Digitalization: CITAD Advocates For Inclusion Of Disabled Students

The Executive Director of the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Malam Y.Z. Ya’u, on Saturday in Kano, advocated for a policy thrust that will ensure the provision of needed gadgets that will enable students with disabilities to acquire needed digital knowledge in tertiary institutions across the country.

Y.Z. Ya’u made the call while presenting a research paper entitled “State of Digital Disability Inclusion Compliance for Learning and Research in Tertiary Institutions in the North-West of Nigeria,” during an enlightenment workshop held for disabled under-graduates, at Malam Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Research and Studies (Mambayya House).

He appealed to relevant authorities to create a framework that will include Digital Education for the disabled right from the secondary school level.

Ya’u who decried the discrimination being suffered by disabled under-graduates in tertiary institutions, urged the Federal Government to formulate a policy that will mandate Citadels of Higher Learning in the country to put in place the needed facilities that can enable the disabled acquire comprehensive digital knowledge.

After a pilot research conducted in selected tertiary institutions within the North-West, CITAD recommended that, “all institutions of higher learning should have a disability policy much in the same line that gender policy was promoted to protect students living with disabilities from discrimination and abuse and to ensure that they are properly incorporated into the academic processes by making available all the necessary disability assistance teaching and study aids.

“All ICT policies of the institutions should be reviewed to incorporate the needs of students (and staff) living with disabilities such that they can have access to and use ICTs as tools for academic work.

“The websites of institutions of higher learning should be disability friendly and complaint by making providing for content to be accessible for students with vision and hearing impairment.

“Institution should not derail the ambition of people living with disabilities by denying them the courses they are interested (a discrimination). Rather they should seek for innovation ways that they should cater for the needs of different disabilities.

“Institutions should accurately capture data about disability at the point of registration and use such data for planning and provision purposes.

“There should be uniform practice with respect to how people living with disabilities are admitted. This should relate to the sitting of both UME and post-UME examinations. Where institutions are not able to provide facilities for the people to sit for these examinations, they should wave them or device alternative tests.

“There is need to sensitize both staff and students in higher institutions to understand the special needs of students with disabilities and to therefore make staff and lecturers more sensitized to think of how they could mainstream them into their teaching.”

Ya’u, however, regretted that students with disabilities have challenges with accessing and using the internet as many of the institutions do not have special provision for appropriate interface tools.

According to him, “only three institutions have special libraries for students studying with disabilities in the North-West of Nigeria. Classroom and lecture halls are not ICT-friendly for disabilities
“Institutions are not able to accurately capture data about students living with disability.

While this is data blindness, it is actually an indication of the attitude of the institutions administration about how they regard disability. Unless you have accurate data about them, you cannot plan for them.

“There is low awareness among both administration and academic staff on the ICT needs of students studying with disabilities.”

He further stated that, “in the wider society, there is also low awareness that people living with disabilities need to access and use ICTs.”

Ya’u opined that, “it is easy to think that to be not left behind means not be left behind in terms of embracing digital life. That is correct but it is more than that.

“Digital systems are tools for empowerment and participation, meaning that if one cannot access and use them, that person will be left behind educationally, economically and politically.”

According to him, “the content of this project, we read ‘not be left behind’ as the inability to access higher education by all those desirous of it.

“One category whose need for higher education is often not given the seriousness it serves are people living with disabilities, pointing out that, “the first level is getting admission: all candidates must sit the computer based UME and then sit for post-UME.

“The second level is what courses those students living with disabilities are eventually allowed to register.

“Third level: how their needs at the level of lectures are addressed; and finally how they are catered for in both the libraries and the computer centres.”

He further stated that, “we excluded concerns for accommodation and hostels, not became they are not important but because our focus is on aspects dealing with ICTs.

“A key question that frames how students living with disabilities are admitted and incorporated in the educational processes is the policy environment. We decided to first ask whether the institutions have two some set of policies. These are ICTs Policy and Disability Policy.

