LEVERAGING AND MANAGING IT FACILITIES FOR LOCAL CONTENT DEVELOPMENT AND

EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE

At The Occasion Of

eNIGERIA 2012 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Held At TheCongress Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja

20 – 22 November 2012

PAPER By

S B A EZICHI, FNCSPast President & Fellow, Nigeria Computer Society

Foundation President, Computer Professionals (Registration Council of Nigeria)

On

INTRODUCTION

INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGIES(CUP OF TEA)

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY(IT-PROPER)Tea Leaves

I

TELECOMMUNICATIONSTECHNOLOGY

(Akin To Water)C

OTHERTECHNOLOGY

(Akin To Sugar, Milk)T

LOCAL CONTENT DEVELOPMENT - I

Local Content, in broad terms, means products or services that are produced or rendered within a particular locale be it Organization, Town, State or Country.In IT Parlance, Local Content Development means IT Products or Services that are produced or rendered within the particular locale of our beloved Nation Nigeria.

LOCAL CONTENT DEVELOPMENT - II

Looking at the Topic, we should ask: Are we Leveraging on Local Content Development for Effective Service

Delivery in the Public Service?The Answer is NO!!

This in turn begs another question: Why is this so?

LOCAL CONTENT DEVELOPMENT - III

MUST HAVE: CLEARLY DEFINED VISION OF eGOVERNMENT OBJECTIVES A FASHIONED-OUT STRATEGY TO ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVES

DETERMINE ACHIEVABLE GOALS WHILE LEVERAGING ON IT WRT CONTENT INFRASTRUCTURE BOTH

BE FULLY AWARE THAT ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE IS TO IMPROVE CONTINUOUSLY SERVICE DELIVERY VIA THE PUBLIC SERVICE TO THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE

LOCAL CONTENT DEVELOPMENT - IV

FALL-OUTS OF THE INFORMATION AGE ABILITY TO ACCESS/PROCESS/USE INFORMATION SPEEDILY CONVENIENCE OF THE EASE OF DOING THINGS IMPROVEMENT IN/DETERMINATION OF THE QUALITY OF LIVES WE LEAD

SAFE, THEREFORE, TO INFER THAT THE FGN OWES THE NIGERIAN PEOPLE THE DUTY OF ENSURING THEIR ABILITY TO ACCESS/WORK WITH DATA/INFORMATION

WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED THAT WHILE WE KEEP DOWNLOADING OTHER PEOPLE’S CONTENT, THEREBY SEEING THINGS FROM THEIR OWN PERSPECTIVE ONLY, OUR INABILITY TO UPLOAD OUR OWN VIEWPOINTS PUTS US AT A DISADVANTAGE & AT THEIR MERCY

WE SHOULD CHANGE FROM “NNA, YAH CONTAINER DON ARRIVE?” TO “NNA, YAH CONTAINER DON GO?”

MANAGING IT FACILITIES FOREFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY - I

OBVIOUS THAT IT FACILITIES HAVE GREATLY IMPROVED SERVICE DELIVERY IN ALL ASPECTS OF OUR LIVES

GOVERNMENTS ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE USING IT FACILITIES TO CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY IN THEIR PUBLIC SERVICE

TO SUSTAIN THIS IN NIGERIA, IT IS NECESSARY TO ENSURE PROPER AND EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF IT FACILITIES

MANAGING IT FACILITIES FOREFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY - II

IS THE NIGERIAN PUBLIC SERVICE ADEQUATELY LEVERAGING ON IT FACILITIES TO IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY TO ITS PEOPLE?

REGRETABLY, NO!

THIS, AS USUAL, BEGS THE QUESTION: WHY???

MANAGING IT FACILITIES FOREFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY - III

FOR ANY ENTITY OR ORGANIZATION, AS THE CASE MAYBE, TO ADEQUATELY LEVERAGE ON IT FACILITIES TO IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY, THREE MAJOR FACTORS MUST WORK TOGETHER IN PERFECT SYNC.

