis and eventually to be able to create a national network.
Minister of Industry, Ambassador Magaji Mohammed, had said in an address that the information centre was one of the projects in the technical cooperation between UNIDO and Nigeria signed since 1999. Under the agreement, he disclosed, a country's service framework was formulated and launched in 2000 designed to address some identified constraints in the industrial sector like unfavourable investment environment , inadequate and workable information for industrial governance.
The information centre located within the ministry's premises at the Old Federal Secretariat, Garki, Abuja, has 13 state-of-the-art computers with internet connectivity with the plan to increase the number of computers to 40 in the second phase of the centre's development.
It is expected to offer cost-effective access to information to networks worldwide; offer modern training rooms for up to 30 people for hiring; business centre services, industrial information library services and a study room. It also has a standby generator to ensure un-interrupted power supply.
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