“Our expectation was that we should be able to locate how institutions think of making ICT available to students living with disabilities within the framework of any of these two policies, that is either their needs are treated as part of a general institutional ICT policy or is treated as a particular item under an institution’s disability policy.”

Ya’u also lamented that, “while most of the institutions have ICT policy, none has Disability Policy.

“These policies are not publicly available either in printed form distributed to students at the point of registration or uploaded in their websites.

“Generally, ICTs are used in the academic processes in four ways namely: Means for registration by students at the beginning of each semester.

“As teaching aid by lecturer to deliver lectures; as means of research by students; and as mans of engaging such as submission assignments.

“With respect to registration, students are required to register online. However, none of the institutions has website that is disability compliant. In particular, these sites of are not accessible to either those with vision impairment or those with hearing impairment, these categories of students cannot register directly by themselves. They have to be assisted. This assistance is not provided by the institutions. The students have to make their personal arrangement.

“There is no policy on disability among the institutions. Most have ICT policy. However, these policies do not make provision for people living with disability and therefore assume the provision will apply equally to all regardless of differentials in disability.

“As the schools are mixed in terms of ownership, belonging to different states and federal governments, there are differences in the way in which they treat disability. For example, in all Kano State owned institute people living with disability are given concession of free education which means that they do not have to pay for school fees.

“Websites and admission/registration portals of these institutions are not disability complaint. Blind prospective students and the deaf they have to get personal assistants to fill the forms for them. Digital non inclusion affects different students with special needs differently.”

CITAD Raises The Hope Of Digital Knowledge For People With Disability

Emotions were high at the Centre for Research and Democratic Studies (Mambayya House, in Kano, dedicated to a foremost political sage and leader of the masses, Malam Aminu Kano, when the educated blind, deaf and dumb, the cripple and the deformed, narrated the ugly experience they passed through, while struggling to acquire education in the midst of normal persons. They were humiliated and discriminated by lecturers and even classmates who could not give them the deserved chance to enjoy their right to acquire education. These were people who refused to be conquered by pity, instead they conquered their own fate. They refused to become liability to the society. They are proud of who they are and they needed a voice to tell to whom it may concern the need for them enjoy full access to digital technology. They want to enjoy their right to digital knowledge. And in the Centre for information Technology and Development (CITAD), they found not only the voice, but a hope that brightens their future.

The  Executive Director of CITAD, Malam Y.Z. Ya’u, on Saturday advocated for a policy thrust that will ensure the provision of needed gadgets that will enable students with disabilities to acquire needed digital knowledge in tertiary institutions across the country.

Y.Z. Ya’u made the call while presenting a research paper entitled “State of Digital Disability Inclusion Compliance for Learning and Research in Tertiary Institutions in the North-West of Nigeria,” during an enlightenment workshop held for disabled under-graduates, at Malam Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Research and Studies (Mambayya House).

He appealed to relevant authorities to create a framework that will include Digital Education for the disabled right from the secondary school level.

Ya’u who decried the discrimination being suffered by disabled under-graduates in tertiary institutions, urged the Federal Government to formulate a policy that will mandate Citadels of Higher Learning in the country to put in place the needed facilities that can enable the disabled acquire comprehensive digital knowledge.

After a pilot research conducted in selected tertiary institutions within the North-West, CITAD recommended that, “all institutions of higher learning should have a disability policy much in the same line that gender policy was promoted to protect students living with disabilities from discrimination and abuse and to ensure that they are properly incorporated into the academic processes by making available all the necessary disability assistance teaching and study aids.

“All ICT policies of the institutions should be reviewed to incorporate the needs of students (and staff) living with disabilities such that they can have access to and use ICTs as tools for academic work.

“The websites of institutions of higher learning should be disability friendly and complaint by making providing for content to be accessible for students with vision and hearing impairment.

“Institution should not derail the ambition of people living with disabilities by denying them the courses they are interested (a discrimination). Rather they should seek for innovation ways that they should cater for the needs of different disabilities.

“Institutions should accurately capture data about disability at the point of registration and use such data for planning and provision purposes.

