Information communication and technology (ICT) in Nigeria just like the rest of Africa only made significant in-roads in the late 1980s. However, the 21st century has seen leaps in ICT as it has been ingrained into socioeconomic, educational and communication sectors. This has pushed Nigeria into a position of IT powerhouses alongside South Africa and Kenya. It is however a small bombshell though since the government has invested heavily in IT over the last 2 decades. A shift to computer-based learning in schools has led to increasing popularity of computer science as a degree course.
This is a milestone for ICT as it has increased I.T. literacy and opened up vast doors for the youth e.g. partnerships with ICT based organizations like GOOGLE and INTEL which include incubator programs and application development. This has led to a spurt in increased job opportunities.
ICT has faced challenges of its own. Our government hasn’t been able to provide computers to many learning institutions. The use of I.T. in vices like cyber sabotage(hacking) and moral degradation(pornography) has spiraled out of control and political relations among nations have been soured via ICT e.g. wiki-leaks
It is however evident that its pros outweigh its cons and studies indicate that soon most income-generating operations in Nigeria will be ICT based.
