The Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has urged the federal government (FG) of Nigeria to immediately issue directive from the office of minister for digital economy to recognize community network as an additional layer of connectivity providers in Nigeria so as to close the existing gap nationwide.
Haruna Adamu Hadejia, the coordinator of community network of CITAD disclosed while briefing journalist in Kano Monday.
According to him, 27.91 million people have left with no access to internet or underserved, the development threatening the development of people and supporting the current inflation disturbing people from local communities.
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“Nigeria’s Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF’s) new study in the year 2022, stated that the number of underserved clusters/communities have dropped from 114 to 97 clusters with an estimated population of 27.91 million. CITAD’s opinion here is that, in this global age, this population of Nigerians left without internet is outrageous and is unacceptable,” said Adamu.
He said “It is clear that, many communities are digitally set aside in terms of enjoying certain services in the country simply because they don’t have access to the internet. This gap has continued to disenfranchise communities especially students, youth and women groups. For example, the final secondary school examinations across the country have today, been transformed online otherwise known as Computer Based Test (CBT). Therefore, in areas where internet is lacking, parents must sponsor their wards to go as far as anywhere to access the internet and register, conduct the exams and even to check the results. Such types of communities are well known as either underserved or unserved.”
The coordinator said these under served community have challenges of non-access to e-banking, the development which forced them to move around for them to utilize banking services because of lack of internet in their areas.
It said Nigeria’s Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) should support communities with grant to deploy their own local connectivity initiatives, adding that Mobile Network Operators should recognize USPF initiatives as complimentary to their business rather than looking at them as competitors.
CITAD with the support of Association of Progressive Communities (APC) recently had meeting with some development partners aimed collectively at joining effort to advocate for regulatory framework on the community network initiative. it was observed that government agencies also require a well packaged advocacy as well as sensitization on “why community network?”.
It added that CITAD has engaged on a strategy is building the capacity of communities on resource mobilization and sustainability. Communities are trained on how to pull resources together by including other communities to connect their areas.