“There should be uniform practice with respect to how people living with disabilities are admitted. This should relate to the sitting of both UME and post-UME examinations. Where institutions are not able to provide facilities for the people to sit for these examinations, they should wave them or device alternative tests.

“There is need to sensitize both staff and students in higher institutions to understand the special needs of students with disabilities and to therefore make staff and lecturers more sensitized to think of how they could mainstream them into their teaching.”

Ya’u, however, regretted that students with disabilities have challenges with accessing and using the internet as many of the institutions do not have special provision for appropriate interface tools.

According to him, “only three institutions have special libraries for students studying with disabilities in the North-West of Nigeria. Classroom and lecture halls are not ICT-friendly for disabilities.

“Institutions are not able to accurately capture data about students living with disability. While this is data blindness, it is actually an indication of the attitude of the institutions administration about how they regard disability. Unless you have accurate data.
about them, you cannot plan for them.

“There is low awareness among both administration and academic staff on the ICT needs of students studying with disabilities.”
He further stated that, “in the wider society, there is also low awareness that people living with disabilities need to access and use ICTs.”
Ya’u opined that, “it is easy to think that to be not left behind means not be left behind in terms of embracing digital life. That is correct but it is more than that.

“Digital systems are tools for empowerment and participation, meaning that if one cannot access and use them, that person will be left behind educationally, economically and politically.”

According to him, “the content of this project, we read ‘not be left behind’ as the inability to access higher education by all those desirous of it.

“One category whose need for higher education is often not given the seriousness it serves are people living with disabilities, pointing out that, “the first level is getting admission: all candidates must sit the computer based UME and then sit for post-UME.

“The second level is what courses those students living with disabilities are eventually allowed to register.
“Third level: how their needs at the level of lectures are addressed; and finally how they are catered for in both the libraries and the computer centres.”

He further stated that, “we excluded concerns for accommodation and hostels, not became they are not important but because our focus is on aspects dealing with ICTs.

“A key question that frames how students living with disabilities are admitted and incorporated in the educational processes is the policy environment. We decided to first ask whether the institutions have two some set of policies. These are ICTs Policy and Disability Policy.

“Our expectation was that we should be able to locate how institutions think of making ICT available to students living with disabilities within the framework of any of these two policies, that is either their needs are treated as part of a general institutional ICT policy or is treated as a particular item under an institution’s disability policy.”
Ya’u also lamented that, “while most of the institutions have ICT policy, none has Disability Policy.

“These policies are not publicly available either in printed form distributed to students at the point of registration or uploaded in their websites.

“Generally, ICTs are used in the academic processes in four ways namely: Means for registration by students at the beginning of each semester.

“As teaching aid by lecturer to deliver lectures; as means of research by students; and as mans of engaging such as submission assignments.

“With respect to registration, students are required to register online. However, none of the institutions has website that is disability compliant. In particular, these sites of are not accessible to either those with vision impairment or those with hearing impairment, these categories of students cannot register directly by themselves. They have to be assisted. This assistance is not provided by the institutions. The students have to make their personal arrangement.

“There is no policy on disability among the institutions. Most have ICT policy. However, these policies do not make provision for people living with disability and therefore assume the provision will apply equally to all regardless of differentials in disability.

“As the schools are mixed in terms of ownership, belonging to different states and federal governments, there are differences in the way in which they treat disability. For example, in all Kano State owned institute people living with disability are given concession of free education which means that they do not have to pay for school fees.

“Websites and admission/registration portals of these institutions are not disability complaint. Blind prospective students and the deaf they have to get personal assistants to fill the forms for them. Digital non inclusion affects different students with special needs differently.”

FG urged to formulate digital policy for disabled students

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), on Saturday in Kano, called on the Federal Government to formulate a policy that can guarantee the rights of students with disabilities gain unhindered access to digital education. Speaking during the presentation of a research paper entitled “State of Digital Disability Inclusion Compliance for Learning and Research in Tertiary Institutions in the North-West of Nigeria,” at Mambayya House, the Executive Director of CITAD, Malam Y.Z. Ya’u, appealed to relevant authorities to create a framework that will include Digital Education for the disabled right from the secondary school level.

