ICT, Government Bureaucracy, and Peace building in ...

Revitalization of African Higher Education

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ICT, Government Bureaucracy, and Peace building in Nigeria Agbomehre Medinat Momoh and Henry Olusegun Majaro-Majesty

Introduction Computer based automation, and communication devices have become worldwide phenomenon. In the concept of globalisation, and sharing of information between organisations, individuals and groups, electronic automations have made distance a non-issue within the need to connect, contact and communicate. The speed of sharing this information and sourcing of it reduces time and rigour, financial commitment and inefficiency. These advantages score it high as a desirable management tool for responding to both internal and external organizational tasks. Reflecting on current state of ICT in Nigeria is challenging, as contrasts exists between the awareness on the communication innovation and bureaucratic practice. As one of the most ICT compliant Nations in Africa, one would expect a better collaboration between Government Organisations (GO) and Non-governmental Organisations (NGO). In the first worlds – highly industrialized countries, organisations and individuals use ICT widely, since computer literacy is high. Organisations, groups, and individual therefore have connection and interaction through these electronic devices, which makes organisational communication within and outside organisations easy and more fulfilling. Experts in these countries have agreed that information technology, however has caused vast changes in the way information is being handled and used in organizations to facilitate communication nowadays. The situation of ICT within Nigeria and any African country is different, as several factors combine to dictate the low pace and extent of utility of ICT, in connecting the external environment to the internal environment. One of these factors is high computer illiteracy (Lewis, 2003). Others are disparity in access to the minimal computer-training programme between rural and urban centers. By implication, private and government organisation communication within and out-side with workers, customers and clients would be expectantly low. While ICT - based enhanced system – connecting external and internal environment will be slow, time consuming, rigorous, and a non-notable difference in responses to social issues (Weihrich and Koontz, (1993).

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Momoh, Agbomehre Medinat and Majaro-Majesty Henry Olusegun

In recent past, collaboration between GOs and NGOs has been minimal but improving as democratic processes are strengthened by the years. Showing that democracy is the sine qua non for collaboration and partnering between development stakeholders, while hostility and suspicions are reduced between them. Patterns of relationship are one issue while connection and access to each other is another. Looking at three levels of connections, which exist normally at community levels, there should be a connection between GOs and NGOs and the local people or host communities (which could also be the clientele of the two types of organisations), for any meaningful success in development to be achieved. Apart from ICT facilitating organisational communication at the workplace, aiding organisation information systems design to effectively acquire, organise, store, manipulate and transmit information both at the internal and external task environment is needful. Management information system (MIS) therefore should afford organisations the chance of planning, coordinating, staffing, organising and designing strategies of collecting specific information they need to perform their internal and external roles effectively. This relates to their needs to connect and access external environment to become one whole system with the internal environment of any organisation. To point the obvious, GOs’ and NGOs’ responsibility to the community is to monitor developments and provide it with solutions and aids when it expresses any need – either social or otherwise. The relevance of ICT in the development of a host community and organisations system especially in a socially volatile community suffices its importance in mobilising voluntary participation communal service and sponsorship of conflict prevention and peacebuilding projects. The nature of unity and collaboration that this paper is concerned with is networking, between GOs, NGOs, and the local people. Unity and collaboration is here then used as synonyms that will indicate, understanding, cohesion, one purpose, good relationship, working together, and friendliness. It suffices therefore to examine the role of ICT, in realizing such networks and how this augurs for peacebuilding – a post conflict endeavour in pacifism. The points of reference of this therefore is to examine: • ICT In Nigeria – Pattern and Spread of Utility • ICT and Bureaucracy in Nigeria • ICT and Organisational collaborations in Nigeria • ICT and Peacebuilding in Nigeria • Survey of ICT utility and its implication for peacebuilding in Nigeria


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Recommendation for ways of applying ICT for better collaborations The approach to these references is to review, the advantages of ICT, to bureaucracy, and peacebuilding. Empirical facts from studies earlier conducted as well as findings and from round tables, seminars and workshops, which we have been involved in are put forward to examine computer-based ICT adaptation, utility and appropriation. Appropriation here means the purpose for which ICT is utilized. •

