Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) here by advertises for the following vacancies in its various offices as indicated by the positions and therefore invites application from interested qualified individuals.

SENIOR PROGRAMMES OFFICER (KANO)- External 

This person will lead programmes and will have the following responsibilities:

• Support the Programmes Coordinator in liaising with development partners and others with a view to leveraging opportunities for the organization;
• Coordinate some Programmes and activities including in designing programmes and activities in the projects she/he is coordinating;
• Generate ideas for the development of new projects, proposals, programmes or activities;
• Support the development of new proposals 
• Mentor other staff in proposal development and writing;
• Participating in regular intake and case review meetings, in partnership with community organizations, to assess community needs;
• Working with community groups and attending meetings around human rights and social justice efforts;
• Any other responsibility that may from time to time be assigned to him/her in consistent with the goals of the organization

Essential Skills

1. Versed in IT for development literature 
2. Excellent communication and documentation skills 
3. Proposal writing skills 
4. Team work 
5. Ability to work under little supervision 
6. Critical thinking and innovative skills 
7. Excellent administrative and organizational skills, including office software

Qualifications 

• Ph.D or M.Sc. in any social sciences or humanities; Minimum of one year (for Ph.D holder) and two years (for M.Sc) relevant experience, working with civil society organizations. Those with First degree must have four years of cognate experience 

Requirements 

1. Must have written at least three successful project proposals in the past
2. Evidence of at least two publication reports or journal articles (not newspaper article)
3. The ideal candidate for should be less than 40 years old 
4. Must be IT literate, versatile in the use of office productivity tools 
5. Ability to travel frequently and at short notice is desirable

PROGRAMMES OFFICER (Training Officer, KANO), position available only for female candidates 

Responsibilities of the Position

• Coordinate Gender Digital Inclusion works 
• Support works around gender violence against women 
• Tracking data on projects/programmes implementation 
• Leading on gender digital entrepreneurship programmes 
• Documenting programmes/projects you are working on 
• Developing proposals and project initiatives 
• Tracking and documenting impact on lives of past programmes beneficiaries 
• Taking part in other programmes of the organization and generating reports from such activities where required 

Essential Skills 

1. Website design skills (Content Management System and PHP)
2. App development skills 
3. Coding 
4. Gender analysis
5. Feminist internet Principles  

Qualifications 

The right candidate must have a good degree in Social sciences or Technology related subject. A post graduate diploma or degree in the relevant field is an advantage with at least four years of working in the development sector. Familiarity with technology and gender issues is essential 

Requirements 

1. Evidence of at least two-year’s experience in the civil society sector 
2. Evidence of one successful proposal written
3. Ability to teach ICT courses 
4. Training/ Facilitation skills
5. Understand the operations of tech start ups 
6. A minimum of two examples of report written either published or authenticated by former employers
7. The ideal candidate for should be less than 35-year-old 
8. Ability to travel frequently and at short notice is desirable 

PROGRAMMES COORDINATOR (KANO)- External 

This person will head the Programmes Department and will have the following responsibilities:

• Continuously keep an opened eye for new areas of engagement;
• Liaising with development partners and others with a view to leveraging opportunities for the organization;
• Ensure that all activities reports are properly documented and archived;
• Generate ideas for the development of new projects, proposals, programmes or activities;
• Lead in the development of new proposals 
• Support Project managers in designing programmes and activities in the project they are coordinating;
• Establish and maintain a knowledge resource for the organization;
• Mentor other staff in proposal development and writing;
• Help to distill issues of interest that may require follow up, new activities/programmes or new proposals;
• Participating in regular intake and case review meetings, in partnership with community organizations, to assess community needs;
• Working with community groups and attending meetings around human rights and social justice efforts;
• Understanding the services offered by other non-profits and government agencies and drawing upon these resources to most effectively serve.
• Any other responsibility that may from time to time be assigned to him/her in consistent with the goals of the organization

Essential Skills

1. Versed in IT for development literature 
2. Excellent communication and documentation skills 
3. Proposal writing skills 
4. Team work 
5. Ability to work under little supervision 
6. Critical thinking and innovative skills 
7. Excellent administrative and organizational skills, including office software

Qualifications 

• Ph.D or M.Sc. in any social sciences or humanities; Minimum of two years (for Ph.D holder) and four years (for M.Sc) relevant experience, working with civil society organizations. Those with First degree must have six years of cognate experience 

Requirements 

1. Must have written at least three successful project proposals in the past
2. Experience or knowledge of innovation system, incubator programmes and startups management
3. Evidence of at least two publication reports or journal articles (not newspaper article)
4. The ideal candidate for should be less than 45-year-old 
5. Ability to travel frequently and at short notice is desirable

Technology Innovation Officer (TIO), position available in Gombe 

Responsibilities 

1. Be the coordinator of the technology hub of the organization 
2. Coordinate the start-ups programmes of the organizations 
3. Lead in the apps development programmes of the organization 
4. Develop and deliver appropriate training programmes for technology developers 
5. Be part of the general training programmes of the organization
6. Any other relevant assignments that may from time to time be assigned to the staff 

Essential Skills 

1. Website design skills (Content Management System and PHP)
2. App development skills 
3. Coding 
4. Training/ Facilitation skills
5. Experience in running an incubator space 
6. Experience in raising a start up 

Qualifications 

The right candidate should have an IT related degree or professional certification. Registration with CPN is an advantage. Two years of cognate experience in an incubator space or similar setting is required.  

