The Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has paid a courtesy visit to Alhaji Ahmad Tijjani Abdullahi, the Executive Secretary of Science and Technical Schools Board at headquarters of the board situated in Audu Bako Secretariat complex. Making his remark on the purpose of the visit, leader of CITAD team Malam Ahmad Abdullahi Yakasai said the gesture is to further strengthen the existing relationship between CITAD and the board, adding that it is one of the objectives of CITAD to use ICT in empowering citizens as well as bring sustainable development, that is why the organization always goes to schools and communities and carryout ICT trainings and sensitization in order to ensure that this part of the country catch up with others in terms of ICT awareness as well as entrepreneurship.

CITAD has put in place several initiatives aimed at making people to become ICT-wise, eg the yearly ICT quiz for students of secondary schools in Kano and Jigawa states for the past fifteen years (15) which awards different prizes to students, schools and the teachers, that is to sensitize stakeholders on the need to embrace ICT while at the same time encouraging the students to also have passion for IT, another initiative is LATO, an acronym which stands for ‘Learn And Teach Others’, in this programme schools are asked to forward names of teachers that are IT blind to undergo training during holidays hoping they will transfer the knowledge they acquire back to their students and colleagues. CITAD has also last year lunched a computer learning video produced in Hausa language which was tagged ‘ICT4KIDS’, this is to target the younger ones with computer literacy and those who could speak English but are willing to learn computer. We have recently planned to target students of tertiary institutions with apps development competition, the initiatives are many I can only give some examples, said Malam Ahmad.

In his response, the Executive Secretary of Science and Technical Schools Board, Alhaji Ahmad Tijjani Abdullahi said learning is a continuous process and does not end within the four walls of the class room, while curricular activities take place within the four walls of the class room, extracurricular activities take place outside and that is why NGOs like CITAD support schools with a vital knowledge like ICT. The efforts of CITAD helps a lot in extra curricular activities by organizing quiz competition, debate and so on, this is a way of boosting what has been learnt in the classroom, it is a way also of improving the student standard and enabling them to standout in the crowd. Perhaps no one will know their capacity and ability without organizing such events, as well no one would have known the kind of name Dawakin Tofa Science or Dawakin Kudu Science has made without attending and winning the quiz competition organized yearly by CITAD, although it will show in the future when the students have become doctors, engineers, lawyers etc, then they will be seen as products of those schools.

Science and Technical board has come a long way, it was established in 1977 with two secondary schools but the demand and interest have broaden such that the board now has 43 schools. The advanced countries are what they are because of their technological supremacy; therefore knowledge of ICT has become a must. Science and Technical schools board need knowledge of ICT more than all other schools. The board should be the one to pay a courtesy call to CITAD for what it has to offer to the board, but we are grateful that you are concerned and interested to follow us and doll out the much needed support. The board is always willing to benefit from the operations of CITAD especially in the direction of ‘Learn And Teach Others’. The executive secretary concluded by thanking CITAD for the visit, welcoming proposal from CITAD and enjoining the sustenance of cordial and beneficial relationship with the organization.

Present at the courtesy call were the directors of personnel and management, research and statistics, consultancy, educational support, schools, monitoring, and physical planning alongside Ado Shehu Yakasai, Kabiru Sa’idu Dakata, Hauwa Dauda Attah and Hamza Ibrahim, all of Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD).

The session ended with presentation of some publications of the organization were presented to the Executive Secreatry of the board Alhaji Ahmad Tijjani Abdullahi.

The Center for Information Technology and

Development (CITAD) has paid a

courtesy visit to Alhaji Muhammad Auwal Na’iya,

the Head of Civil Service,

Kano state. Briefing the head of service about

purpose of the visit, leader

of the delegation Mal. Isyaku Garba noted that the

appointment of Alhaji

Muhammad Auwal Na’iya as the civil service boss

is in recognition of his

qualification, performance and contribution to the

civil service as well as

development of Kano state. He said CITAD has

been partnering with Kano

state government especially in the area of quality

service delivery, it has

trained staff of Kano state Bureau of Statistics on

Statistical Package for

Social Services (SPSS) and Census and Survey

Processing System (CS Pro) and

many other important ICT packages.

On his part, the head of civil service expressed his

happiness for the

visit saying he has been following CITAD’s

activities and has personally

known the organization in the last ten years

especially for carrying out

trainings in the area of ICT to various tears of

government. He assured

CITAD of his continued support and collaboration on

trainings and

re-trainings of civil servants adding that the

organization has over the

years built sound records and reputation which can

be proud of anywhere.

Training of civil servants is a priority to us and with

this I’m directing

permanent secretary manpower development to

sustain a collaboration with

CITAD so as to ensure that we explore areas of

interest whereby we can

develop the capacity of civil servants in the state

especially on IT which

is pertinent at present, we need to make sure all

our civil servants are

computer literates, provision has been made in this

year’s budget for

training and part of the areas emphasized is IT

because of its relevance.

On this note, I also would like to link you up with

permanent secretary to

discuss and come up with acceptable proposal to

both parties so that we

conduct relevant training to our teeming staff. I

thank you for the visit

and do hope you maintain the good record you

have, said Alhaji Muhammad

Auwal Na’iya.

Present at the visit are Alhaji Salisu M. Gabasawa

(Permanent Secretary

Establishment), Alhaji Laminu Rabiu (Permanent

Secretary Salary & Wages),

Alhaji Kuliya A. Zubairu (Permanent Secretary

Manpower), Alhaji Abba

Danguguwa (Director Salary and Wages), Alhaji

Musa Tako (Director

Establishment), Alhaji Yakubu Garo (Director

Manpower), and Alhaji Mustapha

Safiyanu Kabuga (Director Admin & General

Services) alongside Ado Shehu

Yakasai, Kabiru Sa’idu Dakata, Hauwa Dauda Attah

and Hamza Ibrahim on CITAD

side.

 

Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), on the 2016 Kano State Appropriation Bill

 

Introduction

We would like to thank this honourable House for being truly representative of the people by holding yet another Public Hearing to get input from the citizens on the budget. While commending the house on this, it will be good if, henceforth, the Assembly should advise the Executive arm to be submitting along the Appropriation Bill, a citizen version that can be made available both as print and online so that citizens could study the budget and make informed inputs to this Honourable House. The lack of Citizens budget has been one of the factors for the low rating of Kano state in the Open Budget Index.

As an NGO that has been working on the Kano State budget in an effort to enlighten the citizens on the need to participate in the budget process  as it is central to the deepening of democracy, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has studied the 2016 Budget speech and come up with the following inputs:

1. General Comments on the Budget: at N274, 824,600,378, this is about N64bllion bigger than last year’s budget. Given the crush in oil revenue, it is obvious an ambitious budget. We hope that government is aware of the danger of creating high expectation that a poor budget performance can fail to deliver. We note in particular that about a quarter of the revenue for the implementation of the budget (N60 billion) is to come from IGR while capital receipts will provide N117, 414,068,309. The estimate for federal accounts at N97, 410,532,069 is appears realistic. The IGR however will require more than systems and discipline to achieve.  It will have to look for all the taxable sources and efficient collection. We have no doubt that the government is aware of this and in fact has set up the necessary machinery to do so. However, it is most known that commerce in Kano is dominated by small scale players who can easily be destabilized by tax burden. In determining the threshold for taxation, government must be aware of this and must engage in consultations with all stakeholders to and the appropriate regime of taxation that will not place a budget on the poor but cannot be able to general the level of revenue that the state hopes to raise. In all we think that the budget size is too ambitious and can benefit from a reduction.
2. The budget makes a favourable provision for capital expenditure, constituting about 69.7% of the budget. This is commendable. We hope that government will put in place, machinery to ensure that there is no leakage in the capital expenditure side of the budget because corruption has always been the major factor that undermines the delivery of and promises of capital budget in the country.