ICT Spread In Nigeria – ICT covers wide range of electronic equipments or devices adopted for communication within and outside the work place. These range of devices are telephones, and cellular phones, facsimile, computer based emails, beepers, and so on (Weihrich and Koontz, 1991). In Nigeria’s context general understanding of ICT has been limited to computer-based automation while other electronic communication devices, which constitutes information and communication technology have been unconsciously neglected in literal understanding of ICT. Therefore effort of this paper will centre on computer based ICT. The facilities provided by computer based ICT is as a matter of fact comprised of all other devices. But specifically the computer supplies provides the Internet, cyberspace and the worldwide website (WWW). Other facilities are Wiki, Website, Podcasting, Instant messaging, Text messaging, Web casting, Blog, Email discussion group, Video conferencing, Online discussion forum, and other (Griffith, 2007). The awareness on ICT in Nigeria has encouragingly improved, over the last decade since the 1990’s. Poor access to Personal computers (PC) exists, credit to poverty and high level of literacy (http://allafrica.com/nigeria/), as the same in other developing countries of the world (Rice, 2003; UN, 2004). Although these barriers to access to computer for communicative reasons access are being reduced by cyber cafés, which have increased tremendously over the years. Telecommunication companies have also provided in addition to pay per call service, Internet facilities that could be accessed both on the phones and connections to the computers (National Communication Commission (NCC, 2003). The access to this is further limited by cost of browsing in Internet. The gender differences exist in the use of computer automation in the civil service. Female civil servants are more computer literate owning to their larger number in secretarial profession. The geography of ICT in Nigeria clearly shows, a wide disparity between urban and rural centers. Within urban centers ICT is in common

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industrial areas, and where tertiary educational institutions are sited. Obviously, ICT presently is commonly felt among the educated and the rich, and relatively rich, and students of tertiary institutions. Occupation also dictates the pattern of the spread of ICT in Nigeria. For instance, researchers, teachers and scholars of tertiary institutions, - private business Organisations University, polytechnics and other educational institutions, the civil service, and in that order, seem to be more ICT compliant owing to their vocational needs. Gender distribution of computer skills and explorations of the Internet is obviously dominated by male than female. Again younger people have shown good knowledge of ICT more than the older and elderly persons. Mastery of the new technological skill in communication is demystified by youths, especially student in the post- secondary schools. Older working class people are lagging behind either due to techno-phobia or time and accessibility to computer and training. The pattern of computer literacy, have been uneven, even amongst youths, and older individuals – working class and businessmen. Major factors determining these disparities are, geographical location (whether it is urban, remote or rural area). The educational level of individuals and nature of their work in work organisation also is a strong determinant of level of computer based automation usage by Nigerians. The contributions of international organisations, like the Rocky Fella foundation, Ford Foundations and Multi-national companies like Shell Petroleum Company towards the funding of ICT programmes and setting-up of ICT based Projects at the tertiary levels have continued to boost ICT in Nigeria. The role of Government towards public service adoption of computers for bureaucratic purposes have in 2001 taken as a matter of policy (communication Initiative, 2001), even though yet in paper, computers purchase is the responsibility of equipping rests on each sectors leadership. This state of affair was responsible for Nigeria’s poor rating as one of the last 40s out of 191 countries of UN member states in their global e-government “report 2004” that assesses governments input and the use of ICT in the public sector (Imran. and Gregor, 2005). Inspite of a great spread in ICT awareness, there exist a disproportionate in knowledge, application and skills of individuals and organisations in Nigerian. This contrast, may explain why communication, interactions and collaboration is low, between organisations. In the same vein the pattern of response or intervention into social needs of the community like peacebuilding, will be determined to some extent the ways that Government Organisations, Non-governmental organisations, Organised private sectors will avail the benefits that ICT offers to social cohesion and