Requirements 

Candidate will provide evidence of websites sh/he designed and maintained, examples of app he/she has developed and any other innovative deployment of technology he or she has been involved in

Age Range: 25-40

CONDITIONS OF SERVICE  

Salary and other conditions of service are commensurate with skills, experience and innovative initiatives 

ACCOUNTS OFFICER. POSITION available in Abuja  

Requirements 

Qualification: a minimum of HND in Accounting or related field. Possession of a professional certification will be an added advantage. Understanding of non-profit sector operation is required.

Cognate experience: must have at least two years of post-graduation experience in an NGO setting.  

Others: candidates from FCT, Kogi or Niger States are strongly recommended to apply. 

Responsibilities 

1. Prepare monthly financial reports.
2. Prepare and maintain all financial documents.
3. Responsible for financial management.
4. Disbursement and accounting for funds during activities. 
5. Prepare annual financial budget and reports.
6. Handle all payments for statutory deductions to relevant agencies. 
7. Be part of the Procurement Committee of the Office.
8. Support the Project teams in the implementation of various project activities in Abuja Area office. 
9. Reconciliation of Bank Statement and Cash book 
10. Any other tasks that may be assigned to him/her consistent with the his or her skills and training as may be decided from time to time by the Management of the organization. 

Skills 

In addition to bookkeeping and other accounting skills, the desired candidate must be computer literate and know how to use Excel as well as any other accounting software. 

Reporting line: the person will report to and work with the head Office, under the supervision of the organization’s Human Resource Manager.

HUMAN RESOURCE OFFICER (KANO)- EXTERNAL 

The person will head the Personnel Department of the organization and will have the following responsibilities: 

• Keep up to data employees’ records 
• Be custodian of staff reporting on duty register 
• Keep records for all staff leave, including sick leave
• Receive and process leave request by staff 
• Serve as Secretary to any staff recruitment interview
• Provide relevant documents for staff appraisal process 
• Process tax certificates for staff members 
• Ensure that the organization is at all-time compliant of all relevant labour laws
• Responsible for drafting reference letters for current and former staff of the organization 
• Any other assignments that may from time to time be assigned to the office by either the management and or the Board members. 

Essential Skills

1. Have clear understanding of what Human Resource Management entails 
2. Good ICT skills 
3. Good communication skills 
4. Ability to use online tools for tracking staff performance 

Qualifications 

The right candidate must have a Degree in Administration Science or any social science. A Master degree will be an advantage. Two years’ experience in similar position.

Requirements 

At least two years of relevant experience 

One-year experience of working in the civil society or development sector

Business Development and Marketing Officer (BDMO), Kano or Gombe 

1. Lead in the marketing of the programmes, produces and services of the organization 
2. Promote apps and solutions developed in the organization 
3. Harvest and promote start-ups out of the organization
4. Develop and concretize business ideas for the organization 
5. Coordinate the social entrepreneurship programmes of the organization 
6. Any other relevant assignments that may from time to time be assigned to the staff

Essential Skills 

1. Business development skills 
2. Marketing skills 
3. Digital marketing knowledge 
4. Partnership building skills 
5. Proposal development 

Qualifications 

The right candidate should have a degree in Marketing or Business Administration or any related field. MBA is an advantage. Two years of cognate experience in a Marketing position is needed.  

METHOD OF APPLICATION

Interested qualified person should apply providing the following:

1. Cover letter should capture why the applicant thinks he/she is suitable for the job
2. Current CV
3. Names and full contacts of three referees, one of who must be previous employer (if she or he has worked)
4. Scanned photocopies of credentials 
5. Details of publications or scanned copies (as relevant to the position you are applying)
6. Copies of previous reports or proposal written (as relevant to the position)

DATELINE:

Interested persons should submit their application with all relevant attachments to info@citad.org, not later than May 31, 2022.

Buhari Abba is the Administrative and Research Assistant at the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD)

Within the past two weeks, the organization has recorded two very disturbing contents on the internet, both of which degrade and dehumanise women and the individuals involved.

The first was a posting of sexual escape of students of Chrisland, Lagos in faraway Dubai which went viral, leading to the suspension of academic activities in the school. While the second concerned a lady in Ado-Ekiti who was invited to a hotel room by her friend who had arranged with his three accomplices, gang-raped her and also posted the act on the internet.