 

1. Education: We have looked at the budget for education. In the last couple of years Kano State, especially within the context of Northern Nigeria has done remarkably well in the sector. However, it is still to catch up with states in the south. Also it has not achieved the minimum of all the MDG targets in the education sector. This means that a lot still remain to be done. Given this, we would like to call for a review of the allocation to education from the current level of only 8.605% to the minimum of 26% as recommended by UNESCO. This enhanced allocation should go in expanding infrastructure at both primary and secondary schools levels, and consolidating the feeding program. In our work at Sumaila, Garun Mallam and Dawakin Tofa, we have monitored pupils’ attendance in primary and secondary schools in the last three months and found that each time there was interruption in the schools feeding there is a drop in school attendance. For example, in Tukuda Primary School in Sumaila LG, a class that has 57 students on register, attendance during feeding period was on average of 30 but when feeding was interrupted in week 3, it dropped to 19 and then rose to 30 again in week 5 when feeding resumed. Also there should be recruitment of more qualified teachers at both primary and secondary school level. The provision laboratory equipment and computers in schools should be given priority. Kano State needs to make a statement by declaring itself ready for the full implementation of the new curriculum in schools which makes computer studies compulsory by ensuring that it has adequate ICT facilities in all its schools. We cannot hope to make progress and indeed catch up in this information era when our children lag behind in the use of tools that enhance learning.  We also call on the government to provide needed facilities for the People with Special Needs in the primary and secondary schools, so that our education system can be all inclusive.

 

With respect to the provision of computers in school, we note that this has so far concentrated in schools in Kano Metropolitan areas. Some of the schools have what can be considered as excess while majority of the schools have nothing. There is need to look at this. Also in some schools these facilities are lying idle, underutilized or even unutilized. The House Committee on Education will need to interface with the Ministry of Education to address these problems.

 

1. Health: like education, the allocation to health (at N13.7billion, 4.98%) falls short of the World Health Organization recommendation of 15% of the budget. Kano State has one of the high rates of both maternal and infant mortality. It also has high ration of patients to medical staff. We note the provision for the completion of pediatric hospital at zoo road and completion of the Giginyu General Hospital. When these are completed and adequately staffed, they will contribute in reducing the congestion and the high patients to medical staff ratios. We would like to advise that the budget should incorporate provisions for the reactivation and revitalization of Community health committees which should be charged with the supervision, management and general upkeep of local health facilities, this way government will find that there is an effective supervision of healthcare facilities that the Ministry cannot provide. By partnering with the communities, government can reduce overhaul cost and make it easier for communities to also support the government. We recommend the upgrade of the allocation generally to the WHO level.

 

1. Agriculture: while Kano is associated with commerce, a large percentage of Kano State population is engaged in farming, often at subsistence level. The State has arable and fertile land that can make it a food basket in the country. Given the need to diversify the economy nationally, the State government should take queue from that and also revitalize its agricultural sector to not only provide for food security but also become a source of both jobs and wealth for the state in particular and the country in general.  We note that current allocation to the sector which is N7.5billion (2.73%) falls short of the Maputo Declaration which commits states to providing 10% of their budgets to agriculture. We feel that the strategies of the government need to be reviewed and there should be internal re-assignation of costs to ensure that agriculture is revitalized and become a source of both wealth and food for the state and its citizens. To this end, government needs to focus not only on supporting the production activities, but also processing and marketing of the produce. This way government will help in adding value to agricultural products that wealth can come from agriculture. Right now much of the produce of farmers is wasted due to lack of processing facilities and relevant storage facilities.
2. Infrastructure Development, many new projects are proposed. We are happy that the Governor wants to celebrate the infrastructural development of the state. However, we caution that there is need to complete existing ongoing infrastructural projects before embarking on new ones so that we do not end up with many abandoned projects which have been the bane of infrastructure development in the country. Countries that have developed the world have done that through the progressively adding up and grading existing infrastructure. Sustained growth and upgrade of infrastructure does not come from a history of new burst of projects each year. There are many items in the infrastructure section that are not clear. A number of road constructions listed as completed are actually not completed. A number of projects appeared to be regular list that appear in every budget for the last couple of years. There is a need for the Assembly to have a proper audit of the various constructions ongoing in the state and evaluate them in the light of the current budget proposal.
3. Youth, Insecurity  and Unemployment: While we think that there is need to improve access to justice by bringing courts close to the people, thus understand and in fact applaud the decision to build more courts, we nevertheless, note that this did not respond to the very reason why the government made the proposal. The Governor in the budget speech says the Government is committed to building the courts “mindful of the security challenges facing the state and the country at large”. We believe that the budget does not give due consideration to security challenges in the state and the country in general. It is our view there that some concrete proposals have to be provided in the budget. This can be done by looking at the drivers of insecurity in the state. Kano State has today one of the highest rates of youth unemployment, in fact in absolute number of unemployed, Kano State is number one. Kano State is also reported to be top on the table of drug addiction. Both unemployment and drug addiction (which are in related) are the major sources of insecurity. Government should therefore do more in the area of youth empowerment and rehabilitation. To this end, we suggest that the budget for the ministry of information, etc., and especially the allocation due to Youth Development Directorate and Kano State Sports Council should be raised up. This however should be done with clear strategies of providing youth with business development services and support for them to set up their businesses, we also believe this should not be focused on the traditional business models such as providing poultry kits or other such similar things. It has to be in the new business sectors that produce services and goods where the market is there and sustainable for new entrants. While making the case for Kano State Sports Council, we add that the Council should not just see sports as participation in only national and foreign competitions but must generate enthusiasm for youth to engage in neighborhood sports. This will not only serve as recreation and for the healthy development of the body but also take away youth from drugs and other social vices. To this end, the Council should consider developing neighborhood sporting facilities in strategic places with its enhanced budget allocation. There is also the need to build more reformatory institutes and embark on campaign against drug abuse to rehabilitate youth on drug and make their lives more meaningful.  

In addition, we suggest that fighting crime and insecurity must leverage technology. The state is advised to provide CCTV Cameras in some strategic locations to help improve security. This is not captured in the budget but the Assembly can work with the relevant agencies of the executive to find ways to do so.

1. Women Affairs: Women constitutes about 50% of the population in the state but they constitute more than 70% of the absolutely poor. They are economically and educationally the most disempowered. Because of these they are also excluded from most decision making processes in the society. Responding to the enormous challenges that women face In the society would require government making huge investment in women empowerment. The proposed allocation of N937million is inadequate to meet these challenges.  
2. Leventis Foundation: Mr Speaker Sir, and Hon Members we would like you to seek for clarification because reactivation of Leventis Foundation appeared twice in the budget. It is under agriculture as well under Women Development. While it is a laudable scheme, you need to make sure that there is no duplication.
3. Public Procurement Law: We like to end by drawing your attention to the concluding remarks of the Governor to this honourable House. He said “Along this line, the Government is in the process of promulgating Public Procurement Act that will ensure transparency, accountability and value for money in the running of our administration”. We welcome this commitment. We urge the House to place this immediately in its legislative calendar. We pledge to support the House with analysis and technical support on the Bill and we also like to call on the Governor to consider sending the Bill to this effect in the next few days

 

The Job Placement and Information Service (JOPIS) unit of the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) conducts a one day workshop for final year students of Agricultural Education, Federal College Education (FCE) Kano, on Enterpreneurship and Employment opportunities and Job Interview Techniques. The capacity building is meant to introduce them into the concept of idea generation, enterpreneurship support, opportunities, job vacancies, job interview techniques, CV development etc

It is a common practice that after graduating from universities, polytechnics, colleges of educations and other tertiary institutions, students wait for governments and organizations to provide jobs to them, and that is not helping the economy. Youths need professional coaching on how they can become entrepreneurs through making use of unlimited talents and opportunities around them, if that is encouraged, the burden on government will be drastically reduced.

Moreover, there are thousands of initiatives by foundations, institutions, individuals and governments aimed at providing startup support to people with sound entrepreneurial ideas, but our youth either don’t know or know very little about these supports. The processes of securing the financial support sometimes looks complicated to them as well.

Another problem with our unemployed youth occurs on their first or second (because sometimes CV precedes interview) encounter with their employers, that is during the interview. Most of them have no idea about the right approach of attending job interviews and emerging successful. It goes beyond knowing the answers to questions asked but more importantly is mastering the whole tricks.

Noticing these and some other vital problems are what gave courage to Job Placement and Information Service of the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) to come up with the idea of organizing entrepreneurship and employment opportunities workshop in order to equip the youths with knowledge of becoming self reliant through entrepreneurship as well as passing job interviews.

Presentations on idea generation, sources of getting entrepreneurial support, employment opportunities, CV development and interview techniques were made by three facilitators, and the participants have expressed their eagerness of coming up with various entrepreneurial ideas.

