Africans need to open up to technology
Too many times I see people in 21st century African societies clinging to old ways of doing things, almost as if they are afraid of the new and sometimes radically different ALTERNATIVE ways that are now made possible by technological advances.
A perfect example of this is easily seen in the prevailing attitude towards the use of PC/Internet technology. I have traveled to various African states and cities in my own country, Nigeria. The problem remains: people have an apparent aversion to putting these powerful and profitable tools to productive use.
Do not misunderstand. We are using these tools. BUT it’s what we use them for most of the time, what I fight with. Forget 419 Yahoo! Email scammers. Yours is a consequence of THIS. Information Technology is for the use of a THINKING society in the creation and development of value-added resources that benefit others. What I see is that many of us love to buy, own and SHOW OFF our IT tools, instead of blowing them up to the next level.
The vast majority of our people are still in awe of the Internet technology, rather than seeing it as the greatest equalizer of all time, which TODAY makes it possible for any willing person anywhere in the world to make a meaningful impact on people and places everywhere. all the world. without physically getting there!
Why don’t our schools use PC/Internet technology well?
Why, for example, don’t we have a proliferation of educational institutions using the Internet to impart knowledge to their students at low cost in a way that allows them to pay LESS tuition, if any?
No, I do not accept that what schools and some universities are currently doing by having computer centers is what I am describing here. What I am looking for is the ACTIVE use of PC and Internet technology as a means to more effectively deliver knowledge to students within and outside the local environment.
THAT is NOT happening in our institutions today. Yes, they do teach computer and internet appreciation classes, BUT that’s where it ends. Little to no effort is put into using these tools to CREATE and INNOVATE. That is why our educational institutions cannot boast of having a website (if they have a website at all!) visitors who come regularly to browse and download useful learning materials developed by their OWN teachers/students or teachers/students.
Many times it is members of OUR institutions who go online to the websites of OTHER institutions in developed societies to find and download information about our own societies! Even if they were patriotic and tried to find websites run by Africans living in Africa, their chances of finding the exact (and up-to-date) information they were looking for would be slim.
Africans in the diaspora use the Internet better and MORE
Frequently, when we have Africans keeping websites reasonably up to date, a little checking soon reveals that the site is run by Africans living in developed societies. However, the truth is that it is NOT that our local environment makes it difficult to use PC/Internet technology in this way. My personal experiences confirm it.
It’s simply a matter of some sort of “barrier” or mental boundary that we’ve placed on ourselves that each of us must break if we are to have any chance of harnessing these life-enhancing tools. of our people
SOME EXCEPTIONS: By the way, there are exceptions to this general problem in Africa that I complain about here. If you try to visit websites maintained by universities in African countries like South Africa, Egypt and a few others, you will almost think that they are not based here.
ANY individual can profitably use the Internet
As a self-employed individual in a society where sales/marketing costs can be quite high and erratic, I have successfully established and maintained a fairly high profile web presence in line with my business vision.
My email subscriber database has grown as more people request some free offers provided in my articles. Keep in mind that they do this of their own volition and it suggests that they not only found my article interesting enough to be useful, but were also impressed enough to go a step further and request copies of the additional information I offered. in the body of my writings
If I can do the above, with the limited resources I have, then ANY African individual or organization can achieve similar, if not better, results.
It actually costs VERY VERY little to maintain a website
And to think that it can cost less than $50 naira equivalent to paying for domain name registration and simple site hosting. Add to this the fact that various website design tools now allow even a novice to build and maintain a decent website presence. One wonders then, what are many of us waiting for?