He lamented the discrimination being suffered by disabled under-graduates in tertiary institutions, urged the Federal Government to formulate a policy that will mandate Citadels of Higher Learning in the country to put in place the needed facilities that can enable the disabled acquire comprehensive digital knowledge.

According to him, “all institutions of higher learning should have a disability policy much in the same line that gender policy was promoted to protect students living with disabilities from discrimination and abuse and to ensure that they are properly incorporated into the academic processes by making available all the necessary disability assistance teaching and study aids.

“All ICT policies of the institutions should be reviewed to incorporate the needs of students (and staff) living with disabilities such that they can have access to and use ICTs as tools for academic work. The websites of institutions of higher learning should be disability friendly and complaint by making providing for content to be accessible for students with vision and hearing impairment. Institution should not derail the ambition of people living with disabilities by denying them the courses they are interested in. Rather they should seek for innovation ways that they should cater for the needs of different disabilities.

“Institutions should accurately capture data about disability at the point of registration and use such data for planning and provision purposes. There should be uniform practice with respect to how people living with disabilities are admitted. This should relate to the sitting of both UME and post-UME examinations. Where institutions are not able to provide facilities for the people to sit for these examinations, they should wave them or device alternative tests.
“There is need to sensitize both staff and students in higher institutions to understand the special needs of students with disabilities and to therefore make staff and lecturers more sensitized to think of how they could mainstream them into their teaching.”

Research Findings on ICTS and Disability in Tertiary Institutions

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) had on the 28th of the December, 2019 organized a one day discussion with people living with Disability (PWDs), representatives of Government Agencies and tertiary institutions to discuss on the findings of the research conducted by the Centre and find ways on how to tackle the challenges People Living with Disabilities are facing in terms of accessing ICTs facilities in the higher institutions of learning in Northern Nigeria. The research which was supported by Association for Progressive Communication (APC) was carried out in Kano, Jigawa, Katsina and Kaduna states in the Universities, College of Educations and Polytechnics in the states.

While briefing the participants about the reason of convening the workshop, CITAD Executive Director, Engineer Y.Z Ya’u stated that it is to: provide baseline information on the status of tertiary institutions with respect to provision of ICTs for learning, documents what facilities and programmes have for people living with disabilities to access and use internet for educational purposes, what challenges people living with disabilities face in accessing and using internet in tertiary institutions and what challenges tertiary institutions face in responding to the needs of people living with disability in terms of ICTs as tool for learning.

It was discovered during the research that People Living with Disability constitute less than 1% of the total population of students of tertiary institution in Northern Nigeria and many of the them denied courses of their choice thereby confined to courses they don’t have interest on by the schools authorities which at the end led to their withdrawal from the institutions as one of the participants narrated. It was also discovered that most of the tertiary institutions don’t have libraries for People Living with Disabilities especially those with Vision and Hearing Impairment which is giving them difficulty when accessing the conventional libraries. None of the Institutions have a Policy on People Living with disabilities which was unanimously agreed at the deliberation that if develop will ease the suffering of PWDs in the higher institutions of learning in the country.

Narrating their ordeals at the hands of their lecturers, fellow students and school managements, a PHD student in one of the institutions who is a blind narrated that during his NCE program he asked his lecturer about a topic that he wants more clarification but the lecturer instead of explaining the topic to him told him that he will not waste his time on a blind person. That incident made him to spend the whole day crying and said whenever he remember that incident he broke into tears. The Director Admission Unit, Bayero University, Kano (BUK) said that some years back while she was invigilating JAMB she discovered there was a blind student among the intakes and there was no provision made for him, when she asked him why he was writing together with normal people instead of at special centre he said he applied three times but he was always rejected, there, she made special arrangement for him and because of that he is now an MSc. student. Many ugly things are happening to People Living with Disabilities either in the process of gaining admission, during lectures, with their lecturers or fellow students, some of the stories were told while others remained untold.