An assessment conducted during the workshop shows that government initiatives are filled up with irregularities and corruption, and that is another reason why some youths feel reluctant to subscribe to them. JOPIS will continuously be conducting workshop in these areas in order to ensure a productive society.

Background

The reconstruction of North east requires a multifaceted approach taking into consideration the various sectors. One of the sectors that require immediate attention is education. Schools have been destroyed as a result of which many children are out of school. Teachers have been killed while populations have suffered dislocations that have disrupted the educational pursuits of their children and young people. Insecurity has made parents to be reluctant to allow their children to return schools that appear to not be secured. All these have combined to make education in the region to be in a perilous state. Given that the region was already lagging behind and in fact this was one of the causative factors for the wide recruitment base of the insurgents, the challenges of restoration of the education sector in the North east are enormous.

Kick starting these restoration efforts will be most effective when there is clear understanding of the state of the sector as it exists now. This is why the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) with support from USAID commissioned a Baseline Research on the State of the Education in the Northeast. The objective of the research was to document the current state of education in the region through the gathering and analysis of empirical data that will facilitate a better understanding of both the development challenges of the region as well as the core issues of social accountability that are implicated in the poor state of education in the region.

The research covered the all the six states of the region and examined the situation in the last five years to the present, focusing on primary and secondary sub-sectors.  The draft reports are now ready.  To engage stakeholders over the reports, CITAD has conducted presentation of the individual reports in the respective states between 23rd and 27th November, 2015, where all major stakeholders including representatives from state education ministry, committee house of education from the state assembly, SUBEB, P.T.A., NUT, NLC, CSOs, etc. were in attendance. The major objective of the state level presentation was to allow the stakeholders validate the findings and provide more inputs that can help the researchers improve the quality of the report ahead of the grand zonal presentation of the reports of the all six states scheduled to hold on the 16th of December, 2015 in Abuja.

Some of the common recommendations found in all the states include: 

 

* The need for state governments to increase budget allocation to education sector to meet the recommended 26%

 

* The need to recruit qualified teachers, and provide incentive for rural posting 

 

* The need for CSOs to improve public awareness to increase enrollment level

 

* The need for CSOs and general public to do more in the area of budget tracking and project monitoring  

 

Outcomes

 

* Some of the CSOs that participated have indicated interest in becoming cluster members to contribute to the success of the project

 

* The MD Globe FM in Bauchi has invited CITAD to have one hour radio discussion on the project free of charge, and promised to partner with CITAD in the area of public awareness for the success of the project

 

Commitment 

 

* Chairman House Committee on Education of the Yobe state house of Assembly promised said the report came at a right time and they will not waste time in implementing the recommendations. 

 

*Most of the stakeholders, especially from the side of the policymakers received the report as a wakeup call to act more seriously

As part of it’s effort to promote peace the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD). Has established Peace club in kano state secondary,amongthe schools GGSS HAUSAWA Peace Club invited CITAD to their programme the programme held at GGSS HAUSAWA on the 4/12/2015. the programme which was the innovation of the peace club. Among the innovation the students Sang a peace song and also organized Drama Title Peace and Unity in Nigeria. As part of our success story the Principal Hajiya Sadiya Muhammad attended the programme and she made a comment by saying the Club have been performing excellently in the school because the club members have been promoting Peace Campaign massively in the school within the students. Lastly she call the attention of the students to join peace club and she finally thank CITAD for their innovation she prayer for the Organization.

The natural effect of entrepreneurship is to bring peace. That is why the Public Lecture to celebrate this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2015 organized by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) was themed ‘Entrepreneurship for Peace ‘. The theme was clearly demonstrated at the beginning of the lecture by the students of our peace clubs that raised flip cards bearing the theme. The lecture took place on Thursday 19th November, 2015 at Rumfa Collage, Kano and it was part of the activities organized by the Centre to celebrate the week.
Earlier, a radio program was conducted on the popular Freedom Radio Program Barka Da Hantsi to sensitize the general public about entrepreneurship in Kano State. Because the whole idea of entrepreneurship is to be self reliant and to even employ others as you cannot work alone. That brought the effort of CITAD to engage in promoting entrepreneurship issues in the state and the country in order to reduce unemployment rate at all level especially among the youth.
The lecture was attended by about 300 participants from the secondary schools, tertiary institutions and the general public. Alh. Abdullahi Nashe, Managing Director Mediwat Institute of Information Technology chaired the occasion. In his remark, he stated that Initiatives, determination, patience, and capital are the most significant components parts of establishing successful entrepreneurship. He also emphasized that entrepreneurship must start from somewhere and usually it starts small and metamorphoses into something big, most of the big names in business today have to pass through this pattern. He cited example with Mediwat Institute of Information Technology starting at humble point, the pressure and obstacle it surmount, and its ability to attain remarkable success in the area of ICT. While recommending the organizers effort, Alhaji Abdullahi Nashe said he has been a friend to CITAD for a long time and has offered assistance needed from him and pledged to continue on the same path. He urged the participants of the event especially the entrepreneurs to put into practice what they have learnt from this lecture.
Malam Kamilu Isa Ahmad of CITAD, the Program Assistant Entrepreneurship and who is coordinating the activities of peace clubs in secondary schools briefed the participants about the activities of peace clubs. He said that as at now, CITAD has established 17 peace clubs in secondary schools in Kano. The objectives of this clubs is to raise the awareness of students about the importance of peace in the society, exposing the students to various peace building tools and to serve as leadership training platform for the students.
Three presentations were made at the lecture. The first presentation was made by Hajiya Maimuna Abubakar, Managing Director Glamour Fashion Design. Hajiya Maimuna said as an entrepreneur, you have to know what people want before you start a business. I realized that during my free time that’s why since I was a secondary school student I always picked up a pen and paper and create designs. She then motivated the students to be innovative and seek the support of their elders. With these we can go far. She said.
The second presentation was made by Sufyan Lawan Kabo, Executive Director Digital Film Base. He made his presentation on Entrepreneurship Opportunities in ICT. Sufyan emphasized that ICT is a principal driver for economic change worldwide. ICT entrepreneurship is very important because it is widespread and always makes a difference in any business. The third presentation was made by Fatima Ibrahim on Entrepreneurship Opportunities for Women. She mentioned that Entrepreneurship starts from an idea and said that every big business starts from small. She gave examples of some businesses that students can start at secondary school age like soap making, beads making, and makeup artists that need low capitals. Abukakar Yusuf Auyo who benefited from Tony Elumelu Foundation Grand made the last presentation. He shared his experience on how he benefited from the grand of the foundation. He lastly urged the participants to be innovative so that they can try their luck.
Malam Ahmad Abdullahi Yakasai who represented the Executive Director Center of Information Technology (CITAD) made the vote of thanks. He thanked the almighty Allah for enabling us to witness this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week Lecture. He thanked the representative of His Excellency Deputy Governor of Kano State and who is the Honorable Commissioner Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Kano State. He thanked the Chairman of the occasion for chairing the sitting, he then thanked the special guests of honors for honoring our invitations despite their tight schedules in their offices. He also thanked the representatives of the media houses and the general public.

INTRODUCTION

The need to govern the Net is increasingly becoming a necessity which brings about the now emerging global and local concerted efforts by cyber stakeholders to properly govern the web. Therefore, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), a nonprofit organization in conjunction with the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) held the first ever Internet Governance Forum ((IGF) in the North West geopolitical zone in Kano on Tuesday, November 3, 2015.

The event which took place at the Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Research and Training had as participants various stakeholders in internet governance including internet regulators, academics, cyber enthusiasts as well as members of the civil society and the media.

OPENING REMARKS

In his opening remarks, YZ Yau, the Executive Director of the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) said the idea behind the forum was to create awareness as well build the capacity of citizens in the area of Internet governance. He described the internet as now a critical resource which hosts some of the most important services for our growth and development, hence the need to properly govern it.

PAPER 1: UNDERSTANDING INTERNET GOVERNANCE

While Delivering the paper Understanding Internet Governance, Dr Bashir Galadanchi of the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Bayero University, Kano defined internet governance as “the development and application by governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programs that shape the evolution and use of the Internet.”

He added that our lives today are more or less, dependent on the Internet infrastructure since communication networks, entertainment channels, financial transactions and most importantly free access to information depends on the internet.