THESE ARE THE:

PROCESSES

TECHNOLOGY

PEOPLE

MANAGING IT FACILITIES FOREFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY - IV

PROCESSES FIRSTLY DETERMINE MOST EFFICIENT METHOD(S) TO DELIVER

SERVICE DESIGN PROCESSES WHICH ENSURE SMOOTH WORKING

METHODOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM (INFRASTRUCTURE & APPLICATIONS) DESIGN & BUILD AROUND AGREED PROCESSES

PEOPLE IN ORDER FOR THE PROCESSES AND TECHNOLOGY TO ADD THE

REQUIRED VALUE, PEOPLE WITH THE SKILLS AND CAPACITY TO UNDERSTAND AND WORK THE PROCESS MUST BE AVAILABLE

TRUTH BE TOLD, THESE THREE FACTORS ARE NOT IN SYNC WITHIN THE NIGERIAN

PUBLIC SERVICE; IN SOME CASES, THEY DO NOT EXIST.

PROCESSES - I

SERVICE DELIVERY PROCESSES IN OUR PUBLIC SERVICE ARE AMONGST THE MOST BUREAUCRATIC AND CUMBERSOME ANY WHERE IN THE WORLD. WE ARE SIMPLY NOT WHERE WE OUGHT TO BE IN TERMS OF EFFICIENT SERVICE DELIVERY PROCESSES. THIS IS SO BECAUSE: SUBSUMING IT FUNCTION UNDER DPRS IS NOT INTERNATIONAL BEST

PRACTICE AND MUST BE REJECTED; FULL-FLEDGED MANDATORY IT DEPTS. MUST BE CREATED

ONLY 7 FULL-FLEDGED IT DEPTS. CURRENTLY EXIST AS FOLLOWS AT THE: STATE HOUSE (SH) OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERATION (OSGF) FEDERAL MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (FMCT) FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE (FMF) FEDERAL MINISTRY OF INFORMATION (FMI) FEDERAL MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (FME) FEDERAL MINISTRY OF HEALTH (FMH)

PROCESSES - II

OUTDATED PROCESSES EXIST: MOST SERVICE DELIVERY PROCESSES WITHIN THE PUBLIC SERVICE TODAY ARE AT BEST SUITED FOR THE WORK ENVIRONMENT OF THE 1980S.

THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK TO FACILITATE AND ENABLE TRUST IN THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT IS STILL BEING DEVELOPED AND TESTED

IN ORDER TO FURTHER STIMULATE PROCESSES, UPGRADE NITDA TO A NATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (NITDC) ON SAME PEDESTAL AS NCC

PROCESSES - III

Political Maturity: to make the kind of changes the current service delivery process needs to become efficient, will possibly require a large amount of change to the Public Service Acts. This is so because all processes in the public service are backed by articles or sections of these Acts. The Executive and Legislative arms of Government will need to display high levels of political maturity and cooperation in order to successfully make the required amendments to the Acts

PROCESSES - IV

Corruption is a clear and present danger in Nigeria today; unfortunately this is our reality. We would be deceiving ourselves

if we assume that the required changes will be welcome by everyone. There are those within and outside the Public Service who would rather the status quo remains, for no other reason than that they profit from the system as is. They will fight these changes and unfortunately, the political arena is where they have the most clout.

TECHNOLOGY - I

THIS IS THE SECOND LINK IN THE CHAIN. IT IS SIMPLY NOT POSSIBLE TO GET THE TECHNOLOGY RIGHT IF YOU DON’T GET THE PROCESSES AND BY EXTENSION THE eGOVERNMENT STRATEGY RIGHT. HENCE IT IS SAFE TO INFER THAT WE ARE NOT WHERE WE OUGHT TO BE WITH REGARDS TO THE TECHNOLOGY.

EACH MDA SHOULD EMBARK ON A RATIONALIZATION STUDY OF ITS INFORMATION PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS & PRODUCE AN IT STRATEGY MASTER PLAN

TECHNOLOGY - II

INITIATE AND COMMISSION THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, STANDARDIZATION AND TRAINING FOR COMMON COMPUTER APPLICATION AREAS – SO-CALLED TRANSVERSAL APPLICATIONS - BY AN IT SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT GROUP

