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Nigeria’s Use of Digital Technology to Improve its Politics Rated as “Improving”
By Joel Popoola
A study into Nigeria’s progress towards becoming Africa’s first digital democracy has ranked our nation’s use of digital technology to enhance our political system as “improving”.
The first Digital Democracy Dashboard, conducted by the campaign I lead, analyses African nation’s efforts in using information and communication technology to improve their political and governance processes.
The dashboard gives nations scores out of five in four categories, leading to an overall score out of 20, corresponding to the following rankings.
Emerging – 0-7
Improving 7-15
Arriving 15-20
As 2020 draws to a close Nigeria has been given a score of 11/20 and rated as “Improving”.
The study rates nations against four benchmarks – digital transparency, equal access to the internet, political engagement and modern and robust electoral systems.
Nigeria has been evaluated as follows.
Digital transparency – 3
During the Covid-19 lockdown the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, piloted digital payments to get money to people who needed it.
Using digital technology to distribute these funds isn’t just faster and safer in a time of social distancing it also makes it much easier to see where it has gone, make sure it has arrived, and ensure that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
It is clear that good progress is being made towards achieving this benchmark.
Equal access to the internet – 2
Nigeria has still to achieve significant 4G penetration. Government projections state that by 2025 only 70% of Nigerians will have any sort of internet.
The Nigerian government was also unwilling to respond to calls to give Nigerian children data free access to educational resources to help them catch up on education lost as a result of COVID-19.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami has announced government ambitions for a 40% cut in data prices by 2025.
Progress continues to be slow towards achieving equal access to the internet for all Nigerians.
Political Engagement – 2
Nigerian citizens have led the world in using social media to build relationships, build trust and to communicate internationally, as demonstrated in the #EndSARS protests.
Nigerian politicians however continue to fail to seize the potential of social media to truly engage with voters as equals, treating social media as a purely broadcast medium instead of using the platforms to reach out to voters on a personal basis.
Much online political dialogue remains antagonistic in nature.
It is unclear how much progress is being made on achieving this benchmark.
Modern and robust voting systems – 2
The Independent National Electoral Commission has announced that it intends to “pilot the use of Electronic Voting Machines at the earliest possible time… (and) work towards the full introduction of electronic voting in major elections starting from 2021.”
Using electronic voting machines, Nigerian voters can have much more confidence that the vote really was cast for their candidate they intended to vote for – or has been counted at all. Ballot-stuffing could also become a thing of the past under a truly transparent system where every vote can be electronically accounted for.
It is clear that some progress is being made towards achieving this benchmark.
At the digital democracy campaign I lead, we are aiming to harness the potential of digital technology to improve political engagement and processes across Africa.
We have developed a free app called Rate Your Leader to help local leaders engage directly, on a one-to-one basis, with verified local voters, letting decision makers show themselves to be accessible, accountable and responsive to the people who decide whether or not they’ll have a job after the next election. Rate Your Leader also allows local representatives to get a real-time insight into the things that matter most to the people who elect them – and how to address them.
Rate Your Leader also lets local people get their voices heard by putting them in direct contact with local decision makers.
Our app is also abuse-proof, making uncivil or aggressive communication impossible.
Communication between the authorities and the public has never been more critical. We are a nation in recession, with many months – or years – before vaccination against the coronavirus becomes widespread.
Positive progress had been made in 2020 – in spite of everything – to make Nigeria Africa’s first truly digital democracy. But this work will have to accelerate in 2021 if our nation if to achieve its colossal potential.
Joel Popoola is a Nigerian tech entrepreneur, digital democracy campaigner and creator of the free Rate Your Leader mobile app. You can follow Joel on Twitter @JOPopoola
Armed policemen have taken over the Wadata Plaza headquarters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abuja, as tension continues to mount over the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, which is expected to hold today.
Channels Television quoted an unnamed party official, who alleged that the police were deployed to stop the proposed NEC Expanded Caucus meeting.
Though some staff members of the party were initially allowed to go into the premises of the secretariat without any resistance from the police, they were later sent out.
Journalists were also been asked to leave the premises of the secretariat.
Some policemen were seen cordoning off Dalaba Street, which is the road leading to Wadata Plaza.
The Presidency has said there has been no change in the position of Senator George Akume as Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“There has been no change in the status of His Excellency, Senator George Akume, as Secretary to the Government of the Federation,” Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement made available to journalists.
The statement is titled ‘Akume Remains SGF.’
This followed multiple reports which quoted Presidency sources saying Tinubu had named his Special Adviser on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, to serve as the new SGF.
Onanuga said, “President Bola Tinubu, currently in Saint Lucia, has not made any new appointments.
“The information circulating about Akume’s replacement is untrue. Agents of mischief fabricated it.
“The Presidency advises Nigerians to disregard the fake news.”
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
It is everybody’s desire to be successful in whatever field of endeavour he finds himself. It can be in career, family life, business endeavors or personal development. But there’s absolutely nothing good that comes easy. Everything in life involves a lot of hard work, smart work, dedication, discipline, network, sacrifice, prayers, and determination among a whole lot if one is intentional to succeed.