Dr Galadanchi said everyone could contribute by finding out what’s at stake in terms of government policies and joining in on the debate. He described the internet as the most important infrastructure today, which is not only being used for countless day to day activities but also which plays an influential role in the evolution of our society, therefore urged citizens to speak up and participate in  internet governance discussions.

PAPER 2: NATIONAL AND WEST AFRICAN REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON INTERNET GOVERNANCE

In her paper titled National and West African Regional Perspectives on Internet Governance, Mrs Mary Uduma, chairperson, Nigeria Internet Governance Forum said whereas the dialogue on Internet Governance in Africa had been on since 2002, it was until 2012 that the first multi-stakeholder meeting on Internet Governance issues called Africa IGF (AfIGF) began.

She said the IG process started in Nigeria in 2006 and it was spearheaded by the government adding that the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) was reconvened as a multi-stakeholder initiative in 2012.

She explained that the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum was driven by a group of individuals representing various institutions and sectors under the name Local Multistakeholder Advisory Group (LMAG) adding that the NIGF, as a multi-stakeholder entity, amongst others, consisted of various stakeholders including NCC, NITDA, and NIRA, whose collaboration, she said, was fully endorsed by the government through the Ministry of Communication Technology (FMCT)

She said the theme for Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) in 2015 was Harnessing the Potentials of Internet Governance for Sustainable Development in Nigeria adding that the contributions and input from the forums were presented to the government and other policy making organisations – to help ensure that the recommendations made were considered and possibly implemented.

Uduma said outcomes of such forums were usually also sent to the Global and African IGF secretariat which she said gives them “a clearer picture of the happenings within the Nigerian IG system.”

PAPER 3: INTERNET GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA: NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION’S PERSPECTIVE

In his presentation, Internet Governance in Nigeria: Nigerian Communications Commission’s Perspective by Prof UG Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) described Internet Governance as Development and application of Shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programs By Government, Private sector, Civil Society, Academia, etc. that shape the evolution and the use of the Internet.

He gave a brief background of the efforts by cyber stakeholders in Nigeria in organizing the annual Internet Governance Forums (IGFs) in Nigeria beginning from the first ever NIGF hosted jointly by MCT, NCC, NITDA, and NiRA, among other stakeholders held in Abuja (2012) under the theme: Internet Governance for Sustainable Human, Economic and Social Development.

Prof Danbatta spoke on the benefits of the child online policies and advocacy which he said promotes and provides strategies for protection of vulnerable audiences; creates awareness on benefits and dangers of internet use as well as facilitates improved consumer online experience.

PAPER 5: GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVES ON INTERNET GOVERNANCE

Delivering the paper Government Perspectives on Internet Governance, Emmanuel Edet, who represented the Director General of the Nigeria Information Technology and Development Agency (NITDA) at the Forum said the primary function of any government was to ensure the safety and security of its citizens as well as provide the foundation for economic growth and comfort after meeting their basic necessities of life adding that the interest of the government in the Internet Governance space was not different from this.

He said the stability of the internet was a paramount consideration of the government adding that they recognized that the Internet was now a critical resource which hosts some of the most important services for Nigeria’s growth and development as a country.

He stated that security and privacy are issues which were critical in the use of the internet adding that this must be given adequate and serious consideration since both groups and nations were using cyberspace as the new realm for crimes, terrorism and warfare.

Among others, Edet identified as the way forward the need to encourage the Nigerian technical and academic community to participate in the international intergovernmental organization that set technical standards for the internet; the need to support innovations on the internet through schemes like the Incubation Centres and Demo Africa Projects of NITDA as well as the need to promote access to the internet through encouraging development of infrastructure and considerable reduction in the cost of access to the internet.

PAPER 5: SECURING YOUR DATA & PRIVACY ON THE NET

In his presentation, Reverend Sunday Folayan, said in the past, security threats spread relatively slowly and were easy to pinpoint, eradicate as well as contain but now with the “Internet of Everything”, threats have reached unparalleled level of complexity.

He said therefore said data security and privacy on the net must not be ignored adding that protection of information must be top priority for individuals, organizations and the government.  He explained that high profile incidents had exposed vulnerabilities in government, educational facilities and corporate organizations.

Like other countries of the world, he said Nigeria also had “The Cybercrime Act 2015” to protect its citizens and address some of the cybercrime issues adding that security data protection and information security should be a priority.  He then urged businesses to overcome data and privacy hurdles and companies to address crucial issues around ownership to be able to capitalize on the benefits of a connected future.

RECOMMENDATIONS/CLOSING REMARKS

At the end of the Forum, the floor was made open to participants who asked various questions as well as made observations, comments and recommendations which were contained in a communiqué of the Forum. In his closing remarks, Executive Director of CITAD, Mr YZ Yau thanked all participants at the forum for their active participation and assured them that their various recommendations would a be taken to the forthcoming global internet governance forum scheduled for 10th  to 14th November in Brazil.

 

Preamble

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in conjunction with the Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) hosted a one-day Internet Governance Forum (IGF) for the North West geopolitical zone at the Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Research and Training (AKCRT) Kano. The event which held on November 3, 2015 had in attendance various stakeholders in internet governance including regulators, government representatives, academics, the civil society and the media.

Some of the papers presented at the Forum included Understanding Internet Governance by Dr Bashir Galadanchi, Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, Bayero University, Kano; National and West African Regional Perspectives on Internet Governance by Mrs Mary Uduma, chairperson, Nigeria Internet Governance Forum as well as  Data Protection and Privacy Online: the Perspectives of a Regulator by Prof UG Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission; as well as Securing Your Data and Privacy on the Net by Mr Sunday Folayan and Government Perspectives on Internet Governance  by Mr. Peter Jack, Director General, NITDA, Abuja

In the sense that it goes beyond borders, for affordable ICT, there is going to be a global internet governance forum in Brazil, in 10 days’ time, Forum will look at producing resolutions that will be presented by Nigeria’s delegation at the global internet governance forum as the country’s stand

Observations

The following observations were made at the Forum;

• All governments have a role and responsibility to partake in international internet governance and to ensure the stability, security and continuity of the internet
• National governments also have a responsibility to develop public policies in consultation with all stakeholders.
• Within their borders, national governments can enforce internet related policies such as prohibiting online gambling, protecting intellectual property, or blocking/filtering access to certain content.
• Airlines, container ships, power grids, telecommunication networks, governance, military action are all becoming increasingly dependent on a stable, secure and open global Internet
• The Internet is now a critical resource which hosts some of the most important services for our growth and development
• Our communication networks, entertainment channels, financial transactions and most importantly free access to information depend on the internet.
• The Internet is considered the most important infrastructure today, it is not only being used for countless day-to-day activities, we depend on it, and it plays an influential role in the evolution of our society
• The internet is both a technological advancement with much promise and a challenge that must be handled with great care by national governments
• Some countries have put in place laws to protect their citizens’ data and privacy while some countries are still  in the process of putting finishing touches to theirs
• The North West Zone Internet Governance Forum is the first ever Forum on Internet governance as a platform for learning and cultural expression
• Internet governance is becoming increasingly important for all stakeholders involved, we need inclusive platform for everybody,
• Internet has a very huge influence over national security and economy of countries in the world therefore it needs to be handle with great care
• African’s participation in global internet governance forums is less than 10%
• Africa’s voice need to be heard in global internet governance forums
• There is a lack of awareness on how to actively participate in internet governance forums by internet users
• It is difficult to develop internet governance forums because of the complexity of the internet in the sense that different societies and governments have different views about the internet  due to conflicts of the interests
• Everyone can join the internet governance debate by finding out what is going on regarding internet governance
• Internet and internet governance is an ever evolving phenomenon in the world
• Groups and nations are using cyberspace as the new realm for crimes, terrorism and warfare

Recommendations

The following recommendations were made at the Forum;

• There is need for more awareness so people can understand why they should be involved in the dialogue on internet governance
• There is need for ICT training institutes to include in their curricula, internet security, beyond teaching ICT tools and skills
• There is need for everyone to leverage on ICT opportunities for development      
• There is need for the internet to be regulated
• There is need for standard and networks that will allow for accessibility between different networks
• –  All governments have responsibility to develop internet-related policies in   partnership with all internet stakeholders and internet users

        – There is need for internet governance policies to also include consumer protection policies for internet users like internet shoppers