A third case was a lady who was kidnapped for money, it occurred earlier last month in Abuja when a man on social media invited her to his hotel, kidnapped her and demanded 50 Million ransom from her parents.

In a speech delivered by Engr. Yunusa Zakari Ya’u, Executive Director of Centre for Information Technology and Development noted that, there have been many other such cases in which social media friends lured their female friends only to rape them and in some instances, kill them to cover up the crime.

“Cases of young girls falling victims of this technology assisted crime have been on the rise and are contributing negatively to the efforts to address and overcome the gender dimension of the digital divide in the country, which casts women on the negative side of the divide and making it difficult for them to access and make use of the opportunities and benefits digital technology offers for educational advancement, economic empowerment and social inclusion.

“CITAD has for the past five years been engaged in monitoring and countering gender violence online and take this very serious, because we have in an earlier research found that gender-based violence online has been a major factor inhibiting factor for the effective use of digital spaces by girls and women in the country as they have internalised the fear that harmful content online has induced in them”. He said.

Eng. Yunusa further explained that harmful content online is targeted at female politicians and women in careers such as female journalists and academics, with the aim of discouraging them from those spaces, thus furthering their marginalization in those spheres.

Women are cyberphobia as result of gender violence – CITAD

In addition, parents and husbands are also using the same excuse to prevent their daughters and wives from using the internet. Unfortunately, in the world we live today, we must all make use of the internet.

Eng. Yunusa revealed that the country and society that suffer from this criminal misappropriation of the powers of the internet. As learning, commerce, social interactions and government services move online.

Women constitute slightly more than half of the population of the country, as the majority of these women are remaining offline as a result of gender violence online and other harmful contents, which means that a large population of Nigerians are left behind.

“In this situation, Nigeria cannot achieve the sustainable development goals as most of them require effective deployment and use of the internet.

“Girls are at a disadvantage in getting admission to higher education because they have been prevented from learning to use digital skills which are necessary for passing the entrance examinations to the higher institutions in the country.

“Yet here in the North we complain of a lack of sufficient number of female doctors and other health related professionals, even when we deny girls the opportunity to learn digital skills to gain admission to study for the medical profession”. He added.

Women are the majority of citizens who are identity excluded in Nigeria and consequently also financial services excluded, making it difficult for them to access financial services and progress in business.

Lack of identity also is inhibiting their ability to exercise their freedom of movement as some important modes of travel cannot convey people without authenticated identity.

Technology as National threat to gender – CITAD

The Centre for Information Technology and Development confirmed that technology assisted gender violence online making it a serious national problem that the government has to consider and take necessary means to address it.

The Executive Director expressed their empanelling of a Committee by the Federal Government to study and propose solutions to ensuring the protection of children online.

CITAD recommend solutions to technology-assisted gender violence

In this respect CITAD will like to call on the federal government as well as state governments to as a matter of national urgency:

Set up a panel to study and propose solutions to technology-assisted gender violence, including proposing legislations on how to deal with it. In making this call, we would like to caution against throwing the baby with the bathwater. Government should not use this as an opportunity to inhibit access to the internet for citizens but rather improve on how citizens are able to access and safely use the internet.

The Federal Government should incorporate safety and privacy online in the computer studies curriculum of secondary schools. In this way, computer studies can then not just be done to get a credit for admission to higher institutions but also to get life skills that will prepare the students for successful immersion into the digital world.

While we have made computer studies compulsory at secondary schools, we have not incorporated safety issues in the curriculum. These gaps should be addressed quickly because learning computer studies is not just for passing examinations but to gain skills that are needed to fit into the digital world of today.

Lot of the criminal uses of the internet is related to poor understanding of digital rights. In particular, the government itself has not shown proper appreciation of the importance of digital rights. Without a bill of digital rights, the use of the digital space can be counterproductive as we see it now. In this respect, the National Assembly should quickly pass the Digital Rights Bill and the President should sign it.

The federal government should also come up with a national digital inclusion agenda that will address the many challenges that inhibit the effective access to and use of the internet. This will contribute greatly in addressing the various dimensions of the internal digital divide in the country.

The Centre for Information Technology and Development had on 21st of April, 2022 under its project on Mobilizing and Catalyzing Citizens Action for Accountable Election and Governance in Nigeria supported by MacArthur Foundation held its Fourth Dialogue on Anti-Corruption Fight in Nigeria with another three set of its sub-grantees; Jack Fidelis Vincent, Independ Journalist based in Maiduguri, Olumide Olaniyan of Lucidity of Absurdity (Poetry) and Fred Sam-Itepu, Head of Operation, Rise Networks while Dr. Kabiru Sufi Sa’id, Principal Lecturer, Kano State College of Education and Preliminary Studies chaired the Dialogue. As it has become tradition in the Centre that every month it’s conducting the dialogue, in the month of March, the Centre hosted Danlami Nmodu, mni, Publisher NewsDiary Online, Bikiya Graham-Douglas, Executive Director, Beeta Network and Dr. Tunde Akanni, Lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, Lagos State University with Clement Adebayo as the moderator

