Experts advocate government, private sector partnership in boosting internet penetration

Philip Clement, ABUJA

Experts in the digital space are advocating for improved partnership between government and private sector is boosting internet penetration to vulnerable groups.

This is even as access to technology remains a major challenge facing Nigeria even as internet penetration stands at 42.06%, in a country where most of the population live in rural areas.

The implications is that more than half of the population, mostly children in rural areas and vulnerable groups, are without access to technology or the internet.

With this in mind, and the Covid-19 pandemic compounding an already dire situation, experts in technology & digital rights advocacy groups converged in Abuja at the ongoing Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum 2021 (DRIF21) to discuss ways to make the internet and technological infrastructure more accessible to children in vulnerable communities.

At one of the sessions hosted by TechHerNG, tagged: “Access to Technology for Children in Vulnerable Groups,” children and girls, especially the internally displaced persons (IDPs) were identified as the most affected in terms of access to technology.

Panellists called for a synergy between the government, private sector and civil society, to ensure that both the infrastructure and environment to make internet access affordable for citizens in vulnerable areas was made available.

Software engineer, Asma’u Aliyu said digital literacy remains critical in today’s world, bemoaning Nigeria’s status as one that has severely fallen behind. She noted that children and girls are among the groups most affected by the limited access to the internet, which she blamed on entrenched social norms & prevailing socio-economic challenges.

“Children are not equipped on how to handle technology because their parents are equally disadvantaged. In the course of my projects in Borno State last year, I discovered that there is nobody to guide them on how to use it,” she said.

This, she said, prompted her team to develop content software that can teach and train pupils on how to use the internet alongside online safety

“Government has an active role to play in making technology/internet accessible and affordable, particularly in the provision infrastructure,” she said.

She further called for the provision of the right information and quality content for children, while emphasising that authorities should begin to hold people accountable for misuse of data, because according to her, “many people do not know their digital rights. Government and the private sector need to work together to create a community of self-aware citizens,” she said.

Another panellist and founder of Aspilos Foundation, Simi Olusola said about 60% of Nigerians do not have access to smartphones or digital devices, worsened by limited internet penetration.

“Government needs to roll out digital literacy platforms, like digital hubs, as it is almost impossible to teach technology without devices or electricity.”

She also said the high cost of digital devices and access to the internet creates another barrier for vulnerable children.

“90% of our primary schools do not have computer teachers. This is why the government needs to redefine our educational system. We cannot depend on an analogue age. As the world is changing, we need to change too,” she said.

Grace Attah, the Business Development and Partnership Officer for TechHerNG, who moderated the session, revealed that the organisation’s School Tour project has reached over 400 children in six rural schools in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, teaching them basic digital skills and online safety.

She said the aim of the project is “to expose children in peri-urban/rural areas to career opportunities in technology, online safety essentials, and basic tech terminology.

“The digital literacy project was conceived to help them take interest and possibly take careers in technology and see other opportunities in/via technology,” she explained, and advocated greater intervention and investment by the government.

DRIF, an annual initiative of Paradigm Initiative (PIN), is a platform where conversations on digital policy in Africa are discussed. It hosts diverse skills and capacities for enhancing digital rights and inclusion on the African continent and beyond.