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collaboration. Table 1 below presents a schema of ICT applications, and usage in Nigeria. The data was a result of a survey carried out to understand the pattern of ICT application in Nigeria as a base to predict what computerbased ICT application portends for organisational collaborations for peacebuilding in Nigeria. ICT and Bureaucracy in Nigeria Since the 1990’s, growth in awareness and knowledge of computer usage has increased tremendously, and has forced, organisations and institutions to jettison, manual office automation devices for the faster and more acceptable vogue in bureaucratic electronic automation devices for official documentation and communication (Ferguson, Griffith, Howell and Wilding, 2006). In tertiary educational institutions ICT has also become a focus, while computer skill and knowledge of have become major criteria for job employment. Bureaucracy emphasises the need for organisations to operate in a rational manner (Bartol and Martin, 1991). Nigeria operates its officialdom with bureaucracy, applying the same principle of fixed and official jurisdictional areas, which are generally ordered by rules, that is, by laws or administrative regulations. This means that 1. The regular activities required for the purposes of the bureaucratically governed structure are distributed in a fixed way as official duties. 2. The authority to give the commands required for the discharge of these duties is distributed in a stable way and is strictly delimited by rules concerning the coercive means, physical, sacerdotal, or otherwise, which may be placed at the disposal of officials. 3. Methodical provision is made for the regular and continuous fulfillment of these duties and for the execution of the corresponding rights; only persons who have the generally regulated qualifications to serve are employed. (http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/Weber/BUREAU .HTML) These three elements constitute 'bureaucratic authority in Lawful government civil service agency in Nigeria.' Although in private economic domination, they constitute bureaucratic 'management'. Bureaucracy is also fully developed in political and civil communities, a characteristic of the modern state, and, the private economy, of capitalism. For this reason, bureaucracy in

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our frame work for this paper will mean official transaction on behalf of any organisation either government or Non- governmental, although we centre on Government bureaucracy more which is the arbiter for most political and social development. Bureaucracy, it must be agreed, has been credible in developing a system of work that is never personalised; its slow nature in reacting to issues does serve as a major disadvantage, leaving loopholes for corrupt practices and laziness (Korpela, 1996). Nigeria’s experience with government bureaucracy, proves that a gap exists between government and citizen, whereby creating a situation where, transparency and trust is lacking. Queuing for hours and days to collect a government form or getting a business done is still noticeable. A need for knowledge and strategic redirection of government sectors operation could be felt in all sectors of the civil service (Ondo State 2005). Obviously, Government organisations/agencies have been unable to take full advantage of ICT to increase efficiency or improve citizen’s access to government, as in other parts of Africa. (Imran. and Gregor, 2005). Inspite of her National Policy for IT (NNPIT) whose objective has been to make Nigeria an IT capable country in Africa and a key player in the Information Society by the year 2005, using IT as the engine for sustainable development and global competitiveness (Communication Initiative, 2007). Some Developing Nations, have achieved ICT adoption in government bureaucracy, through their policies and regulations, which exerts considerable influence on the diffusion of ICT throughout their countries to facilitate government bureaucracy (Flamm, 1987; Nidumolu , Goodman, Vogel, and Danowitz, 1996). The spheres of influence which public sector bureaucracy covers with ICT include activities, which Heeks, (2004) referred to as “e-government” - improving government processes (e-Administration); connecting citizens (e-Services); and building external interactions (eSociety) (World Bank, 2002). The e-government objective was captured by Information and Communication Technology Agency (NICTA) that developed the Nigeria’s National Policy for IT, stated that: Establish an adequate institutional framework for IT at the federal, state, and local government levels… Develop human resource capacity through education, awareness and increased access to Information Technology…. Utilize IT opportunities to restructure relations between government, business and the general public for better governance, improved trade and commerce, administrative effectiveness and provision of services:


