Position Paper 2: Digital Access

 Digital Access in Nigeria 

        To have lived in a country like the United States all my life has afforded me access to various means of communication since I began my educational journey in grade school. I remember having computer courses as early as age six and being able to play educational games and being ranked against other children my age from all over the country. However, that is not a reality for everyone across the globe, some have expressed digitalization later in life or have yet to. In the case of Nigeria, Africa is a country on the rise in terms of its digital access.

        A program by the name of the "Digital Livelihood" was launched in 2016 by the non-profit Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD). It was founded in 1996 as a singular project, but by the year 2000it was expanded to encompass many projects, to help women and youth get digital accessibility and use technology to further development and peace.

        Its goal is to empower and educate female Nigerian citizens on how to digital access and get connected with the internet. This program was placed within rural areas in Northern Africa. The women are trained in things such as web design, graphic design, and online marketing. They then use the skills they learned to find jobs and even become entrepreneurs.

        CITAD also implemented more than a half-dozen computer centers within two states in Nigeria. These centers afforded citizens in underserved and neglected communities access to the internet. This access has allowed them to hear the voices and needs of those within these communities they serve. Some state governments have donated land to CITAD to get more centers built.

        According to Statista, Nigeria has had over 100 million internet users as of the end of September. Keep in mind that Nigeria is one of the most population-dense countries in the world. The country’s population is rough twice that amount, which means that approximately half of the citizens utilize the internet and digital means. Over the past five years, the country has been steadily increasing its number of internet users. Although there is still a way to go.

        The correlation between poverty and digital access is quite apparent. Just over sixty percent of the adults in Nigeria are literate. One must be over the age of 15 who can read and write with understanding enough to carry a conversation about daily life. The lack of adequate education is evident for about a third of the adult population. Those individuals who do not learn to read and write or finish school can then be limited in the types of jobs or opportunities that they can obtain.

        If an individual cannot fully read and write then the likelihood that they would be hired as a teacher would be much lower because they don’t have the necessary education. However, possible service jobs like working in factories, housekeeping, grounds keeping, etc. would be obtainable. These types of jobs would pay less and require more physical labor on the employees. So having programs and non-profits such as CITAD, is good because it brings computers and services to underprivileged areas where the majority of individuals would not be able to purchase individual computers for the household. This nonprofit in particular works to build computer centers in underprivileged areas across Nigeria. They also help with computer training and getting people connected with educational programs that allow citizens to go back and complete school and use their new computer skills to obtain better jobs. The hope is that these individuals continue to use this resource to better their lives. Then the literacy rate will increase as well as the digital aspect across the country. 

        For almost the last two years, everyone across the globe has been affected by Covid-19, even schools. Here in the United States, many schools had students attending classes virtually in an attempt to lessen the spread of the virus while still ensuring that students were keeping track with their students, and it was all thanks to the internet. According to the Nations, the pandemic affected over 1.5 billion learners worldwide in just under 200 countries. In an article written by the Global Citizen, they said, “Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria was already home to approximately 20% of the world’s out-of-school children and disruptions like school closures have denied even more learners access to school and its related services. ” These continued efforts for expanding people's digital access in Nigeria are a continuous process even with the pandemic making things hard in the past year or so. It goes to show how essential digital access is to all people.