The dialogue started with an opening remarks by the Executive Director of CITAD, Engineer Yunusa Zakari Ya’u. Engineer Ya’u begin his remarks with aim of organizing the monthly dialogue where his stated that; the aim of the dialogue is to give the sub-grantees under this project an opportunity to regularly share their work with a wider audience in promoting accountability and fighting corruption in Nigeria. He also mentioned that the dialogue is aimed at giving both the sub-grantees and young people who have interest in the area an opportunity to discuss and share ideas. Engineer Ya’u went further to state that CITAD has for many years been working in the area of accountability and fighting corruption in Nigeria and empowering young people to demand for good governance. Buttressing further on the essence of organizing the monthly dialogue, the Executive Director said is to create a platform for the sub-grantees and those who have an interest in the area to discuss ideas and learn from each other as corruption and lack of accountability are the major obstacles towards the country’s growth and development”. 

Moreover, Malam Ya’u lamented on the set back fighting corruption is recording in the country where he gave an example with presidential pardon granted to two convicted former governors of Plateau and Benue States after being tried and found guilty of stealing public funds while serving as governors in their states. At the end he urge the participants not relent on their efforts in the fight against corruption as it takes time to rid corruption out of the society.  

Speaking on the different tools and mediums he utilizes in demanding for accountability and fighting corruption, Mr. Jack Vincent said in Maiduguri he used to organized small round table meetings to hear the opinions of people on how they perceive corruption and the best way to tackle it, from the opinions gather, he organizes radio programs including phone in where people call to give their own contributions and air their grievances. Also, Mr. Vincent used to do Vox Fox where he sample the opinions of the public on how corruption and bad governance is affecting their lives. Other activities conducted by this sub-grantee include documentaries. In the documentaries, Mr. Fidelis focuses more on capital projects that are poorly executed such as hospitals, roads, schools etc. in the state. This, he said they aired on their live radio program and also share on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

On his part, Mr. Olumide said their work is targeting at people at grassroots where they are enlightening them about the effect of corruption through the use of poetry. He said what they normally do is to ask people questions on the post elections issues like what their representatives are doing to better their lives. Also, Mr. Olaniyan said they organize mobile dramas where they went to local markets in Abuja in collaboration with markets officials and perform dramas on corruption. In the drama, Mr. Olaniyan said they are using four languages such as Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and Pidgin English. Another tactic they explore is reading poems to community people on anti-corruption and accountability. In this case, he said they allow the community people to read the poems themselves in order to internalize and make the fight against corruption a habit. At the end he stated that they are sharing the messages to larger audiences using social media platforms like Facebook to popularize the messages.

Moreover, the final speaker at the dialogue, Mr. Fred discussed mainly on the application they created in order to track corruption and fake news in the area of fighting corruption in the country called “Run Am”. He said, the application is created to mobilize citizens against corruption and discuss issues of accountability in Nigeria. Speaking further, Mr. Fred said, the application is trained to source information on corruption and election from credible sources by tracing the authenticity of images used like where they have been taken, who took them and what time they were taken. At the end, this speaker said using technology to fight corruption is the best and most efficient way to rid the corruption out of our society and instill good governance in the minds of Nigerians. 

At the end, some participants made comments about the topic in discussion. One of the commentators at the dialogue stated that “the anti-corruption institutions in the country are just making fool of themselves considering the action of the president and his cabinets most especially with the recent pardon of the convicted governors”.   

Text of press conference addressed by Y. Z. Yaú, Executive Director, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) on Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at CITAD, Kano

Members of the press, I welcome you to this press conference on an issue of national importance. This is the issues of technology-assisted gender violence. By technology-assisted gender violence we mean the way in which technology is deployed specifically to harm women and girls, including harassment online, rape, kidnapping and killing facilitated via interaction and use of digital technology. 

Within the past two weeks, we have two very disturbing contents on the internet, both of which degrade and dehumanise women and the individuals involved. The first was a posting of sexual escape of students of Chrisland, Lagos in faraway Dubai which went viral, leading to the suspension of academic activities in the school. The second concerned a lady in Ado-Ekiti who was invited her to a hotel room by her friend who had arranged with his three other friends and not only gang-raped her but also posted the act on the internet. A third case in which a lady was kidnapped for money occurred earlier last month in Abuja when a man the lady befriended on social media invited her to his hotel, only for him and his friends to kidnap her, demanding N50million from her parents as ransom.  There have been many other such cases in which social media friends lured their female friends only to rape them and in some instances, kill them to cover up the crime. 

Cases of young girls falling victims of this technology assisted crime have been on the rise and are contributing negatively to the efforts to address and overcome the gender dimension of the digital divide in the country, which casts women on the negative side of the divide and making it difficult for them to access and make use of the opportunities and benefits digital technology offers for educational advancement, economic empowerment and social inclusion. 