       –  Africa should not just attend internet governance forums rather should be active participants in global internet forums

– Security and privacy are issues which are critical in the use of the Internet and therefore must be given adequate and serious consideration

– There is need for child protection policy and advocacy online against internet-based vices like pornography, abuse, suicide and terrorism

– The internet should be regulated to be in accordance with our cultural values and traditions

– There is need for a deliberate policy or mechanism (or review of related existing ones) that will specifically focus on protection of citizens’ data and privacy

– There is need for an inter-agency multi-stakeholder working group that will ensure various views and opinions are taken into consideration in the development of the necessary framework for data protection

– Data aggregation and harmonization should be ensured and the process of harmonization should clearly define what is considered a personal data

 – There is need the review and passage of internet governance instruments like the National Information Technology Policy and the National Data Protection Bill

 – The technical and academic community needs to be encouraged to participate in international intergovernmental organization that set technical standards for the Internet

– There is need to support innovations on the internet through schemes like the Incubation Centers and Demo Africa Projects of the National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA)

– There is need to promote access to the Internet through encouraging development of infrastructure and considerable reduction in the cost of access to the Internet

– There is need to encourage the provision of local content through Public Private Partnerships in application developments

– There is need to continue to encourage participation in international, regional and national discussions on Internet governance while encouraging all actors to develop their capacities

–  There is need for capacity development in the area of Internet Governance for the citizens

– There is need for the telecommunication regulator; Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to do something about the high cost of bandwidth to enable everyone have access to the net

–  There is need for development grants to be made available for civil society organizations to partake in sensitization campaigns and capacity building on internet governance among Nigerian citizens

On October, 22, 2015, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) Kano, with support from the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Program (NSRP), hosted the fourth of a series of media sensitization program on hate and dangerous speech workshop for journalists. This one was for journalists from the South South geopolitical zone, held in Port Harcourt.

The event which was held at the Social Development Integrated Centre in Port Harcourt was attended by journalists from various print, electronic as well as online media platforms, members of the Rivers state executive council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists as well a representative of the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Program’s Port Harcourt regional office.

The event had in attendance journalists from about 40 media organizations including the Tide newspaper, Leadership, Radio Rivers, amongst others.

Opening Remarks

In his welcome remarks, Adam Alqali, CITAD’s Media & Communication Associate introduced the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) to the participants describing the organization as a capacity building civil society organization whose activities covers research, advocacy, training as well as publicity in all areas of ICT.

He added that CITAD’s activities cut across various thematic areas including governance, entrepreneurship, ICT for development, community support services as well as peace campaigns, under which the hate speech monitoring and countering project falls. He stated that the project which started in January 2015 with the support of the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Program (NSRP) and MacArthur Foundation had a monitoring platform that monitors activities on Nigeria’s social media landscape (24 hours/ 7days) including in local languages.

1st Presentation: Understanding Dangerous and Hate Speech

In his presentation, Understanding Dangerous and Hate Speech, Abdulganiyu Rufai, CITAD’s program officer in charge of peace projects described the social media, which is a means of communication that is open to everyone, as purveyors of problems. He said the social media as a platform had security implications including being used for spreading hate and dangerous speech; being used by those recruiting youth into violent engagements; as well as its being used for identity theft and impersonation to cause confusion and defraud people

Speaking on the Benesch framework of identifying hate and dangerous speech he said the 5 factors for identifying hate speech were: the speaker and his/her influence over a given audience; a receptive audience subject to incitement by speaker; speech content understood as a call to violence; social and historical context of the speech; as well as medium of disseminating speech, including language.

He added that over the last three years, CITAD has been involved in working on social media on three different themes including social media for peace campaign; monitoring and countering of hate speech; as well as developing of cattle rustling tracking information system (catris)

2nd Presentation: Monitoring Hate Speech – A Synopsis of the Result

DISCUSSION

Omoni Ayo-Tamuno, Chairman, Rivers NUJ

While opening the discussion session, Omoni Ayo-Tamuno, the chairman of the Rivers State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, who was represented by his vice chairperson, Ms Uche Abah said the NUJ was happy with the hate speech monitoring and countering initiative calling on journalists to be cautious of what they say on air/ publish and ensure they caution their guests on TV/ radio programs against disseminating hate and dangerous speeches on their media platforms.

COMMUNIQUE

At the end of the program the following resolutions were made by participants at the media sensitization program;

Observations

• Journalists tend to use their media platforms to promote their own opinions instead of being impartial to issues which are against the ethics of the journalism profession.
• Some TV/radio programs presenters have tendencies for trying to influence their guests into speaking in favour of their own personal opinions which is unethical.
• Journalists’ reporting are being influenced by their biases hence the tendency to spread hate and dangerous speeches on traditional media platforms.
• Journalists seem to underestimate the powerful influence of the media in inciting the people hence the tendency to disseminate hate and dangerous speech
• Journalists are not equipped with conflict sensitive communication skills  which is  also responsible for hate and dangerous speech in the media

Recommendations:

• Journalists should avoid publishing/broadcasting information that are libelous or seditious
• Journalists’ reporting activities should always be guided by responsibilities to their societies, media owners and personal integrity.
• Journalists must always adhere to the principles of responsible and ethical journalism to be able to avoid the dissemination of hate and dangerous speech
• Journalists should always be conscious of the culture of the people of their host communities so they don’t broadcast/publish what may be misinterpreted by their audience.
• CITAD and the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation  Program (NSRP) should organize more such sensitization programs to keep media stakeholders on their toes
• Journalists should always be careful when it comes to their choice of words; they should know the types of words they use; how and when they use them.
• Journalists should not align themselves with the interests of their employers (media owners) when it is again the interest of the society.
• Journalists should not always be bugged by the fear of losing their jobs which makes it difficult for them to avoid broadcasting/ publishing hate and dangerous speech on the order of their employers as they will always get other opportunities when sacked.
• Journalists should always apply common sense in their reportorial jobs by investigating and balancing stories before airing/publishing them.
• Journalists should always be apolitical by being impartial about issues
• Radio and TV presenters should regularly invite experts for discussions on hate and dangerous speech on their media platforms.
• NUJ should join the campaign against hate and dangerous speech dissemination in the media
• Journalists should form media coalitions against hate and dangerous speech so as to be the ones campaigning against it themselves.

On October, 20, 2015, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) Kano, with support from the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Program (NSRP), hosted a one-day media sensitization program on hate and dangerous speech with journalists and other media stakeholders form the South West geopolitical zone in Lagos.

The event which was held at the International Press Centre (IPC) in Ogba, Ikeja was attended by amongst others, the director of the International Press Centre, chairman Lagos State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ); the regional director (Lagos) of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); as well as the deputy program manager of the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Program (NSRP).

The event had in attendance journalists from over 40 media organizations including Thisday, Guardian, Vanguard, Radio Nigeria, Leadership, and TV Continental, amongst others.

 

1st Presentation: Understanding Dangerous and Hate Speech

In his presentation, Understanding Dangerous and Hate Speech, Abdulganiyu Rufai, CITAD’s program officer in charge of peace projects described the social media, which is a means of communication that is open to everyone, as purveyors of problems. He said the social media as a platform had security implications including being used for spreading hate and dangerous speech; being used by those recruiting youth into violent engagements; as well as its being used for identity theft and impersonation to cause confusion and defraud people

Speaking on the Benesch framework of identifying hate and dangerous speech he said the 5 factors for identifying hate speech were: the speaker and his/her influence over a given audience; a receptive audience subject to incitement by speaker; speech content understood as a call to violence; social and historical context of the speech; as well as medium of disseminating speech, including language.

He added that over the last three years, CITAD has been involved in working on social media on three different themes including social media for peace campaign; monitoring and countering of hate speech; as well as developing of cattle rustling tracking information system (catris)

 

2nd Presentation: Hate Speech and Media Reporting

Speaking on Hate Speech and Media Monitoring, Dr Akintunde Akanni of the Department of Journalism at Lagos State University said although Nigeria’s constitution allows for free speech and the country was signatory to various international instruments on free speech, there was need for a clear line to be drawn between free speech as well as hate and dangerous speech. He called on journalists to always be conflict sensitive in their reporting and always carry out rigorous research before publishing/ broadcasting any information.