Of a truth, success is not for the faint-hearted. In all honesty, everyone wants to be ahead of everyone, especially contemporaries and funnily enough, the average human being sometimes have a bit of ill- feeling when competitors arise or seem to outsmart them either with better quality or price. The good thing about this however, is that it makes one sit up.
Now, this brings us to the essence of today’s article. For anyone to be ahead of their competitors, they must fly like the eagle. Eagles are known for their powerful build, sharp vision, and fearless nature. They are highflyers, capable of soaring to great heights, and gliding for extended periods. Eagles are also known for their tenacity, using storms to their advantage to gain altitude. Other notable characteristics include their strong talons and beaks, used for hunting, and their protective nature towards their young. These are some of the qualities that make it unique.
The eagle is not regarded as the king of the sky for fun, no. The eagle flies so high because that’s where it gets a chunk of its strength. This ability enables the eagle to take its prey and predators alike to it’s abode where it will have enough emotional and physical strength to dismantle them.
I will be sharing characteristics of an eagle to enable us know why we ought to be like the eagle if we want to soar.
VISION
The eagle has a sharp vision. Their vision is so precise. They can see farther than any animal. They possess exceptional eyesight, allowing them to spot prey from great distances. As human beings, we must have eagle eyes to know what we really want, and what we don’t want. Vision allows us to go for what we desire and deserve. When we have vision, we won’t wait for anyone to tell us when to strike. We flow through the wind despite the waves and heavy current and associated challenges. When our vision is precise, it will give people clarity to understand how they can assist us.
Let’s take a closer look at great leaders of this world who have come and gone. There are many great leaders that came and went but one characteristic that is common in all is “Vision”.
Vision is a successful leadership characteristic
You must have a vision that guides and leads your team towards the organizations or societal goals. The vision must be big and focused. A big, focused vision will produce big results
FLIGHT
Eagles are known for their ability to soar and glide, using their large wings to their advantage. Eagles can fly up to an altitude of 10,000 feet, but they are able to swiftly land on the ground. At 10, 000 feet, you will never find another bird. If you find another bird, it must be an eagle.
An eagle doesn’t mingle around with the pigeons. It was Dr. Myles Munroe who said that. Pigeons scavenge on the ground and grumble and complain all day long. Eagles are not. They fly and make less noise waiting for opportunities to strike their next prey or glide with the current of the storm.
Great leaders are problem solvers. They don’t complain like the pigeons do. They love to take challenges as the eagle does when the storm comes. As human beings, we all have our strengths and weaknesses.
It’s always good for one to take any fight to their home ground where it will give them advantage over their predators. For instance, a fish is stronger in water, but weak on land, a lion is stronger on land, but weak in water, a monkey is strong on trees but weak on air. Just like an eagle is strong on air and weak on water and land. That’s why it always takes its prey to the sky where they have greater advantage to shine.
As human beings, we also must know what we are naturally good at, the ability to know this will enable us to maximize our strength and work on our weakness. We can only do this when we know ourselves and what we are naturally good at. Our ability to focus on our expertise and what we are naturally good at will make us unique and ahead of our contemporaries.
TENACITY
The eagles are known for their ability to withstand storms and use them to their advantage, rising above the challenges. Watch an eagle when a storm comes. When other birds fly away from the storm with fear, an eagle spreads its mighty wings and uses the current to soar to greater heights. The eagle takes advantage of the very storm that lesser birds fear and head for cover.
Challenges in the life of a leader are many. These are the storms we must face as leaders to rise to greater heights. Like an eagle, a leader can only rise to greater heights if he takes up the challenges head on without running away from it. This is yet another leadership characteristic.
As humans, we all will experience challenges and setbacks, however, the ability to apply strength will go a long way to show how determined we are to overcome the hurdles that pose as challenges.
FEARLESS
An eagle will never surrender to the size or strength of its prey. It will always give a fight to win its prey or regain its territory.
Successful leaders are fearless, so we are expected to fear no man, but respect all men. They face problems head on. We are supposed to have the eagle fearless mindset regardless of how big the problem may appear. Confront your fear and rise or face your fear and run. The choice is yours.
VITALITY NATURE
One of the strongest characteristics of an eagle is their vitality. Eagles are full of life and are visionary, but they find time to look back at their life and re-energize themselves. This happens at about the age of 30. What happens is that when the eagles reach the age of 30, their physical body condition deteriorates fast making it difficult for them to survive.
What is interesting is that the eagle never gives up living, instead it retreats to a mountaintop and over a five-month period goes through a metamorphosis. As humans, we are expected to reexamine ourselves, retreat to a safe zone. We can do this by fasting as Christians, we can also do this by learning new skills, volunteering our time and seeking for mentors who can hold us by the hand to show us how the appearance of life is not the reality of life.
In conclusion, as human beings, we are encouraged to be like an eagle if we want to scale through life.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