CITAD has for the past five years been engaged in monitoring and countering gender violence online and take this very serious, because we have in an earlier research found that gender-based violence online has been a major factor inhibiting factor for the effective use of digital spaces by girls and women in the country as they have internalised the fear that harmful content online has induced in them. In another research, we found that harmful content online is targeted at female politicians and women in career such as female journalists and academics, with the aim of discouraging them from those spaces, thus furthering their marginalization in those spheres. For example, female politicians are subjected to social media abuse and intimidation and that in many of cases, they were forced to drop out of contesting of elections because of this. In addition, parents and husbands are also using the same excuse to prevent their daughters and wives from using the internet. Unfortunately, in the world we live today, we must all make use of the internet. 

In all these cases, it is the country and society that suffer from this criminal misappropriation of the powers of the internet. As learning, commerce, social interactions and government services move online, it means that those left behind digitally or are unable to access and use the internet, will equally be left behind in those other spheres. Women constitute slightly more than half of the population of the country. As majority of these women are remaining offline as a result of gender violence online and other harmful contents, it means that a large population of Nigerians is left behind. In this situation, Nigeria cannot achieve the sustainable development goals as most of them require effective deployment and use of the internet. Girls are at disadvantage in getting admission to higher education because they have been prevented from learning to use digital skills which are necessary for passing the entrance examinations to the higher institutions in the country. Yet here in the North we complain of lack of sufficient number of female doctors and other health related professionals, even when we deny girls the opportunity to learn digital skills to gain admission to study for medical profession. Women are the majority of citizens who are identity excluded in Nigeria and consequently also financial services excluded, making it difficult for them to access financial services and progress in business. Lack of identity also is inhibiting their ability to exercise their freedom of movement as some important modes of travel cannot convey people without authenticated identity. 

It is for these reason that we at CITAD takes the issue of technology-assisted gender violence online as a serious national problem, that the government has to consider and take necessary means to address it.  We note the recent empanelling of a Committee by the Federal Government to study and propose solutions to ensuring the protection of children online. While we welcome this action, we would like government to also consider and act in the same manner with respect to gender violence online. It is important to reflect that technology-assisted gender violence is pernicious as it is not easily visible, making the victims to suffer doubly as victims of violence and as victims of stigmatization when they report and make their suffering public. This is why victims do not report, allowing themselves to suffer in silence. 

In this respect CITAD will like to call on the federal government as well as state governments to as a matter of national urgency:

1. Set up a panel to study and propose solutions to technology-assisted gender violence, including proposing legislations on how to deal with it. In making this call, we would like to caution against throwing the baby with the bathwater. Government should not use this as an opportunity to inhibiting access to the internet for citizens but rather improve on how citizens are able to access and safely use the internet. 
2. The Federal Government should incorporate safety and privacy online in the computer studies curriculum of secondary schools. In this way, computer studies can then not be just done to get a credit for admission to higher institutions but also to get life skills that will prepare the students for successful emersion into the digital world. While we have made computer studies compulsory at secondary schools, we have not incorporated safety issues in the curriculum. This gaps should be addressed quickly because learning computer studies is not just for passing examinations but to gain skills that are needed to fit into the digital world of today.
3. Lot of the criminal uses of the internet is relating to poor understanding of digital rights. In particular, government itself has not shown proper appreciation of the importance of digital rights. Without a bill of digital rights, the use of the digital space can be counterproductive as we see it now. In this respect, the National Assembly should quickly pass the Digital Rights Bill and the President should sign it.
4. The federal government should also come up with a national digital inclusion agenda that will address the many challenges that inhibit the effective access to and use of the internet. This will contribute greatly in addressing the various dimensions of the internal digital divide in the country. 

By

Sagiru Ado Abubakar

As part of its contribution to support the school system to effectively guide and counsel
students, the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has on Tuesday,
April 19, 22 organized one-day workshop for Guiding and Counseling (G&C) officers of Science
and Technical Schools Board, Kano State. CITAD noted that the world is becoming complex and
advising young people for career prospects and trajectory is no longer easy. This is why career
counseling has to also change, become more heuristic and take into cognizance of the change
in work itself as well as the dynamics of the labor market at both micro and macro levels.
Giving his welcome remarks, Malam Yunusa Ya’u, Executive Director Center for Information
Technology and Development (CITAD) said that there is need guidance and counseling officers
of schools to continually be upgrading their skills in order to cope with the demand of their
tasks. He said that the workshop was organized to achieve the following objectives:
1. To introduce Guiding and Counseling (G&C) Officers to new developments in the area of
guidance and counseling
2. To update their skills and enhance their capacity in advising young students
3. To expose the participants to the use of technology for guidance and counseling that
will help them to carry out their task of guiding students better
The workshop took place at Hall B, CITAD Office, Kano and covered the following topics:
1. Labor Market Dynamics and Career Counseling of Young Students
2. Use of Technology in Career Counseling
3. Nurturing Creativity and Innovation in Young People