Furthermore, sharing their experience on how they are being denied courses of their choice, another incident was given where a cripple student got admission to study medicine but when the university discovered that he is a cripple they transferred him to computer science department, a course he had no interest on and at the end he got expelled. The story is the same with another cripple student whose admission is currently rusticated by one of the NCE warding institutions in Kano state just because he is physically challenged. Professor Diso also narrated that he was once refused entry into lecture hall by his lecturer because he is blind.

Some of the appeals and recommendations given at the validation meeting were:

  1. BUK as a matter of public interest to open its People Living with Disabilities Library which has been built by the institution but still not been commissioned
  2. CITAD to collaborate with other NGOs to provide ICTs Centers for People Living with Disabilities, provide more computers and install software that are friendly to people living with disability
  3. The research needs to show how available and accessible the ICT facilities are in those institutions
  4. Discuss with school management directly to find out the exact number of PWDs in their institutions
  5. There is the need to equip people living with disabilities with computer knowledge so that they can also compete with other normal people
  6. Personal computers should be provided to the people living with disabilities after the training
  7. CITAD to collaborate with other NGOs to improve and rehabilitate skills learning centers of people living with disabilities especially at special schools in the country
  8. CITAD to help people living with vision impairment to get braille imposer machine
  9. CITAD to look into the issue on how higher institutions of learning are complying with disability policy in their schools
  10. CITAD to look into the secondary school curriculum to ensure it capture PWDs needs
  11. Intensify advocacy to ensure the development of disability policy in tertiary institutions in the country.

Remarking at the event, the head of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Kano appreciated and applauded CITAD for organizing this discussion at the right time, saying that the research aligns with what the agency is doing every day. He urged PWDs and their organizations present to take the advantage of their new office in Kano and request for ICTs equipment which they have been giving to organizations for free. The director also requested CITAD to facilitate and serve as an intermediary between the agency and the PWDs organizations. On her part, the director admission unit, Bayero University, Kano said BUK is doing everything possible to ensure People Living with Disabilities are being giving all the necessary support they needs. Part of it according to her is the reduction and automatic admission to People Living with Disabilities that score 150 and above in their UTME and scholarship for the students.

On his part, while closing the session, the Head of Training Department, Centre for Information Technology and Development Malam Ahmad Yakasai said that CITAD for long has been designing programmes and supporting People Living with Disabilities. He went further to state that as part of the Organization’s inclusion agenda every year for the past 10 years CITAD has never fail to celebrate International Day of People Living with Disabilities.

Be very good in what you do and you will succeed, Dr. Adamu Ahmad Abdullahi tells youth

Youth have been advised to be versatile, thoughtful and knowledge-seeking in order to equate themselves with the reality of the 21st century. This was one of the numerous inspirational tips thrown to the teeming young people earlier today at the last episode of the Inspiring Leadership Reflection Interactive Series (ILERIS) in 2019. ILERIS is a monthly inspirational and mentorship engagement Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) organizes mainly for the youth. Earlier this month, CITAD hosted an academic, Arc. Prof. Abdullahi Abubakar of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria at a similar gathering at it’s headquarters in Kano.

Today’s ILERIS took place at CITAD Jama’are office where a renown personality from the community, Dr. Adamu Ahmad Abdullahi was hosted in a three hour interactive session with young people from around Jama’are local government. Dr. Ahmad, a traditional title holder of Sa’i in Jama’are emirate is presently a director at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), he spent quiet sometime to talking to the youth about his educational journey, community service, life struggles, hard and best times, challenges and keys to overcoming the challenges, accomplishments and tips to recording the accomplishments, what makes a successful person and how one can be successful in whatever they do in life.