 

 

DISCUSSION

Lanre Arogundade, IPC

Speaking during the discussion session, Lanre Arogundade, the director of the International Press Centre, IPC, urged presenters of TV/ radio programs to always get in touch with law enforcement agents, media regulators to counter hate/ dangerous speeches aired on their programs. He called on CITAD to extend its monitoring of hate and dangerous speeches from social media platforms to traditional media platforms particularly vernacular radio and TV stations as well as publications.

 

Mrs Bunmi Cole, NBC

In her comments, Mrs Bunmi Cole, the Lagos regional director of the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) called on journalists to adhere to the principles of responsible journalism and abide by the guidelines of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code (NBC) which was put together by broadcasting stakeholders in Nigeria. She stated that the Nigeria Broadcasting Code was being reviewed adding that all radio and TV programs in Nigeria must adhere to the principles of quality broadcasting enshrined in it, which she said was also the primary mandate of the NBC.

 

‘Deji Elumuye, NUJ

In his comment, the chairman of the Lagos State council of the Nigeria Union Journalists (NUJ) Mr ‘Deji Elumuye called on journalists to always imbibe the principles and ethics of their profession by avoiding the dissemination of hate and dangerous speech on their radio and TV programs as well as publications. He spoke on his Council’s effort towards ensuring better welfare packages for journalists working for different media organizations in Lagos State to enhance professionalism in their work.

 

Priscilla Ankut, NSRP

While delivering the closing remarks, Ms Priscilla Ankut, the deputy programme manager of the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Program (NSRP) thanked everyone for their participation in the program describing the discussions as “frank and enthusiastic” adding that NSRP looked forward to further engagements regarding countering of hate and dangerous speech in the media with journalists in Lagos.

 

 

COMMUNIQUE

At the end of the program the following resolutions were made by participants at the media sensitization program;

 

Observations

• There is need for a clear line to be drawn between hate and dangerous speech
• Hate and dangerous speech tend to sell more quickly on the social media
• There is a tendency for hate and dangerous speech disseminators who are mostly youth to leave social media platforms that have become populated by mature minds for newer social media platforms on which they continue to disseminate hate and dangerous speeches.
• Journalists’ reporting are being influenced by their biases hence the tendency to spread hate and dangerous speeches on traditional media platforms.
• Journalists seem to underestimate the powerful influence of the media in inciting the people hence the tendency to disseminate hate and dangerous speech
• Journalists are not equipped with conflict sensitive communication skills  which is  also responsible for hate and dangerous speech in the media

 

Recommendations:

 

• For Journalists to avoid hate and dangerous speeches they must learn to be above their biases and sentiments in the course of their reportorial activities
• Journalists including radio and TV presenters should understand the power of the media in influencing people’s thinking as well as the way people react to sensitive issues.
• Journalists must always adhere to the principles of responsible and ethical journalism to be able to avoid the dissemination of hate and dangerous speech
• Journalists must always try to balance their reporting by embarking on research reporting
• CITAD and the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation  Program (NSRP) should organize more such sensitization programs to keep media stakeholders on their toes
• The NBC should continuously sensitize advertising practitioners as well as religious leaders on hate and dangerous speech
• Journalists including TV and radio presenters should always get hate and dangerous speeches disseminated by influential speakers countered by equally influential speakers
• Media organizations should always counter hate and dangerous speeches published/ aired on their networks.
• Journalists including TV and radio presenters  should always get  law enforcement agents, media regulators to counter hate and dangerous speech broadcast on their platforms
• CITAD should extend its monitoring of hate and dangerous speech to the traditional media – beyond the social media
• Journalists including radio and TV presenters need to be trained on conflict sensitive re

 

By Sufyan Lawal Kabo

 

On 17th October 2015, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) launched a new office in Jama’are LGA of Bauchi State bringing the number of CITAD offices to five: Kano (Headquarters), Dutse, Bauchi, Azare and Jama’are, with focal offices in Katsina and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The office, which housed a computer training centre is located at Jama’are LGA Secretariat, Adamami road, Jama’are LGA, Bauchi State

The opening ceremony was held at the premises of the new office. It was attended by large number of guests of different categories ranging from students, civil servants, academicians, business men, religious clerics and traditional rulers. Notable among the dignitaries invited were:

+ Member, House of Representative, Jama’are/Itas Gadau Constituency, Hon Isa Hassan Muhammad, Tafidan Jama’are,

+ The Emir of Jama’are HRH Alhaji Ahmad Muhammad Wabi III and other title holders

+ Member, State House of Rep, Alhaji Magaji Isa, Zannan Jama’are

+ The Acting Chairman, Jama’are LGA, Alhaji Muhammad Danladi Yaba

In his opening remark, CITAD Training Coordinator, Malam Ahmad Abdullahi Yakasai, who represented CITAD Executive Director, Dr. Y.Z. Ya’u explained that the prime objective of establishing the office is to promote the use of ICT and to bridge the wide ICT gap between northern Nigeria and their southern counterparts. He explained that a common analysis report has placed most northern Nigerian states at the bottom list in ICT knowledge in Nigeria. This, he said is a challenge that requires great effort to face, else, the ICT gap connecting the industrialized south and northern part of the country may become even greater in the near future.

He added that “CITAD is addressing the need for ICT knowledge in Nigerian educational system for in this technology-driven age, everyone requires ICT competence to excel in life. I have no doubt that the establishment of the new ICT centre will facilitate learning in educational and entrepreneurial skills especially for the youth in Jama’are LGA and beyond.”  

The overall aim of CITAD as an organization he said is to provide guidelines by both research and practice on how ICT could be deployed in the efforts to promote sustainable development and good governance. CITAD he said, has been carrying out educational programmes such as computer training for various groups such as children, youth, workers, community leaders, community based organizations and professional groups. “…through ICT, we believe that our region could meet with global trend.” Yakasai concluded.  

 

In his speech, the Guest of Honour, House member representing Jama’are/Itas Gadau Constituency, Hon Isa Hassan Muhammad, Tafidan Jama’are, represented by Alhaji Magaji Isa, Zannan Jama’are, Member, State House of Rep commended CITAD for establishing a branch office and computer training centre in Jama’are. He described the effort as patriotic and praise worthy. His words: “…Permit me to use this opportunity to call on our people to embrace the use of ICT in our day- to-day activities. ICT has become the bedrock of development, which was why it has been adopted by developed countries around the world. I call on traditional rulers to mobilize people on this sector. Even as ICT faces many difficulties in northern Nigeria, there is no reason why we cannot overcome it provided it receives the needed shore up it deserves from all stakeholders”

The Emir of Jama’are HRH Alhaji Ahmad Muhammad Wabi III being represented by the Walin Jama’are HH Alhaji Abubakar Muhammad spoke last. His speech began by thanking CITAD on behalf of the entire of people of Jama’are LGA for the big achievement it brought to their community. He explained that the importance of ICT nowadays has become a necessity as it is now in everything we do especially as the internet has made the world flat by providing easy access to information. He further stated that “…Students with ICT knowledge would assist to develop the nation, making use of their experience and advancement in technology. In developed countries, education and businesses have been greatly influenced by ICT and emulating this culture will surely make us to follow suite.

To bridge the wide ICT knowledge gap between the north and the south, the Emir called on northern Nigerian governors to make Information and Communications Technology (ICT) a compulsory study across primary and secondary schools and as well provide them with necessary ICT facilities and other assistance.  

Concluding his speech, the Emir made a comment which attracted big cheers and applause from the crowd: “…To launch this centre, I will be among the first batch of students to enroll for the computer training in order to call the attention of my people on the importance of ICT!”

Goodwill messages were made by other dignitaries during the occasion

Toward ending the occasion, the invited guests were taken round the building to inspect the offices, training labs and facilities. In the course, an educational movie titled Fasahar Sadarwa Don Yara (ICT4Kids) was projected for them to watch and copies of the film were distributed to them. The film was focused to provide education on ICTs for children using illustrations that spark the quest for learning ICT skills.