4. Pathways to Promoting Reading Culture among Students of Secondary Schools
Malam Kamaluddeen Umar, CITAD Technical Officer, said that his paper will look at some ICT
tools and platforms that can be used for guidance and cancelling for officers and students. He
explained that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become global tools in
solving almost all aspect of human activities in an efficient way, guidance and cancelling is not
left out in leveraging this ICT and its tools. In education sectors, lots of applications and
platforms have been used both by teachers and students to disseminate and acquire knowledge.
Guidance and Counselors Officers can conduct surveys to learn more about what students need
or expect when it comes to educational guidance. A school counselor can distributes surveys to
students at the beginning of the school year to learn how things are going at home, at school,
and with friends. He then gave the following Digital Survey Tools:
 Send surveys, review your results and analyse charts and individual responses seamlessly
across your desktop, tablet, and phone.
 JotForm : online form builder and survey builder that lets you create and fill forms &
surveys for data collection even when you are offline.
 Nearpod: is instructional software that engages students with interactive learning
experiences. With Nearpod, students have the ability to participate in lessons that contain
virtual reality, 3D objects, PhET simulations and so much more. Interactive software
features empower student voice through activities like open ended questions within their
presentations, obtaining real-time data quickly.
While commenting on his paper, participants commented that when talking about technology
especially internet, teachers must seek for consent from both parent and ministry before they
allow their students to use internet. In rural areas where there is no internet connections to
use technology in guidance and counseling does not even arise. That’s the issue of access while
talking about affordability and availability of technological tools is another problem. They
forwarded their aforementioned challenges to the Science and Technical School Board, Kano
State.

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On Tuesday 1st March, 2022 the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) organized a virtual dialogue to deliberate issues around slow uptake of the COVID19 vaccine. The dialogue which took place via the Zoom platform hosted two public health experts-Dr. Hassan Shuaibu Musa, Principal Medical Officer and Lecturer at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi and Dr. Ma’awuya Aliu as speakers, Hon. Jafar Mohammed Zuru, Commissioner, Kebbi State Ministry of Health gave a keynote address while Dr. Mainasara Yakubu Kurfi, the Head, Department of Mass Communications, Bayero University Kano served as moderator. 

The one hour thirty minutes virtual event titled “Discussing COVID19 Vaccine Uptake Series 2.0” began with goodwill message from Hon. Jafar  Muhammed Zuru, Commissioner of Health Kebbi State who was represented by Haruna Abdullahi, Director Immunization and Disease Control in the Ministry, in the message he commended CITAD for organizing the dialogue adding that it is a timely effort as it brought qualified stakeholders to deliberate on the vaccination issue, he urged participants from various states to listen to the speakers with interest and make use of the strategies they will share during the dialogue. 

Hindrances and factors responsible for slow uptake of the vaccine, hesitancy or non acceptance of the vaccine shared by the speakers during the dialogue included the following:

1. Fear of side of adverse effect of the vaccine
2. Healthcare workers vaccine hesitancy 
3. Lack of national policy on vaccine administration
4. Lack of targeted communication strategy 
5. Lack of risk communication assessment mechanism and response strategy 
6. Unavailability of vaccines in some locations 
7. Lack of sufficient credible information on vaccine efficacy 
8. Societal perception on the virus and vaccine
9. Circulation of false narratives on the vaccine on social media 
10. Cultural and traditional beliefs on the vaccine
11. Poor vaccine administration and delivery 
12. Poor public knowledge COVID19 asymptomatic patients  

 It noted was during the dialogue that hesitancy of the vaccine by healthcare workers is heavily and negatively impacting the vaccination exercise, it was also learned that for example in Bauchi state only 11% of the state’s healthcare workers took the vaccine, the concern therefore was how would the public have trust and confidence in the vaccine if healthcare workers are also reluctant to take it? Another issue raised during the dialogue was that many people COVID19 patients are asymptomatic and the public justify their misconception on the virus, for example again in Bauchi state 78% of COVID19 patients were asymptomatic. After intense deliberation on the above areas, questions and comments by the dialogue participants, the speakers recommended the following:

1. Taking the vaccine should be made mandatory for all healthcare workers in order to boost confidence of the public on the vaccine. 
2. States should develop information dissemination and communication strategy to constantly engage the public on the vaccine. By extension it was recommended that live phone-in radio programmes should consistently be aired to provide detailed and sufficient information to listeners in local languages, respond to questions they have as well as use the programme to restrategize the information and communication chain. 
3. There is the need to have a national and state policy on vaccination, the policy should take into cognizance the contexts and peculiarities of different communities. 
4. Vaccination authorities should leverage mass gatherings-social, religious, traditional, etc with COVID19 vaccine.
5. There is the need to amplify positive testimonies on the vaccine particularly testimonies of people the public will believe and trust. 
6. There is the need to have a functional risk communication strategy
7. States should embark on mass campaign on the mainstream media, social media and local or traditional gatherings.   
8. Information and communication approach should target behavioural change

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) invited a former Nigerian diplomat, Ambassador Habu Ibrahim Gwani, to its monthly discussion on leadership and youth development titled ‘Inspiring Leadership Reflection Interactive Series (ILERIS)’.