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(http://www.comminit.com/ict/ictpolicies/ictpolicies-13.html) The insight into the failure to achieve this goal at stipulated time (2005) by NICTA was the ability of government to implement policies, raising another question about the role of leadership in ICT (http://www.jidaw.com/policy.html). Bureaucracy, and its leaders do determine ICT adaptation and its appropriation for whatever purpose. Meanwhile, Where ICT is properly appropriated for bureaucratic purposes it makes available critical information, financial services, and reduces the maze of bureaucracy. Citizen and civil societies therefore will benefit in terms of reduced time and resources that need to be expended to access government’s services, and collaboration. ICT’s facilitation of access to information about new economic opportunities, helps avail of them the need to participate in development processes of the nation, especially in the areas of peace and nation building. (http://www.propoor-ict.net/) ICT and Organisational collaborations in Nigeria ICT has transformed the ways in which people communicate with, and relate to, other individuals and institutions. GOs together with NGOs and community organisations (COs) who play a vital role in bringing people together, building skills, generating knowledge and providing a voice for individuals, groups and societies have been adopting this technological developments to move fast to reach new audiences, engaged with their existing audience and to make their voice heard in the public arena (Griffith, 2007). Coming together through membership of formal organisations and informal groups, whether for mutual support, to provide a service or to campaign for change it is this ‘coming together’ that is the lifeblood of civil society. The rapid growth of the internet has spawned a new set of new online forums, groups and community, right from the earliest email lists and bulletin boards (White, 2006), to the blogs and wikis which grew rapidly (and gained wider coverage) in 2006. The ease with which individual supporters can be ‘linked’ and ‘tagged’ across these electronic ‘spaces’ mean that niche communities of supporters can be identified and their interests aggregated. This is reinforced by the growth of social networking sites (such as My Space), that allows users to build their online profile and interact with countless others who share their interests. These changes have also influenced the structures and processes of the State, including the ways in which government and its agencies communicate, consult, collaborate with

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NGOs/COs, to deliver services that will solve citizens and social problems, like conflict, poverty and so on (Griffith, 2007). Although ICTs are not driving the shift to more participatory forms of government, the opportunities they afford have been timely for collaborations in peacebuilding (UN, 2004). Inspite of ICT’s impact in facilitating communication and inter-relationships for better enhancement of activities, yet there is evidence that GO and NGO’s have failed to identify at a strategic level how ICT will change the environment and the ways in which, they work (Ferguson, Griffith, Howell and Wilding, 2006). The Nigerian experience has shown that Government Organisations and NGO’s have even though cooperated well since the 1999, under the new democratic dispensation (Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, IPCR, 2003). The likelihood that ICT would have been used to forester such cooperation and design strategies for responding to social issues is doubtful. In Nigeria, the tripod stand that holds the civil organisation have been the Government Organisations, Organised private sector, and the civil society organisations. But the weakest have been the civil society in terms of collaboration (James, 2003). Organisations in all sectors face increasing calls to be more accountable to a wide body of stakeholders in community’s development and peace. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Office of Transition Initiative (OTI) the British high Commission, Overseers Development of Africa (ODA) and the United nations development project (UNDP) have since 1990’s served as the arbiter of collaboration for all national civil organisations for peace in Nigeria (Albert, 2001). The networking and convergence of all this groups have been major through their sponsorship and connections. National NGOs ability to converge based on their on initiative however increased via organised forum for ideas exchanges in workshops, conferences and seminars. Where increasing need for collaborations and associationship have been centered upon. As a result, there is significantly more interest in, and activities around, consultation and collaborative processes that will connect people and stakeholders to resolve social issues such as conflict while pointing at the dear need for peace in Nigeria and Africa. In developed nations ICT has been used by NGOs and GOs to facilitate debates, and to include community based Organisations (CBOs) in decision-making and participation on national issues that will affect nation building (Burnham 1983, Loudon 1986, Gandy 1994, Zuurmond 1994). In Africa were conflict pervades national social strata and confronted with heavy burdens coexisting ethnic diversity, the role that ICT will play should