 

 

NTRODUCTION
The Centre for Information Technology and
Development (CITAD) with support
from Nigeria Stability and Reconciliatory
Programmed (NSRP) on the 24th
August, 2015 organized a one-day media
sensitization forum on hate and
dangerous speech. The program took place at the
conference hall of Aminu
Kano Centre for Democratic Research and Training
(Mambayya House). It
brought together Journalists and media
practitioners from various media
houses, members of CSOs and CBOs spread
across Kano state.
The program was attended by 50 representatives of
the invited stakeholder
organizations and the objective of the forum is “to
contain the speed of
hate speech in the society and to strategize on the
way forward in curbing
hate speech at both levels of reporting and
advertorials in Nigerian spaces
with a particular emphasis on Kano state.
The program kicked off with welcome remarks by
Malam Abdulganiyyu Rufa’i
the Program Officer (Peace) CITAD who welcomed
the participants to the
forum and explained the objectives of the workshop.
Malam Kabiru Dakata of CITAD made a
presentation on Understanding Hate and
Dangerous Speech at the first session. He started
with an outline of what
hate and dangerous speeches are and their
linkages. He explained further
that hate and dangerous speech are different but
linked i.e. one can lead
to other, viz;
1. Hate and dangerous speech are differentiated by
the influence of the
speaker.
2. They hardly lead to positive outcome.
3. Affects the speaker more than the target.
4. They are conveyed by different medium of
communication
He outlined the key attributes for the identification
of hate speech in the
context of Nigeria. He highlighted that in law any
speech, gesture or
conduct, writing or display which is forbidden
because it may incite
violence against individual or a group of people is
considered a hate
speech. He asserted broadly that a hate/dangerous
speech can be taken as
any form of expression that:
1. Harms directly or indirectly an individual or a
group of people because
of their affiliation to group that can be identified
either by ethnicity
religion or geography, etc..
2. Disparages or intimidates individuals or a group
on their baisis of the
identification
3. Denigrates people on the basis of their
membership in a group, ethnic or
religious etc
4. Condones discriminatory contempt against
people with disability or women
because of their gender.
5. Abuses figures that symbolize religious or
cultural practices.
In the last segment of his presentation, Dakata
cited examples of
hate/dangerous speech from the Rwandan
perspective. He explained how the
Hutus used the media platforms available to them
(then) during the Rwandan
civil war of 1994 to spread speeches of hate against
the Tutsis which
eventually claimed the lives of hundreds of
thousands of people. He
emphasized on the importance of media in making
or marring the peaceful
coexistence of a heterogeneous society like
Nigeria.
The second session was presented by Malam
Abdulganiyyu Rufa’i of CITAD. He
explained that CITAD domesticated the UMATI
coding framework methodology
which allowed CITAD to a have hate/dangerous
speech monitoring methodology.
He went further to present the synopsis of the
outcome of hate/dangerous
speech monitoring done by CITAD for the period
covering January to mid
July, 2015. Of which the following stood out:
1. That about 80% of the people disseminating hate/
dangerous speech use
English language to do so with a 15% visible content
in Hausa language in
Nigerian social media platforms.
2. That about 69% of the disseminators of hate/
dangerous speech in the
Nigerian social media are identifiable and can be
reached easily in case of
countering.
3. That of all the media platforms in Nigeria
generating hate/dangerous
speech, face-book stands out with 66% followed
remotely by online news
articles with 14% and then twitter 10%.
4. That about 45% of hate/dangerous speech posts
generated in the Nigerian
social media are calling for riot, 30% are calling for
beat/injure and then
23% are calling people to kill.
5. That there are a number of hate/dangerous
speeches that are being passed
around and whose circulation had previously stirred
up violence.
The session was followed with comments and
questions from the participants
and was responded by Abdulganiyyu Rufa’i.
The third session entitled “Dangerous speech on
Political Programs in Radio
Broadcast was an open discussion. Some of the
media practitioners and CSO
activists who graced the program commented with
many linking the problem of
Dangerous speech on political programs in media
broadcasts, as a whole, to
deliberate deviation from goal-driven model of
journalism to
commercially-driven model by mostly private media
houses.
The third session was also facilitated by Malam
Abdulganiyyu Rufa’i of
CITAD who presented the countering strategies
deployed by CITAD during the
period. He started by saying that monitoring was
followed by countering
dangerous speech that were found to be volatile. He
said that CITAD
deployed several strategies for countering and
elaborated the four major
strategies used by CITAD in countering hate/
dangerous speech, viz;
1. Influencing the speaker through counter speech
in unison.
2. Counter speech by influential leaders.
3. Developing audience resistant to dangerous
speech.
4. Reporting to regulatory agencies.
The final session was made a plenary session and
it was chaired by Ado
Sa’idu Warawa of Freedom Radio Kano and he was
deputized by Tijjani Yahaya
of NTA, Kano and Halima Muhammad of Rahama
Radio Kano to mainstream gender.
The session discussed and came up with the
following observations:
1. Hate and Dangerous speech is an issue in
Nigeria today as a result of
the proliferation of such messages in both
traditional and new media.
2. Political party affiliates use both traditional and
new media to promote
hate and dangerous speech.
3. Xenophobic attacks in countries outside Nigeria
on Nigerian nationals
happens too as a result of hate and dangerous
speech and that can be
handled if the traditional media in Nigerian can step
up its efforts with a
lot of commitment to the condemnation of such
atrocious acts.
3. Private media houses are found wanting in the
proper mitigation of
issues related to hate and dangerous speech and
this is attributed to their
primary motive: they are usually more
commercially-driven than development
driven.
4.No active regulatory agency exists to enforce
NBC’s code against hate and
dangerous speech on media platforms available.
The meeting then offered the following
recommendations:
1. There is need for capacity building training for
media personnel
facilitated by proprietors of media organization to
broadcast responsibly
on airwaves and avoid dangerous and hate speech.
2. There is a need for the use of traditional media to
influence new media
by encouraging discussion of trending topics on
current issues and making a
particular topic newsworthy.
3. Conventional media, using resources available to
it, can set agenda for
social media.
4. Private bills should be sponsored in the
parliament to make
government-owned media houses like NTA, FRCN
etc. independent of the
political leadership
5. The existing Government policies and laws are
flawed and outdated. They
should be reviewed and made to promote reporting
with professionalism and
integrity.
6.Taking the campaign to higher institutions of
learning whose audience is
large and extended on ways to tame hate and
dangerous speech and
mainstreaming it into curriculum.
7. There is need for the guild of corporate online
publishers to organize
training programmes for their members on what
should be and what should not
be reported online.
8. Hate and dangerous speech should not be taken
for granted and as such
media organizations should form coalition that will
monitor and counter
hate and dangerous speech.
9. There is need for a roundtable discussion
between media organizations to
identify modalities that will mitigate hate and
dangerous speech taking
into cognizance how and where hate and dangerous
speech should be reported.
10. There is need for creation of social media policy
and social media
personnel to contain hate and dangerous speech.
11. Public awareness is instrumental to countering
hate and dangerous
speech more especially if the campaign takes to
streets using banners and
flyers to educate people on the dangers of hate and
dangerous speech.
12. Media organisations in collaboration with CSOs
and CBOs should put
pressure on the government to privatize
government-owned media outlets.
13. There is need for religious and traditional
institutions to issue
admonishments to their members on the dangers of
hate and dangerous speech.
14. There is need for the establishment of clear
hate and dangerous speech
policies in their terms of service and mechanisms
of enforcing them.
15.There is need for teaching the youth (who are
majority on social media)
to think critically about all the media they consume
in order to help them
to recognize both overt and cloaked hate and
dangerous speech on social
media.
16. There is need for a collaborative effort by media
platforms and
regulators to jointly monitor and mitigate hate and
dangerous speech.
17. There is need for intense traditional media
campaign using catchy spot
programs to discourage public from engaging in
hate and dangerous speech.
18. There is need for media outlets to indulge in the
habit of settling
government taxes duly to fast track the involvement
of government in
enforcing laws guiding the tenets of broadcasting.
19. There is need for the remodeling of ‘yan-baka
venture as it may present
a very lucrative source of employment for the youth
if harnessed wisely.
OUTCOME(S)
1. At the end of the sensitization program the
representatives of the media
organisations, CSOs and CBOs came to the
conclusion that a collective
action is needed to help mitigate dangerous and
hate speech on traditional
and new media and that culminated into the
formation of a coalition
christened “Media Coalition against Hate and
Dangerous Speech”.
2. Media stations pledged to convince their
managements to develop a social
media policy and appoint social media manager to
moderate discussion and
prevent hate and dangerous speeches in their
social media platforms
3. The media organisations seek the Technical
support of CITAD to develop
their Social media policy and request that CITAD
give their Social media
managers a technical training to moderate and
develop social media
platforms for their programs.