ILERIS is an initiative of the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) aimed at enriching the lives of young people through mentorship and inspiration.

Accomplished personalities from different backgrounds and professions are invited on monthly basis to speak to the participating youth about their lives, challenges, obstacles, successes, careers, etc with a view to unpacking some hints for the participating youth to copy and apply in order for them to also succeed in their endeavours and careers.

The discussion, which took place in the National Library of Nigeria, Gombe State, on 30th March 2022, was attended by youth and elders, who were opportune to be inspired by Ambassador Gwani through his speech about life experience and struggles, Today Post NG learned.

Ambassador Gwani took the audience back to his early life, from a tender age to studies, his vast years of experience in Nigeria and abroad, and his broad contribution to the community in and outside the country.

He opened up to the youth on the steps to success in life, saying any visionary youth must be focused and determined to make a difference in society.

In his speech, he described the struggles, challenges and rejections he went through before standing where he is today and achieving his goals was just the result.

The main secret of his life, he said, was being honest and trustworthy. Similarly, he attributes his behaviours to having parents who do not tolerate dishonesty and idleness in life.

He also called on the youth to look at his life and build upon their destiny, believing that only “a good boy becomes a good man”.

He also called on the youth to embrace technology in making their daily activities lives more manageable, especially in research and writing.

He finally called for massive writing, lamenting the scarcity of books and writings on the history of Gombe and Nigeria at large.

Confirming Ambassador Gwani’s speech, Professor Saleh Abdu described how he attended the same secondary school as Gwani, saying his life was truly inspiring since then.

After the discussion, the special guest of honour, and the Director of CITAD, President Dr Y Z Ya’u donated many books to the Nigerian Library, Gombe for the benefit of the people of Gombe State.

The Coordinator of the National Library, Gombe and the Host of the event, Mr Abubakar Yakubu received the books and expressed his gratitude to CITAD. He also explained how the library would distribute the books to 26 other National libraries around the country.

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Ugo Aliogo

The Coordinator of Nigerian School of Community Networks(NSCN) Haruna Adamu Hadejia, has called on the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, to ensure full implementation of the draft National Policy on Community Networks.

Hadejia, who disclosed this yesterday in Lagos at a media briefing enjoined the Galaxy Backbone Plc to provide communities with access to its backbone for them to use as their community networks getaways.

He urged the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) to support the upgrading of the many communities’ digital centres they set up in the country to serve as basis of community networks for communities that desirous and passionate to set up such in their communities.

He  appealed to the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) to develop guidelines and regulations for the operation of community networks in the country and to allow communities to access and use TV White Space (TVWS) for the purposes of setting up community networks

He further explained that NITDA needs to work with communities at grassroots level to drive digital literacy which is critical for the effective utilization of digital technology and which is the foundation upon which the digital transformation agenda of the country would rest.

He urged Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to sustain evidence-based advocacy for the establishment of CNs across the country.

Hadejia called on the private sector operators to as, part of their corporate social responsibility to support communities to set up community networks.

According to him, “We call on all other stakeholders, including political office holders to support communities to go digital as critical contribution to community development. We also call on the private sector operators to see community networks as complimentary, but not competitors. Community networks have failed to take roots in Nigeria because we do not have a national policy to guide their emergence and provide a supportive environment for communities to leverage various opportunities to bridge the connectivity gaps.

“Community networks are telecommunication infrastructure designed, deployed and managed by communities to meet their communication need. Globally these community networks are helping many countries such as in Kenya, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico to address the internal dimensions of their digital divide.

“The Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) has said there are 114 communities where GSM signals are either weak or not at all. These are called underserved and unserved communities. These communities could, if there is a policy that would provide clear rules for interconnectivity, frequency and spectrum allocation and use, etc, could mobilize their own resources and create their communication infrastructure to address their need.

“The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has in the last eight months, been engaging the policy makers especially the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, the telecommunication regulators, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other stakeholders in the country such as NITDA, USPF and Galaxy Backbone with the aim of arriving at a consensus on developing a national policy for community networks. They all agreed on its desirability, noting that community networks will help greatly in accelerating efforts of government to address the digital divide and to prime the country to achieve its digital transformation agenda.”

By Rabiu Musa

HOTPEN – The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has presented prizes to winners in the 3rd round of its ‘Report a Project Competition’.

The Centre said the champions were honored to encouraged them continue contributing their best for the sustainable growth and development of the society.

The program, according to the Centre is in support from MacArthur Foundation and is targeted at encouraging students from tertiary institutions to report abandoned or poorly executed projects in their respective communities.