The session began with opening prayer after which welcomes and opening remarks were made by the Executive Director of the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Engr. Y.Z. Ya’u. In the welcome remarks, Ya’u began with a background of the monthly event, he said CITAD started it in 2016 out of it’s passion for shaping young people’s live so that they become great achievers and by extension impact positively in their societies. He noted that for the period of years that CITAD initiated the monthly inspiration and mentorship event, it has hosted a number of renown personalities from different walks of life who have installed zeal and hands-on direction of either choosing a career, profession or pursuing successful business through tapping from the wealth of experience and stories of the academics, businessmen and women, leaders, clerics, activists, pundits, etc it has engaged. Y.Z. observed that youth are pillars of building societies as such they need to be properly guided so that communities and the nation at large will be proud of them.

Born in 1957, the guest speaker, Dr. Ahmad Adamu Abdullahi started his presentation with a brief on what and where he studied, his happy and sad moments and how he handled challenges and obstacles. He said the keys to achieving success in everything one does are perseverance, commitment adaptation adding that the youth of today must embrace and leverage information and communication technology as hardly anything is done without it. After his presentation, the participants engaged him in comments, questions and answers session where different questions were asked and comments made. Responding to a particular question put to him by a graduate of economics participant, Dr. Ahmad said there are opportunities and prospects everywhere, what the youth need is perseverance and determination, he cited numerous successful businesses and entrepreneurs that according to had gone through hard time times and endured and that is reason they are role models for many today, so, he added “be very good in either your profession or business and you will succeed”.

More than fifty (50) youth attended the event. The session ended with a closing prayer, vote of thanks and presentation of the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) publication to the guest speaker.

New Winners Emerge for CITAD Essay Competitions

Centre for Information Technology (CITAD), has announced winners for its 7th round of essay writing competition with the support of MacArthur Foundation.

The Report a Project, which is one of the two categories of the essay writing is a competition that invites applications from students in tertiary institutions to write on abandoned or poorly executed project(s) in their various communities with the aim to expose such cases so as to have a change.

The Innovative Ideas, according to Abdulhamid Abdullahi, training officer, CITAD, involves students of higher learning institutions to write essays on how best to fight corruption and the best writer stands to win a token price of N30.000, while the second runner-up gets the sum of N20.000 and the 3rd winner gets N10.000 for each of the two categories.

The competition geared towards reviving the spirit of reading culture amongst the students and youths, is also aimed to engage the youths in critical thinking and innovative ideas which at the end, will lead them to asking questions and holding those in public offices accountable.

The winners for Innovative Ideas Essay Competition are;
1st: Rabia Muhammad Musa
2nd: Nafisa Muhammad Aliyu
3rd: Ummusalama Adamu Usman

While those who emerged winners for the Report a Project are;
1st: Ummi Idris
2nd: Aisha Inuwa Idris
3rd: Mubaraka Abdu Lawan

Research meeting on Conflict and Corruption in Nigeria

Introduction

The relationship between conflict and corruption in Nigeria is one that has attracted huge attention from academics, policy makers and practitioners. While efforts have been made to respond to the causalities and consequences of conflicts in the country, there is a sense in which corruption has become a phenomenon that fuels and sustains conflicts.  Some of the ways in which corruption sustains conflict include the use and abuse of security votes by government officials, non-adherence to policies and guidelines on procurements in the award of contracts, diversion of funds, use of fictitious persons and companies for award of contracts, contract variations, diversion of relief materials among others. In specific terms, international organisations have also been accused of not meeting their obligations in terms of value for money with specific reference to humanitarian response.

In view of this, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) who has been a key player in advocating for anticorruption and accountability in Nigeria, with support from MacArthur Foundation is conducting a research to analyse the nexus between conflict, insurgency and corruption in Nigeria with the aim of finding out how corruption makes conflict so difficult to resolve and also finding lasting solutions and providing recommendations to how conflict in Nigeria can best be manage.

In this regard, the Centre held a research meeting on 17th December, 2019 at the centre’s head office in Kano. The meeting was carried out with the purpose of presenting the research concepts, discussing the methodology, as well as agreeing on the research calendar.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Executive Director of the centre, Dr. Yunusa Yau welcomed the participants and also explained the purpose of the meeting to the participants. Dr. Chris Kwaja of Modibbo University of Technology, Yola explained that the research would have three pillars of Academic, policy and action research methods. The methodology is also mainly a desk review and some primary data i.e, interviews where necessary.