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be emphasised on conflict transformation and peacebuilding. But the ways and manner for ICT application in Africa, to realize peacebuilding objectives will depend a lot on ICT skills, access and adaptation for networking. Below we look at peacebuilding and ICT, as it will affect reality in Nigeria. ICT and Peace building Nigeria’s multi-ethnic crisis is by no means new. Posing as the most complex ethnic diverse nation with over 389 ethnic groups (Otite, 2003) violent conflict was expectantly a common feature. Transforming conflict and peacebuilding communities for total nation building; is a challenge facing her democracy, since 1999, while an encouraging record has already been set by reducing the number of these violent conflicts, in Nigeria. This was achieved through government’s collaboration with NGOs both national and international. As stated above computer skills and high illiteracy confronts ICT in Nigeria. However, the importance of ICT should be secured. First, peacebuilding is a post conflict effort that targets at preventing violent conflict from re-occurring or relapsing into its former state of disaster. Doing prevention entails re-strategising and reconstructing structures – economic, social, political and bureaucratic structures that will endorse peace and engender it. Peacebuilding exists in phases, short-term and long-term (Albert, 2001, Vayrynen, 1991). Short-term peacebuilding is that stage immediately after a cease-fire agreement has been struck based on conflict resolution efforts. And these include disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of militias (Zartman, 2001). At the long run reconstruction efforts are based on the need to institute stakeholders forum, increase economic activities through empowerment programmes, increase political participation, and access to communication and information facilities in order to share and elicit information to enable a fruitful contribution by bearing individual and communities mind on developmental programmes. Other efforts include reconstruction of education sector, and the public service structure to become more responsive to the public. The major actors in this field have been identified above as the government, Non-government organisation and private sector organisations. Several interest groups and individuals are connected towards building peace. Meaning therefore that peacebuilding efforts require a wider outreach with unlimited access and coverage. In that view, peacebuilding processes could be greatly strengthened if organisations, peoples and regions are connected in effective multi-sectoral and peace building networks and provided with active and open knowledge pool, in which ICT is resourceful at providing forum.

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Hattotuwa, (2004) vividly shows the importance of ICT in peacebuilding as followed: ICT has a phenomenal potential to augment the interventions of individuals and State, NGO, INGO and non-State actors in many areas of a peacebuilding process, including, but not limited to humanitarian relief and development; rebuilding trust between communities; creating dialogue within and between ethnic groups; giving voice to marginalised communities and groups; enabling grassroots participation in the dialogues related to peacebuilding; buttressing the interventions of organisations involved in peacebuilding in their respective fields of interest; geo-spatially mapping peacebuilding interventions, their outcomes and impact; engendering greater collaboration between donors involved in reconstruction and rebuilding; reintegrating IDPs and refugees; processes of reconciliation and also in drawing the social and constitutional contours of a future state. (Pg. 16) ICT would also be useful for early warning signals in conflict prevention and post conflict peacebuilding. It would not be easy to admit that Nigeria has not adopted and appropriate computer-based ICT for peacebuilding purpose. A cursory look at the at 22 objectives of nation information technology policy, confirms that ICT was not thought of as a tool for peacebuilding (National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA, 2007). The survey findings below, will uncover facts, while its analysis will justify any claim at this direction. As a dispatch, access to ICT, its adaptation and appropriation is more meaningful than the acquisition of computers. It is not the availability of computers in offices and homes that matters but what the ICT facility it provides is used for and how it is used to achieve - that is appropriation. ICT Appropriation Study - Nigeria The methodology used to generate most of the findings presented here is based on observations, oral interviews and Meta analysis of communiqués from round table, conferences, and workshops on ICT. Other sources include findings from other studies. The scope of survey covered Lagos, Ibadan, Ondo, Port Harcourt, Jos and Kaduna states of Nigeria. Organisations used included both federal, State, and 2 selected local governments Ibadan North, and Akinyele local Government Ministries of both Oyo and Ondo states. Non-governmental organisations selected where in Lagos and Ibadan, tertiary educational institutions surveyed were University of Ibadan, University of Jos, and Amadu Bello University, Zaria. Data collection involved our


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personal involvement and participations in workshops, round table discussion, and regular calls at ministries and cyber cafés. The schema below, table 1 shows the extent of ICT application/usage for communication, information sourcing and sharing. Wiki, Website, Podcasting, Instant messaging, Text messaging, Web casting, Blog, Email discussion group, Video conferencing, and Online discussion forum, include the web based forum/services used as yardstick to scale organisational application of ICT in Nigeria. This is done because these new media constitute web based forums used by organisation to elicit participation of and dissemination of information to publics (Groups and individuals) in countries were government and other organisations have developed public participatory programme via the web (NCVO/Hansard Society, 2006).

