A minister and his passion

By 

Paul Nwabuikwu

FEW Nigerians can tell the name of the current Minister of Science and Technology without consulting a newspaper or calendar. Fewer still can identify him in a photograph. Those with some knowledge of the banking industry might recall that Ebitimi Banigo, godfather and role model to a generation of bankers was briefly in charge of the ministry before he abruptly resigned for reasons that are still to be adequately explained. Professor Turner Isoun, his successor, is largely an anonymous face in a ministry which is off the beaten path of power and press attention.

Flip through the papers and you will get an idea of the "stars" of the Obasanjo cabinet. Old political war horses like Bola Ige, Tony Anenih and Adamu Ciroma. Veteran soldiers and experienced coupists like Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma. A sprinkling of ambitious new faces like Olusegun Agagu and Kema Chikwe. And, of course, Ojo Maduekwe, a hardy perennial who collects controversy with the same avidity that others collect stamps. Isoun, an old professor who is unskilled in the fine arts of remaining in the spotlight for long moments or schmoozing with journalists has little chance of standing out.

And that is a great pity. The Science and Technology Ministry is not, or should not be inferior to any other ministry, if we are really serious about transfer of technology and pulling our society up by the bootstraps to the heights of development. What the ministry is mandated to do is much more important than the steady streams of hot air which issue out of others which are constantly in the headlines. We journalists must accept much of the blame for the fact that this vital ministry is under-reported. If we are really serious about agenda-setting, then the ministry whose brief covers both the brick and mortar heavy technology and the more recent information technology should be the subject of robust media interest.

I must confess that the minister was only a vague face in an official photograph until I ran into him in Abuja recently. The man behind the photograph turned out to be much more than a colourless academic, a sprightly sixtyish man with a very young mind, feisty and passionate about the mandate of his ministry. Public officials like Isoun remind us that the controversy over whether the old breed or the new breed are better in public office is, in the final analysis, totally unhelpful. Whatever they may have on their birth certificates, public officers are in two broad categories: good or bad. Everything else is irrelevant.

Soon after I was introduced to him, I was reminded that the minister who was the pioneer Vice Chancellor of the Rivers State University of Science and Technology has spent most of his life in the classroom. "You cannot get on in the present world of globalisation without signing on. Globalisation has a language. And that language is information technology," he lectured. Isoun went ahead to talk about the new definition of literacy. Literacy is no longer limited to familiarity with and understanding of words and figures. Without a working knowledge of information technology, one is severely hobbled and at a great disadvantage in today's world.

Information technology has the potential to be the great equaliser, the joker which can finally give the developing world a chance to reduce the gap between it and the industrialised world. "It can produce more wealth than oil," the minister continued, citing the example of India which has become an important destination in the global IT network. Even a developed economy like America was able to create two million new jobs under Clinton from IT. For struggling nations like Nigeria in which most areas outside commerce are still virgin territory, the potential can only be imagined.

All this sounds nice and much of it is also very familiar, I told the minister. But Nigerians can be forgiven for being a little cynical having heard quite a few grandiose ministerial musings in the past. What about the "how" of it all? How will these great potential be translated into real and sustainable benefits, beyond the beautiful blueprints?

"The technology to hook us into the 21st century is not only available, but also affordable," Isoun responded. I must have looked a trifle sceptical because he quickly went on to explain. Contrary to what many of us think, IT is not too expensive, it is not something that should be left until the national or individual bank account is bursting. The minister who is from Bayelsa recalled that over a trillion dollars have been extracted from the Niger Delta and the nation has very little to show for it. Now, with what is a mere pittance compared to this, it is possible to connect the over 3,000 isolated communities in the Niger Delta with V-SAT to the rest of the world even without roads and expose them to the kind of information that can empower them to rise above poverty and ignorance. And this can be financed with less than the monthly allocation of the affected states. Even the much publicised but unsuccessful nomadic education programme can be successfully executed through the same means. The opportunities, Isoun said, are virtually unlimited for anyone who is keen to acquire training. Many reputable schools like NIIT offer training in a wide range of subjects. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is putting 500 of its courses on the web free. For businesses and individuals who can afford it, solar panel roofing provides a NEPA-proof way of running computers. The minister is particularly happy that, in spite of the obstacles, many young Nigerians can be found in cybercafes at midnight in urban centres. Their focus and persistence is admirable, he says.

Still, the question: how does the ministry propose to enhance the speed and depth of the infotech "revolution" in Nigeria? How can government get involved to get process which is still very much at a rudimentary stage going?

Isoun recalled a statement by former US President, Jimmy Carter: "Americans went to the moon, but the money was spent on earth." The challenge, he says, is to create a public and private sector partnership that would ensure that the necessary funds are deployed into the right areas. Competition is key: "Americans won the Cold War not because the Americans are smarter or more righteous, but because their system encouraged competition," declared the minister. The challenge is to build such a private sector-led system. Government, in Isoun's plan, would be principally a guide and an encourager, creating the environment and giving incentives where necessary and showing the way forward. As part of this orientation, there will be an emphasis on convergence to take maximum advantage of the possibilities offered by infotech.

I insisted on some more specifics. The minister referred me to the IT policy produced by the ministry which is in the process of becoming a law. The first of its 16 chapters is on training. The policy projects that about 500,000 Nigerians would be trained in various aspects of IT within two to three years through strategic partnership between government and business. In the spirit of leadership by example, the research institutes which are under the ministry would soon all have their own websites. These institutes are doing a lot of wonderful work, but most Nigerians are ignorant of them. Isoun also revealed the ministry's plans to empower small and medium scale industries through Technology Business Incubation Centres or IT parks in all the six geo-political zones. Business persons will use these parks which have all the facilities and 24-hour power supply presumably at subsidised fees. Already they exist in Malaysia and India. The minister said more, lots more. But he also said that though he has the president's unqualified support for his IT, space, biotech and other policies, funding is a problem.

In the course of our conversion, NEPA interrupted. He had go downstairs to put on the generator. The break was a compelling reminder of the kind of obstacles that dot the path of progress in IT development. Such very Nigerian problems have a way of sapping the zeal of public office holders after a while. But Isoun seems to have unlimited supply of infectious enthusiasm. I suspect he will need a fresh supply very soon.

The minister's passion, his grasp of cutting-edge information in his area and his obvious desire to make a difference left me greatly impressed. It is heart-warming to know that there are people like Isoun in the cabinet. Still, I couldn't completely shake off the skepticism. Nigeria has a talent for choking great dreams and plans to death. It would be interesting to see if this Turner's tenure would leave footprints in IT development or whether he would be recorded as just another minister who came, saw and left.