Information technology in Nigerian federal agencies: problems, impact and strategies

Abstract

The paper assesses the perceptions of personnel of Nigerian federal public agencies about obstacles to information technology (IT) use, the impact of computers on agency departments and tasks and about approaches to IT human resource development. The analyses are based on data from a questionnaire survey of the personnel of ministries, parastatals and Government-controlled banks who participated in various training programmes of the (Nigerian) National Centre for Economic Management and Administration (NCEMA) during 1997. The survey revealed that due to either lack of computing technologies in most of the agencies or of their ineffective exploitation, the majority of the personnel were, as recently as 1997, still unaware of, or unimpressed by, the productivity potentials of using computers in their agencies. However, they were eager for exposure to computer applications in their work. They also preferred informal and work-related training formats which, in their view, should most appropriately begin with middle-level personnel in the agencies. These and other perceptions suggest that most Nigerian public agencies are in the pre-computing, or very early, stages of the computing culture, hence their focus was more on understanding how to use computers to perform traditional and internal data processing chores than on providing strategic and client-targeted services. 50 1 2

Information Technology Skills and Training Needs of Health Information Management Professionals in Nigeria: A Nationwide Study

“…This might explain our findings which established that training in statistical analysis was the skill most sought-after by the participants (69.0 %). These findings coincide with various studies that indicate there was a low level of ability to use IT facilities, an inadequate number of professionals skilled in IT, a lack of technical capacity to sustain IT resources and the need for formal intensive training in IT applications (Bello et al 2004;Igben & Akobo 2001;Tiamiyu 2000;Komolafe-Opadeji 2009;Samuel et al 2004;Arora 2005). Our study also revealed that participants' previous training in IT were mostly through short courses or self-taught methods, which is similar to the findings of Ajuwon and Rhine (2008) where about a third of the participants first learnt to use ICT through self-teaching.…”

“…The majority had an email address, most of them possessed personal computers and some had access to the Internet. Although our study has not established whether those email addresses were in fact functional, our findings agree with several studies where most people valued IT for having improved productivity and efficiency (Subair & Kgankenna 2002;Royall et al 2005), but disagrees with other studies where there was reluctance to use IT, as people were unaware of its relevance and many had no access to the Internet and personal computers (Dorup 2004;Tiamiyu, 2000;Ameh, Kene & Ameh 2005). The majority of participants knew how to use IT applications, especially Microsoft Word, Excel and Access.…”

“…The study deployed a 41-point structured selfadministered questionnaire pretested among health information management professionals working with the Federal Medical Centre, Bida. The questionnaire was developed from an adaptation of the works of Ajuwon and Rhine (2008) and Tiamiyu (2000), and modified to suit our study. It is divided into five basic sections.…”

Motivation for Use of Information Technology by University Faculty: a developing country perspective

“…In Nigeria, researchers have studied the adoption and use of IT in different organizations and sectors. Odesanya and Ajiferuke (2000), for example, explored the use of IT by advertising agencies in Lagos, Tiamiyu (2000) studied the problems and impacts of using IT in Nigerian federal agencies, Fasheun-Motesho (2002) studied the adoption and growth of IT in Nigerian architectural firms, and Ehikhamenor (2003) examined the extent to which the Nigerian print media has been transformed by information and communication technologies (ICTs). Empirical studies of individual level use of IT have however been few.…”

Problems of accessing scholarly publications by Nigerian scientists: a study of the University of Ibadan

“…Researchers in Nigerian universities engage in quality research, but lack of funds, especially through foreign exchange, and other infrastructural problems, makes it impossible to access the necessary literature. In a study conducted by Tiamiyu [23], the main three factors were listed that appear to account for this undesirable situation in Nigeria: 1. the dramatic decline in the nation's economic prosperity since the early 1980s, which has forced production and expenditure decisions in favour of necessities only; 2. the poor status of ICT-supporting infrastructure (electricity, telecommunications, etc. ), which makes it difficult to achieve an appreciable return on ICT investment; and 3. the international economic sanctions, which precipitated a poor investment climate which in turn prevented the free flow of funds, ideas and technologies that could have helped to modify or replace the entrenched traditional information management cultures with a modern ITC-oriented culture.…”