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Table 1: Schema of ICT Application and Utility In Nigeria Organisation

Government Agencies

Nongovernmental organisations

Internet application • High email • Poor web activities • No Wiki, • Poor Website, hosting • No Podcasting • Instant messaging • Low Text messaging • No Web casting • No Blog, • No Email discussion group, • No Video conferencing, • No Online discussion forum • High email • No blog • Low on web site • No Wiki, • Poor Website, hostings • No Podcasting • Instant messaging • high Text messaging • No Web casting • No Blog, • No Email discussion group, • No Video conferencing, • No Online discussion forum

Intracollaboration • Poor email exchanges • Poor access to computers (reserved to secretaries alone) • Minimal sharing of information.

• High emailing between rank and files • Instant messaging • High text messaging

External collaboration. • International NONgovernmental organisation (UNDP, USAID, etc.) • NGO,

Problems and Barriers. •Bureaucratic rules •Techno-Phobia •Political economy ((Imran. and Gregor, 2005) •Poor internal technical/operation ’s skills on blog, website, etc •Poor electric power supplies •Leadership

• More with • Governments International bureaucracy Non• Poor computer governmental skills, of organisations, community • Less of people internal • Poor funding collaborations. • Poor community communicatio ns via ICT • Field operations collaborations with Government agencies.

406 Organised private sector

Tertiary educational institution

Momoh, Agbomehre Medinat and Majaro-Majesty Henry Olusegun • High emails • High email exchanges • High Website, between web paging rank and activities files • High Text • Instant messages. messaging • No Wiki, • Good Website, • High text messaging hostings • No Podcasting • High Text messaging • No Blog, • No Email discussion group, • No Video conferencing, • No Online discussion forum • High email • Growing web-activity (students applications) • No Wiki, • Poor Website, hosting • No Podcasting • Instant messaging • Low Text messaging • poor Web casting • No Blogging, • No Email discussion group, • No Video conferenc ing, • No Online discussion forum

• Little or no email exchanges between management and staff • Email exchanges at personal level • Little or no email between students and management s • Email exchanges high among students at personal levels.

•

• •

Customers and potential customers. Applicants Beneficiaries of sponsored community relation’s projects.

• Email exchanges between Universities within and outside Nigeria • Email exchanges between admission seekers • Little or no emails exchanges between community people and the University. • Emails exchanges with international NGOs, and national Private organization

• Poor community involvement concepts. • Over protection of corporate image. • Over commercializatio n of community involvement.

• Poor innovations of ICT dialoguing ideas. • Poor electric power supply. • Narrow scope of University’s value to the immediate environment. • Government civil service bureaucratic standards. • Poor funds • Poor computer skills by staffs

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Revitalization of African Higher Education s, and government agencies. Individuals

• Emails • Search engines • Websites exploration • Internet chart room

• Friends • Schools tertiary institutions (for admission application, and examination entries. • Examination bodies JAMB, NECO, WAEC (external examination entries).

