As per my writing practice, I try to think about various issues as it pertains to Nigeria and the rest of the developing (unsound; underdeveloped) economies. As we are still struggling to catch up with most of the West in the rest of the world on every issue related to the development of values. The way we use the Internet, the GSM communication system, and all other IT-based innovations lend credence to this fact. Now back to the topic that gave birth to this article, the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
The Millennium Development Goals are an eight-point agenda set by the United Nations to develop by 2015 targets for underdeveloped members with low Human Development Index (HDI) and low per capita income (as most of these countries live on an average of one dollar a day). The resolution was adopted by 149 leaders from different parts of the world, and in 2000, 189 countries adopted it. Still in terms of different issues, these agendas or goals were derived from the United Nations Millennium Declaration. plagued the developing world
The Millennium Development Goals are the world’s answer and aim to address extreme poverty at various levels; Such as income poverty; lack of adequate shelter, hunger; and disease among others, while promoting education, gender equality and environmental sustainability.
Now to the point, how can these Millennium Goals be achieved given our peculiar circumstances and conditions? Now we are in the information age and it is natural that we see how we can still be as a nation.
Calculated in the global economy, use the information we have to make it a reality within the target year. Internet, GSM technology etc. have come to stay with us, and IT remains the only true tool that can be used. A new dawn where basic human rights such as health, education, shelter and security of every person on the planet as well as gender equality and women’s empowerment can be achieved on a plate. It has been observed that countries like China and India have been flooded with population explosion but have adopted the concept of IT as the only true tool for their human development, witnessing geometric growth in their per capita income and overall human development index, available statistics and others. Data forms and economic indicators can belie this fact.
Now if I may digress a bit, I will say here that the Millennium Goals are to be achieved by Nigeria and the rest of the developing economies; Urgent steps should be taken to implement the following:
Computer literacy programs at all levels of individual development, from kindergarten
Funding of government as well as private sector IT organizations
Increasing funding for medical research and other IT-based medical programs at most tertiary institution levels by encouraging exchange programs through partnerships with developed countries
The agriculture sector should experience increased funding of all its programs especially IT based research to report a huge output in production for local consumption as well as export.
The perils facing the continent from hunger and poverty, HIV/AIDS epidemic, depletion of renewable energy and resources etc. can be tackled if information technology is improved in every sector of our economy and in general politics.
Eradication of poverty and hunger: Poverty and hunger are the biggest scourges in the African continent, but with the advancement of technology, information technology and the Internet, food produced in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia can be easily shipped. Africa and other parts of the world where it is needed. During times of war and conflict, as experienced in the Nigerian/Biafran war that lasted from 1967-1970, the Nigerian government’s information blockade resulted in food and medical shortages, particularly on the Biafran side.
But with the advancement of information technology, wherever such problems exist, the satellites will collect the signals and hence do what is necessary to reduce the problems related to lack of food and other supplements. As a local importer based in Nigeria or any part of the developing world, you can connect with big farmers in Europe or USA etc through the internet through company websites and email addresses. Agricultural produce can be easily exported by saving the cost of flight tickets, hotel booking and reservation, taxes etc. and also eliminates the role of middlemen which greatly saves production and import costs.
HIV/AIDS (PLWHA): The HIV/AIDS epidemic is currently raging in the African continent with Nigeria and South Africa trailing India in that order, as can be inferred from the lack of adequate data, but with recent developments in the field of information technology, this catastrophe may emerge. Will be well taken care of. The introduction of mobile clinics and diagnostic centers operating especially in remote and rural areas, was made possible by the advent of information technology, where a doctor at a remote clinic, for example a doctor at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital in the United States, uses sophisticated gadgets to travel to both clinics and remote locations in the United States and a satellite. And patients are diagnosed and treated through a modem. With this development, HIV/AIDS patients or PLWHA (People Living with HIV/AIDS) and other serious illnesses can now be managed, as the limitations caused by distance have been removed with the advancement of information technology.
Power and Energy: As part of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, energy and other forms of renewable energy have been studied over the past decade, as fossil fuel reserves continue to decline with replenishment, becoming relevant for countries whose economies focus on it. To bring progress and diversity so that countries with high Human Development Index can exist, and if one should ask, how can this be achieved if not through information technology. Recently a group of scientists has developed an automobile that can be powered by wind, it sounds amazing; One of the wonders of IT. More discoveries and inventions will be made, as earlier discoveries such as space science have improved virtually all areas of the economy of nations such as the United States, Russia, and Europe in medicine, telecommunications, military, etc.
From the beginning, one cannot overemphasize the importance of information technology as a tool for human and resource development, just as the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century ushered in a new dawn that has remained evergreen in the annals of history, so will it. Create an unprecedented and unmistakable mark that will remain evergreen in the sands of time.