Presentation of The Six Thematic Areas of the Research by the Researchers

  1. Corruption and the Extractive Sector: Lessons from Zamfara State by Dr. Yunusa Yau of CITAD.

Until recently, Zamfara state has become a hostile and no-go area for a long period of time and the conflict in Zamfara was not unpredictable. Community stakeholders has expressed their prediction for a bloodshed if nothing could be done. The conflict between farmers and herders, the takeover of more than 80% of grazing lands by politicians and other bosses, the selfish interest of politicians who mobilise, arm and equip thugs  with weapons, the poor provision of jobs and other welfares for the already armed youths organised by the politicians, the interest of political, security, religious/traditional leaders to benefit from the insurgency, the complicated and  unclear procedures and policies set for the mining licensing as well as responding to violence with violence approach of government for peacemaking which subject the whole community to harm etc are among the issues this research component will look at, analyse provide recommendations to the problems.

  1. Impact of Corruption on Human Rights in Nigeria by Dr. Chris Kwaja of MouTech.

Effect of corruption on human rights and how human rights impact corruption is another angle that this research intended to cover. Welfare, security and resources extraction are the major responsibilities of the government. Similarly, the resources that were extracted are meant to provide and protect the state. But when the government fails to provide the public with employment opportunities and other human welfares and also fail to protect the state from violence and insecurity, it becomes a generator of violence instead of a protector. Again, the government response to violence with a violent approach is another factor to be captured from this angle.

  1. Impact of Corruption on Reconstruction and Rebuilding in the North East by Abu Hamisu.

This aspect will focus on corruption by delineating several factors that led to the insurgency on the northeast by looking at the  existence of a group and how or why they become insurgent or violent. Looking at Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast, the group has been existing since 1990s but were never violent until after the killing of Muhammad Yusuf. Ignorance and poverty are seen as major factors that led for the boko Haram insurgency, but behind these factors is corruption. People desire change but the means of recruiting political leaders is not just and peaceful means of electing leaders were absent. In the IDPs camp similarly, the leaders aren’t accountable and the immediate needs of people are not met, the welfares mostly focus on areas that have no direct impact on people’s lives. In general, the private interest is overriding the public interest which generated into a conflict.

 

  1. Impact of Corruption in Addressing Kidnapping and Banditry by Dr. Aminu Hayatu of Bayero University, Kano.

This component of research will be looking at how kidnapping and banditry comes with certain linkage with corruption which if interrogated will reveal a lot of information on how corruption plays a vital role in the issues of kidnapping and insecurity, how the state refused to provide the infrastructure needed in place and how the funds set to tackle such problems are being misplaced. Similarly, the narratives sold out to the public in form of post truth and conspiracy to escaping theories to divert the attention of the public from public discourse is another interesting area that will be captured in this aspect of the research.

Other areas to be covered in this research include:

  1. Broadcast Media’s Coverage and Analysis of Official Corruption in Relation to Insurgency in the North East by Tunde Akanni of Lagos State University, and .
  2. Impact of Corruption on Counterinsurgency Efforts in the North East by Hassana Ibrahim Waziri:

Research Methodology

Desk Review with primary data interviews where necessary.

Research Calendar:

  1. Methodology Meeting – 17th December 2019
  2. Desk/Field Work – 18th December 2019 – 18th February 2020
  3. Submission of Draft Papers – 19th February 2020
  4. Review of Draft Papers – 20th February – 1st March 2020
  5. Work on Reviewed Papers by Researchers – 2nd March – 16th March 2020
  6. Submission of Final Papers by Researchers – 30th March 2020

Referencing and Font:

(i)         Adopt the APA Sixth Edition Referencing Style and footnotes for explanations where necessary.