• International organisation • International friends

• Poverty • Techno phobias • Poor access to computers and cyber café

The table 1 above shows a representation of the ICT pattern of utility in Nigeria. It shows that pattern of application of ICT and nature of appropriation for collaborative purposes between GO or GA, NGOs OPS and Individuals. Also shown are the collaborations that exist through the Internet within the organisations mentioned. Starting with the GOs, the table shows that emails have been in more use that the any other computer-based communication technologies. While at the intra-level of collaboration, there has been poor emailing between counter-parts of government agencies. There exists also poor access to computers, computer networking, as only the secretaries and the heads of units have official Personal computers (PC). Meanwhile email between international agencies could be said to be active while the level is put at near average of 45%. The barriers to computer pointed out are bureaucratic rules that relied more on paper correspondence. Techno-phobia that senior civil servants have that computer may bring them to a new beginning as illiterate and cause loss of job (the same problem of old-dog can not learn new trick). Epileptic, electric power The out comes of the seminar/workshop held to educate senior civil servants on modern trend in office automation, at the in Ondo state which is a collaboration between, (CEMAPAT International, 2007) international consultants and the Ondo state government, in which but state and federal civil servants were in attendance did reveal that 90% of the senior civil servants claimed not to have computer automation skills not to talk of having

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email addresses. It was raised at the communiqué that governments should become more interested in upgrading the mode of communications, which has been purely on physical paper documents. Other similar seminar/workshops held at the Ibadan organised by the department of adult education University of Ibadan for civil Servants and NGOs does show that their has been poor communication between government agencies and between government and national NGOs. A unanimous decision was taken to communicate government on the issue ICT adaptation and application form bureaucratic efficiency, and ways of its appropriation for development and efficiency in humanitarian services. In a similar seminar workshop organised for civil servants and NGOs in Warri – Delta state of Nigeria, assessment of civil servants adequate use of computer based automation, proved that all offices have personal computers basically used for typing and storage of soft copies of official documents, but never used for official transactions and communications either between offices or ministries. The table also shows that the use of emails have been high, both at the office level and between other NGOs especially international NGOs. What the emails are used for, have been to invite to or information counterparts about meetings and conferences. The spread of this have not been ascertained. At the external level the National NGOs have collaborated more with international NGOs, like UNDP, USAID, ODA and OTI on community project and soliciting of funds. Collaboration is minimal with other national NGOs. The ICT communication channels have been through emails. Government Bureaucracy, poor ICT skills of community people, and poor funding of NGOs, have militated against their wide use of ICT for collaborations. The organised private sector reveals that they are more computer literate and do use computer–based automation more in official transactions more than their counterparts in the public civil service and the civil society. The table shows, they are high on email, wed site activities, high instant messaging, and text messaging. At the UNESCO/department of Adult education, University of Ibadan sponsor Round table discussion for better ways of collaboration in the education sector, in the held at the University of Ibadan 2007, well attended by organised private sector, agencies for adult education, departments of adult education, the National University Commission, Education Trust fund, and civil organisations. The private sector seemed to have vast knowledge and use of ICT that request for their collaboration with University on equipping Universities with ICT was put forward.


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The barrier, to Organised private sectors appropriation of ICT for peacebuilding or community service, is purely an issue that affects all. Poor community involvement concept, they protect the corporate name from social attach and over spending that may arise because of their involvement conflict settlements. Involvement in social matters most times is determined by “what is in it for us?” kind of analysis - How does it improve our corporate image? – a kind of attitude. In most cases community involvement entails donations of building, schools equipment, and so on. Seeing social corporate responsibility, as just donation may not imply well in their conceiving ICT as medium that could be used for generating community participation and knowledge. At the Tertiary educational institutions finding shows that collaborations are sourced through emails, and therefore they are high on email activities. Universities have email addresses, low with websites addresses, no blogs, and no video or teleconferencing. Most Universities in the south have website addresses while some in the north do not have, pasting the names of each University on the net engines search will reveal this. Departments and faculties under the University do not have their own website addresses. The use of website address have been activated for admission sources and job applicants. While emails exchanges between students and management, staff and management is not common. Rather email exchanges are done between persons outside official bureaucracy. Collaborations have been high with international Non-governmental organisations (INGO) more than it collaborates with local NGOs, there have also been poor email exchanges between community people. The barriers have been poor funding, electric supplies, and narrow scope of Universities, value to the immediate environment, the government bureaucratic standard of paper documentation and filing. At the individual level, emails exchanges, search engines exploration and Internet chart rooms have been very high. As reviewed above this varies between gender, and age. It also varies between work types, and organisation of work. Cyber café survey conducted in Ibadan, Jos, Port-Harcourt and Kaduna, reveals that per one hour the attendance at any cyber café is about 75% male to 25% female, 93% youths, and 7% older people. Collaborations are made with friends, Higher Institutions and examination bodies for examination results, and other information. At the external level, International Organisations, and international friends have been collaborated with for business and scholarships and other reasons. The barriers, to using ICT locally for peace or socio-political participation have been the poor

