The chairman, governing board of the Nigerian National Merit Award, Professor Etim Essien, has urged the federal government to employ the use of data in its planning, if it is serious about diversifying the economy.
Data collection which can be adequately generated through Information Technology according to the board, is essential to monitor the true state of the nation’s infrastructure, check all sectors and plan more efficiently.
According to Mr Essien: “no country can develop without data; and one of the problems Nigeria has been facing till date is that we don’t have data.
“How can you plan without data? – the easiest form of getting data is through IT,” he explained.
One of the areas which the NNMA believes the government can straighten out through the use of ICT is Nigeria’s population, as the challenge of the actual figure still lingers, although the estimate stands at 180 million.
ICT Education
Findings from various countries confirm the positive effect of ICT on national
growth and even currently, ICT is said to contribute about 8% to Nigeria’s GDP.
Some academicians such as the Director of the University of Ibadan, (School of Business), Professor Adenike Osofisan, also proposed that Information Technology should be made compulsory in every school, as a way of advancing development.
The Nigerian National Merit Award is an academic award conferred on distinguished scholars and intellectuals, who have made outstanding contributions to the academic growth and development of Nigeria.