(ii)        Use the Times Romans, 12 Font and 1.5 Line Spacing

Word Limits:

(i)         Not more than 6,500 words

Writing Format:

(i)         Abstract

(ii)        Background / Introduction / Context

(iii)       Body of the Research (format at researcher’s discretion)

(iv)       Recommendations

(v)        Conclusions

Have focus in everything you do, surround yourself with positive-minded people – Prof. Abdullahi Abubakar

As we bid farewell to the year 2019, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has featured Arc. Prof. Abdullahi Abubakar of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria as it’s guest speaker for December 2019 edition of the Inspiring Leadership Reflection Interactive Series (ILERIS). CITAD introduced ILERIS four years ago to inspire, mentor and shape particularly the lives of the young people to become achievers in their lives through hosting successful on monthly basis to have an interactive discussion with them.

The session began with opening and welcome remarks by the Executive Director of CITAD represented at the ILERIS by Training Coordinator, Malam Ahmad Abdullahi Yakasai, he welcomed and appreciated the guest for finding time to come and share his wealth of experience with teeming participants. Malam Ahmad said the monthly session began about four years ago and has featured different reputable personalities and they have greatly inspired lives and endeavors of the participants.

The guest speaker, Ar. Prof. Abdullahi Abubakar spent close to two hours talking to the participants on his life’s journey showcasing his educational, leadership and community service activities, in that he gave a robust view of how he has succeeded in educational endeavor and his style of leadership, he made references to how commitment, determination, passion and zeal greatly helped him record successes. He said without focus in what one does, goals may be unachievable.

Comments and questions were asked after the guest’s presentation and many participants commended the guest for sharing his experiences and admitted being inspired. A participant who is a writer, Khalid Imam said was positively moved by the guest story, he gave a copy of a book he authored to the guest adding that the guest’s success stories and determination won him the book. CITAD also presented the guest with some publications as a gesture to appreciate him.

CITAD trains 200 women and youths in Dakwa, Tungashiri communities

The Centre for Information Technology Development (CITAD), organized   capacity building to over 200 youths and women in Dakwa and Tungashiri communities respectively in Abuja Municipal Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory on digital entrepreneurship.

Programme Assistant Gender and Internet Advocacy CITAD Ms. Salma Abdulwaheed said the essence of the programme is to build potential entrepreneurs and develop digital entrepreneurship skills in women and youths.

“our visit to the communities today is to acquaint participants of the programme with agencies and organisation to enable them access opportunities, grants and loan facilities to set up and expand their businesses.

“We have trained over 100 students- young boys and girls here in Dakwa as well as over 100 youths in Tunga-Shere on digital skills to empower them. We decided to bring business support clinic to them to mentor them on how to go about their business.

“Our ICT Centres in 5 area council’s in the FCT, including the two in Dakwa and Tungashiri, manned by interns, are open everyday from Monday to Saturday. We encourage students in the local communities to take advantage of these Centres to learn,” she said.

On her part, the Partnership and Local Rights Advisor Action Aid Nigeria, Mrs. Hajara Opaluwa Adamu said the organisation has partnered CITAD on series of programmes in communities , adding that they run same programme in other 12states of the country, including the FCT.

She said Action Aid Nigeria works with groups in order to reach communities in the area of education, governance, women’s right, humanitarian services, food and agriculture.

“In line with the ICT MDG goals, we have established 5 ICT Centres in the FCT which is not only for the youths but for women who are interested. We equipped the Centres with laptops, chairs, cameras, internet modem, printers and we have trained people on photography, videography and use of Microsoft,” she said.

We Tracked 387 Hate Speech On Social Media In November: CITAD

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) says it tracked a total of 387 Hate speech on Facebook and Twitter handles in Nigeria in November.

Ibrahim said, “Our analysis established that the speech instances occur in textual, video, pictorial and symbolic forms and 32 per cent of the offending species were ethnic-based while 26 per cent were election-related,” he said.

According to Ibrahim, ethnic-based and election-based, dominated the list, beating religion-based hate speech which used to top the list in the last two months.

He said, “We want to specifically draw the attention of the entire people of Kogi to the dangers and consequences of hate speech and therefore urge that they neither engage in or accommodate hate speech on social media platforms or at community gatherings. ”