In his remarks, the Executive Director of the Centre Dr. Y.Z Ya’u said the project was in line with the pursuit for a collective action to demand accountability from the government at all levels.

The Executive Director who was represented by the Centre’s Campaigns and Communications Officer, Mal. Ali Sabo explained that the idea is an accelerated step to holding governments accountable for its actions in the spirit of transparency as a critical element of good governance and improving citizens’ livelihood.

The winner of the competition, Mr. Taneem Garga, from Plateau state was presented with a Computer, while the first runner-up Ishaq Abdullahi Shehu from Kano Municipal got Huawei Nova and the second runner-up Ridwan Garba from Gwale local L.G, Kano state was presented with Huawei Y6 Pro.

As part of its continued efforts to contribute to the fight against corruption in Nigeria, the
Centre for Information Technology and Development has instituted a monthly dialogue on anti-
corruption fight in the Nigeria where it is inviting its sub-grantees of its project on Mobilizing
and Catalyzing Citizens’ Action for Accountable Election and Governance in Nigeria which is
being supported by MacArthur Foundation. This month dialogue was held on the 15 th of March,
2022 with Bikiya Graham-Douglas, Singer, Actress and Chief Executive Officer, Beeta
productions, Dr. Tunde Akanni, lecturer, Department of Mass Communications, Lagos State
University and Danlami Nmodu, mni, a veteran journalist and publisher, NewsDiary Online
Based in Abuja, while the webinar was moderated by Clement A. Oloyede, Bureau Chief, Daily
Trust Newspaper, Kano

The aim of the dialogue is to give the sub-grantees under this project an opportunity to
regularly share their work with wider audience in promoting accountability and fighting
corruption in Nigeria. The dialogue is also aimed at giving both the sub-grantees and youth who
have interest in the area an opportunity to discuss and share ideas.
In the previous month, the Centre featured Mustapha Bulama of DailyTrust, Mu’azu Alhaji
Modu of Spotlight for Transparency and Accountability Initiative and Joshua Alabi of KINANSO
Concept while Danladi Lawanti of the Department of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello
University Zaria chaired the Dialogue. While in the January Dialogue, the dialogue hosted
Abubakar Sadiq Mu’azu, Executive Director, Center for Advocacy, Transparency and
Accountability Initiative and Chioma Agwuegbo, Executive Director, TechHerNG and chaired by
Mukhtar Modibbo of Connected Development.
In his welcome remarks at the dialogue, the Executive Director of the Centre for Information
technology and Development who was represented by the Senior Program Officer, Malam
Haruna Adamu reiterated the Centre’s committed to the fight against corruption in the country.
Malam Adamu said CITAD has for many year been in the forefront in the fight against
corruption and building the capacity of other Civil Society Organizations and Community Based
Organizations in this area. He went further to state that the Centre is also conducting other
activities in order to ensure everyone is part of this fight like training young people on using
social media for accountability and engaging students to report abandoned projects in their
communities which is also part of instituting the culture of holding their representatives
accountable in the country.
Sharing her experience at the dialogue, Miss Bikiya said corruption has been embedded in our
system and it’s the number one enemy that is thwarting the development of the country. She
also stated that abuse of public finance system is on the rise in the country. Discussing about

the remedy to the situation, Miss Graham-Douglas said ensuring accountability starts with one
self. In talking about her activities and how they are creating awareness on the area, she
mentioned that from her part, she is using films to enlighten the general public most especially
women about the need to start demanding for accountability from their representatives.
The second speaker at the dialogue, Dr. Tunde Akanni who is conducting research on the level
of corruption at tertiary institutions shared with the participants that the level of corruption in
tertiary institutions is so high to the extent that lecturers and other non-academic staff are
extorting students seeking for admission into the universities. Mr. Akanni also stated that sex
for admission and marks was also complained by some of the students who participated at the
research conducted. To balance the claims made by some of the interviewed students, Dr.
Tunde said during the first validation of the research with some selected staff of some of the
tertiary institutions, it was disclosed that it is of course true students are going through
different kind of extortion ranging from financial to sexual harassment. Lamenting on the
situation, Dr. Akanni mentioned that the major factor contributing to this menace is lack of
strong laws and punishment that will serve as deterrent to other perpetrators or those that
want commit similar offence. At the end, he called on the school authorities, civil society
organizations, media and other relevant agencies to work assiduously in protecting students
more especially female students in the country.
In his contribution, the last speaker at the discussion, Mallam Danlami Nmodu emphasized on
the need for journalists to adhere to the journalistic ethics and best practices. He lamenting
that many of the journalists nowadays are in the habit of extorting and blackmailing people,
given an example with the publisher of Peoples Gazette who was exposed recently on such act.
He went further to state that as watch dog in the society, media practitioners have to be clean
and up hold the best standard of practice in the their work in order to maintain their respect in
the eye of the public.
The webinar was attended by over 20 participants from across the country.

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