TECHNOLOGY - III

FORESIGHT OF CREATING & HAVING GALAXY BACKBONE (GB) PROVIDE IT INFRASTRUCTURAL REQUIREMENTS OF MDAs IS A LAUDABLE ONE

BUT EITHER GB MANDATE NOT PROPERLY UNDERSTOOD OR BEING MIS-INTERPRETED BY CERTAIN MDAs FOR, PERHAPS, HIDDEN AGENDA

NEED FOR GB TO CLEARLY EDUCATE MDAs ON THE GB MANDATE SO AS TO PREVENT ANY IMPEDIMENTS TO EFFECTIVE SERVICE

PEOPLE - I

THE FINAL LINK IN THE CHAIN AND POSSIBLY THE MOST IMPORTANT IS THE PEOPLE

PROCESSES AND TECHNOLOGY CANNOT RUN THEMSELVES; THEY NEED PEOPLE TO WORK THEM

YOUR PROCESSES AND TECHNOLOGY ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE RUNNING THEM; IF THE PEOPLE LACK THE REQUIRED SKILLS TO EFFICIENTLY RUN THE PROCESSES AND TECHNOLOGY, YOU WILL NEVER ACHIEVE THE DESIRED RESULTS.

PEOPLE - II

ARE WE WHERE WE OUGHT TO BE WITH REGARDS TO THE PEOPLE?

The answer is an emphatic NO!!

THE REASONS ARE NOT FAR-FETCHED: OUR USUAL SUSPECT eGOVERNMENT

STRATEGY. WE AGREE THAT AN EFFECTIVE AND IMPLEMENTABLE eGOVERNMENT STRATEGY WILL DEFINE THE METHODS, PROCESSES AND TECHNOLOGY.

PEOPLE - III

IT IS THUS SAFE TO INFER THAT, WITH THE ABOVE CLEARLY DEFINED, IT WILL BECOME QUITE APPARENT THE SKILLS THE PEOPLE NEED TO HAVE; HENCE IT BECOMES QUITE STRAIGHTFORWARD TO BUILD THE REQUIRED CAPACITY – FROM BOTH ADMINISTRATOR AND USER PERSPECTIVES.

THERE IS CURRENTLY A DEARTH OF ADEQUATE IT PERSONNEL CAPACITY IN QUANTITY & QUALITY WHICH NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED

PEOPLE - IV

IT STAFFING AND MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE PUBLIC SERVICE: WHAT WE HAVE TODAY IS A SITUATION WHEREBY NON-IT

PROFESSIONALS ARE GIVEN THE RESPONSIBILITY OF OPERATING AND MANAGING IT DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE PUBLIC SERVICE. A MAJORITY OF THESE RESOURCES ARE SIMPLY OUT OF THEIR DEPTH. THEY LACK THE REQUIRED CAPACITY TO RUN THESE DEPARTMENTS AS THEY SHOULD.

NEED TO ESTABLISH A SERVICE-WIDE IT CADRE, SIMILAR TO THAT FOR ACCOUNTANTS/AUDITORS, HEADED BY AN INFORMATION-TECHNOLOGY-SYSTEMS-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION (ITSGF)

PEOPLE - V

IT IS AS SPECIALIZED A FIELD AS MEDICINE OR ACCOUNTING. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO ASK A NURSE TO PERFORM THE DUTIES OF A SURGEON. WHILE THE NURSE CAN PERFORM SOME OF THE DUTIES, A NURSE WILL CERTAINLY NOT BE ALLOWED TO PERFORM MAJOR SURGERY.

AN IT CADRE WITH PROPERLY TRAINED PEOPLE IN LINE WITH AN EFFECTIVE eGOVERNMENT STRATEGY WILL BE ABLE TO ENSURE THAT THE QUALITY OF IT SERVICES – AND HENCE THE PRODUCTION OF LOCAL CONTENT - IS RAISED QUICKLY TO THE LEVEL IT SHOULD BE AND MAINTAINED AT THAT LEVEL.

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

CREATE A SERVICE-WIDE IT CADRE SIMILAR TO THAT FOR ACCOUNTANTS/AUDITORS, AT THE APEX OF WHICH THERE WILL BE THE INFORMATION-TECHNOLOGY-SYSTEMS-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION (ITSGF); THOROUGH CAPACITY BUILDING MUST BE EMBARKED UPON

EACH MDA SHOULD HAVE A FULL-FLEDGED IT DEPARTMENT/FUNCTION REPORTING DIRECTLY TO THE ACCOUNTING OFFICER OF THE MDA

EACH MDA SHOULD PRODUCE AN IT STRATEGY MASTER PLAN REPORT EMANATING FROM A RATIONALIZATION STUDY OF ITS INFORMATION PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Thank you for your time; it has been wonderful.

Mr. Tunde Ezichi; +234 805 395 0842, tundeezichi@ymail.com