As part of its campaign towards a peaceful society, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in conjunction with the Mac Arthur Foundation and the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliatory Program (NSRP) organized a one-day media sensitization program on hate and dangerous speech. The event which took place at the conference hall of Aminu Kano Centre for Democratic Research and Training (Mambayya House) on the 24th of August, 2015 had in attendance Journalists from various media houses spread across Kano state, members of Civil Society Organisations as well as members of some CBOs and highlighted an in-depth look into the monitoring and countering perspectives of Hate and Dangerous speech with CITAD as a case study and thereafter featured an in-depth discussion on how to counter hate and dangerous speech.
The sensitization training was facilitated by Malam Abdulganiyyyu Rufa’i and Malam Kabiru Dakata both program officers of CITAD and a plenary session was held with a panel chosen at random from the representatives of the participating media houses and Ado Sa’idu Warawa of Freedom Radio Kano emerged as the chairman and he was deputized by Tijjani Yahaya and Halima Muhammad of NTA and Rahama Radio respectively. The session discussed and came up with resolutions agreed by all participants as ways of mitigating or preventing hate and dangerous speech through countering and most importantly review of existing laws that are too restrictive.

 

OBSERVATIONS
Hate and Dangerous speech is no doubt an issue in Nigeria today as a result of the proliferation of such messages in both traditional and new media.
Political party affiliates use both traditional and new media to promote hate and dangerous speech.
Xenophobic attacks in countries outside Nigeria on Nigerian nationals happens too as a result of hate and dangerous speech and that can be handled if the traditional media can step up its efforts with a lot commitment to its condemnation.
Private media houses are found wanting in tackling issues related to hate and dangerous speeches as most their primary motive is driven towards profit generation not societal orientation.
No active regulatory agency exist to enforce NBC’s code against hate and dangerous speech on media platforms available

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. There is need for capacity building trainings for media personnel facilitated by proprietors of media organization to broadcast responsibly on airwaves and avoid dangerous and hate speech.
2. There is a need for the use of traditional media to influence new media by encouraging discussion of trending topics on current issues and making particular topic newsworthy.
3. Conventional media, using resources available to it, can set agenda for social media.
   Private bills should be sponsored in the parliament to make independent government-owned media houses like NTA, FRCN etc
4. The existing Government policies and laws are flawed and outlandish. They should be reviewed and fashioned-out in ways that promote reporting with professionalism and integrity.
5. Taking the campaign to higher institutions of learning whose audience is large and extended, more especially building the capacity of the professors/lecturers on ways to tame hate and dangerous speech and mainstreaming it into curriculum.
6. There is need for a collaborative effort by media platforms and regulators to jointly monitor and mitigate hate and dangerous speech.
7. There is need for intense traditional media campaign using catchy spot programs to discourage public from engaging in hate and dangerous speech.
8. There is need for media outlets to indulge in the habit of settling government taxes duly to fast track the involvement of government in enforcing laws guiding the tenets of broadcasting.
9. There is for the guild of corporate online publishers to organize trainings for their members on what should be and what should not be reported online.
10. Hate and dangerous speech should not be taken for granted and as such media organizations should form coalition that will monitor and counter hate and dangerous speech.
11. There is need for a roundtable discussion between media organizations to identify modalities that will mitigate hate and dangerous speech taking into cognizance how and where hate and dangerous speech should be reported.
12. There is need for creation of social media policy and social media personnel to contain hate and dangerous speech.
13. Public awareness is instrumental in countering hate and dangerous speech more especially if the campaign takes to streets using banners and flyers to educate people on the dangers of hate and dangerous speech.
14. Media organisations in collaboration with CSOs and CBOs should put pressure on the government to privatize government-owned media outlets.
15. There is need for religious and traditional institutions to issue admonishment to their members on the dangers of hate and dangerous speech.
16. There is need for the establishment of clear hate and dangerous speech policies in their terms of service and mechanisms of enforcing them.
17. There is need for teaching the youth (who are majority on social media) to think critically about all the media they consume in order to help them to recognize both overt and cloaked hate and dangerous speech on social media.

OUTCOME(S)

1. At the end of the sensitization program the representatives of the media organisations, CSOs and CBOs came to the conclusion that a collective action is needed to help mitigate dangerous and hate speech on traditional and new media and that culminated into the formation of a coalition christened “Media Coalition against Hate and Dangerous Speech”.
2. Media stations pledge to convince their managements to develop a social media policy and appoint social media manager to moderate discussion and prevent hate and dangerous speeches in their social media plat forms
3. The media organisations seek the Technical support of CITAD to develop their Social media policy and request that CITAD give their Social media managers a technical trainings to moderate and develop social media platforms for their programs

On 22nd August 2015, the Centre for information Technology and Development (CITAD) in its efforts of promoting PEACE CAMPAIGN organized one day workshop on the use of social media for peace campaign for student leaders in Katsina State. The aim of the training which held at the Muhammad Sunusi II ICT Centre, Alqalam University, Katsina was to train student leaders, on using social media to promote peace campaign in their schools and communities. It was attended by 26 people from various tertiary institutions in the state.

The workshop started with a welcomed address delivered by Mal Huzaifa Yakub Musa, CITAD Online Apps Officer. In his address Huzaifa Yakubu Musa drew the attention of the participants to the fact without peace, there would be no developed and that youth in particular have great responsibility in ensuring that we mobilize our communities to strive to main peace. He said this workshop was to enhance the capacity of the members of the Students for Peace (S4P) in their efforts to use social media to campaign for peace in their campuses and communities.

In the first session, Kamilu Isa Ahmed, Programmes Assistant (Peace) introduced the CITAD4PEACE Project he said CITAD had been implementing with support from MacArthur Foundation whose key objective was to sue social media to mobilize citizens and stakeholders to the need to work for peace restoration especially in the northern parts of the country. He explained the different components of the project which included various training programmes, establishment of peace platforms such as the students for peace (S4P), working with students in secondary schools, peace messages dissemination in the social media, tackling contemporary crises such as cattle rustling and Boko Haram insurgency and monitoring and countering of hate speech has been a drivers for conflicts In the society.

To lay the foundation for the workshop Kamilu also did a presentation on Volunteerism and Civic Responsibility. This was to underline thefact that activities of the S4P are entirely voluntary and that it was important for the participants to understand and locate volunteerism as a core value in the discharge of their civic responsibility.

The first technical session was on Understanding Social Media in the context of Peace Campaign. This was also facilitated by Kamilu Isa Ahmed. The presentation explained to the students that also social media could be used to spread rumors and hate speech; it is also an important tool to spread messages of peace and love. He explained that because it is reach, speed, and cost effectiveness, social media was very important tool for communication and campaign. It was necessary that youth understand how to taken of its advantages to spread the message of peace and campaign for peace building in the society.

The second technical session focused on the three major social media platforms namely YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. This was facilitated by Shehu Usman Salihu, Programme Assistant (Technical) who took the participants taken through the various platforms of setting up accounts, managing them and sending and managing messages.

After lunch the first session was hands on training on the YouTube, Twitter and Facebook with participants doing various assignments to enhance their skills in the use of these platforms. This was following by a session on Managing Students Peace Clubs during which Kamilu Isa Ahmed shared experience with students on how to manage the club in their schools.

The following session was an interactive one in which the participants were led to come up with some platforms for theircampaign. They was done in groups first. The groupsthen reported as follows:

• The participants from Umaru Musa ‘Yar Adua University Katsina (UMYUK) (Umyukstudents4Peace proposed the use of instagram, Facebook page and Twitter
• Those from Al Qalam University Katsina(AUK)which was only established at the training proposed to set up a Facebook platforms  and a twitter handle after the workshop

The participants agreed to sensitize other members of the clubs and promised to come up with innovations programmes that will promote peace campaign in Katsina state and the nation at large .they also promised to work hand in hand with CITAD even after their graduation. The science students among them promised that during their student industrial workshop and experience scheme   (SIWES) they will promote the use of social media to promote peace any where they were posted to and in their respective communities as well while the students from faculty of education promised to promote peace during their teaching practice (TP) wherever they were posted to by establishing peace clubs In the schools.