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access to computers, poverty, shortage technical Know how, and poor anticipation of ICT by GOs, NGOs, and OPS. For example The multi-billion Dollars Jigawa Broadband Internet has gone off air following the failure of its management to settle connection fees of over N40 million with the major carrier based in Maryland, USA. Implication For Collaboration And Peacebuilding In Nigeria Analysis of this findings indicate that ICT utility being high at inter-personal levels and low at organisational levels is still a fair result and portends well for eventual adoption and appropriation of ICT for peacebuilding, but organisations especially government will have to spear head that, while restructuring bureaucracy to reflect some community access to government and accommodate electronic-soft copy as valid documents. That individuals and NGOs have collaborated with INGOs and friends using latest sophisticated facilities indicates that when policies are implemented to encourage governments parastatals to adopt electronic devices for official communication and collaborations, networking of ideas will increase, at the same time affecting a new form of conflict transformation workshop will emerge. The wide spread ICT knowledge and skill more present in Nigerian Youths, is another good omen that should be explored to engage youths in peace talks and peace education, as they are the engine for militias and selfdeterminations. Conflict behaviours could be transformed easily among youths – the future leads, to adopt peaceful dialogue as alternative to conflict. Early warning signal for conflicts prevention could be raised via electronic dialogues and shared information between agencies of peace and social development, and local NGOs with community people when Blogs, and other facilities are appropriated for peacebuilding. Further encouraging is the result that most universities are opening up website address and are activated for public contacts and accessibility. This urges that with good guidance and more awakeners, researchers, departments of peace and conflict studies, community development, adult education, and political science could generate a lot of research and findings on social affair via the Internet. However, the findings also call for caution for gender disparity in ICT and Information Technology (IT). When few women have the IT – required skills to operate the computer, appropriating the computer based ICT for pursuing feminist interest will be minimized giving room for new Patriarchal regime. The same goes for the older people, who expectantly are in control of political, cultural, social and religious authorities. There poor IT knowledge could cause a hindrance to new ways of collaborating and voicing


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of opinion, and disgruntlements. A new democratic means that could aid peacebuilding efforts aimed at building trust, forgiveness and transformation of conflict behaviours in the society. The efforts of all computer training institutions may have been felt but more has to be done rather than providing just the basic skills of computer automation. Additional focus should be placed on appropriating the Internet facilities for generating public opinion, and bilateral access between communities and organisation. For government to effectively implement the National Information Technology Policy, all barriers that affect individual frequent access to the Internet has to be eliminated. Examples of this are electricity, illiteracy, and poor leadership vision. Conclusion and Recommendation Government bureaucracy has a lot to offer in the adoption, application and appropriation of ICT for peacebuilding and development. Government being the arbiter must show some concern to restructure its bureaucratic structure to become less cumbersome to prevent public’s access to it and also its own access to the community. If ICT must work to Collaborate government and NGOs in Nigeria, from mere paper documents via the traditional communication and office automations must improve. It could be recommended to government to through its policies encourage networking and collaboration with NGOs and community people. Schools at both private and public levels should be encourage to teach ICT an computer based equipment supplied promptly for computer skill development that will galvanise into community participation and access to governance. The cohesion of people should be built around the attitude of free communication and freedom of speech. This can build right attitude towards communities’ interest and emotional attachment, only when children are caught young to communicate and express themselves through dialogue. For this reason, IT should be taught in schools, while computer institutes should be encouraged to train adults. Also for employment into the civil service computer knowledge should be a criterion, while computers should be provided for every office holder.

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