This work is vital as it stands to serve as a case study to other local communities who undergo the same perils as discovered in Madovillage. Its detail is a written analysis about the intellectual and moral decadence of the people of local community called Mado because of their long period of the suffer of neglect and deprivation of right of benefiting from so many of the country’s (government) development projects on Education, information and technology.

Project theme:

Establishment of ICT Training Centre for Human Development in Poverty Alleviation and Disease Control

The satisfactory operation and control of business systems and the transformation of educational and health institutions to give quality service delivery to the human persons, specifically rural people, rest to a great extent on information or data that’s available.

The world is dynamic, it is changing and the only thing constant in life is change itself (Franklin O. Roosevelt). However, it is no longer lie that we are living in an era of information and communication technology (ITC), for all people to be part of the changing world requires adequate and timely dissemination of information through the various available means to both urban and rural communities at the nick of time.

This work is vital as it stands to serve as a case study to other local communities who undergo the same perils as discovered in Madovillage. Its detail is a written analysis about the intellectual and moral decadence of the people of local community called Mado because of their long period of the suffer of neglect and deprivation of right of benefiting from so many of the country’s (government) development projects on Education, information and technology.

As a popular saying goes “where there is no vision “information and knowledge”; people perish.” Mado village is an integral part of Jos, which is the capital of plateau state in Nigeria. Plateau state has an estimated population of about 4 million people with Mado having an estimated figure of about 5% of its populace and contributing enormously to her growth and development in terms of human resources and Agriculture.

Ironically, this local community is one of the most poorest and backward areas in the state when it comes to the issue of Education of the inhabitants and effective access to adequate information. In other words, there is almost, if not complete inability to finding a direct access to modern information tools that will empower and enhance their intellectual and moral capacity and offer them scope in the area of skills acquisition through training and the understanding of the global perspective of things.

In order to proffer a sustainable solution to the decay discovered in this local community, this project is designed to introduce the challenges faced by youth, women and children of this local community with the aim to help them find the wisdom, strength and resources to solving it.

Project Rationale and Background

It is practically true that the growth of the use of information and communication technology and its tools in the field of education, health and in business organizations has seen great improvement in the recent times, also that technology has penetrated into the nook and crannies of the society in a pace that’s tremendous, especially in the education sectors to become part of the teaching, leaning and training process through the use of computer and internet systems.

The question now is, how can the local people, who are dwelling in the remote areas of the society, who constitute the larger number of the society’s workforce be part and parcel of the beneficiaries of this new dawn and blessings?

Therefore, the concept behind the programme of action with a thematic focus on setting up an ICT training centre for human development and what to expect after that in Mado Village is to ensure that the people of this local community have a taste of the pleasure of life in fullest by having a direct access and link to the abundance glamour of information and communication technology facilities available - that will enhance their academic performance and empower their teaching and leaning process through intense training for self development and capacity building.

However, this if actualize will improve their communication skills in terms of using the internet effectively and other communication gadgets to connect to people around the world, who are distant away from the local people thereby creating employment opportunities to the unemployed, solving the menace of rural/urban migration and reducing the level of ignorance, poverty, illiteracy, and disease amidst the local inhabitant of Mado village and other such remote locations in the country of Nigeria.

Research

To re-emphasize on what has already been stated, Mado Village is only used in this work as a case study to portray some of the challenges rural communities who are disadvantaged when it comes to access to information and communication technology opportunities in the country faced on a daily basis.

The data collection
and analyses of the findings of investigation to this work is based on the present direct one on one interaction with local people and collation of historical statistics of the problem.

In our findings after research into the livelihood of the people in the local communities in Plateau state and Nigeria in general with Mado local community as the focal point, it is discovered that the gap existing between folks in the rural and urban areas (communities) is so wide when it comes to the scope of the use of ICT facilities, and this is to the disadvantage of the local persons especially women and children who mostly face gender discrimination related problems, thereby contributing to the high level of ignorance illiteracy and vulnerability to the contraction of the disease such as HIV/AIDS, Malaria, water-borne disease and other STDs, which has now made life unbearable to them and the general battle against poverty in these local regions of the country a very difficult case.

On the surface, to give the local people of the described caliber opportunity to increase their ability to the used of ICT tools effectively and the enjoyment of the benefits thereof, with the view to enhancing their literacy status and technical skills; and to reduce their susceptibility to the threat of poverty and disease, action is needed in bringing the gapand relieving these people of this present stress of neglect by providing and installing the necessary information technology infrastructures and equipments that have been lacking in these local areas up to now.

Given the above challenges and possible solutions, considering the aims and focus of this work:

• To evolve not a commercially but sustain-ably human development initiative that is geared towards the provision of ICT training centre in Mado Village and other rural communities of Nigeria,
• It has become very important to channel resources that will make the difference with the sole aim of solving the problem as it will aid in promoting education, government information actions and improving the general basic health care service delivery to the poor of the poorest and the somewhat marginalized in the society.

Outcome and Milestones

It is well observed that critical thirst and hungry for accessibility and utilization of effective and filtered information by a Nation with an estimated population of 120 million people (2001 Nigeria common assessment) cannot be overemphasized.

Hence the need to note that the success of information and communication Technology project that’s viable and sustainable in Nigeria

• Targeting true rural communities who are the majority of the population, Reading about 70% and who for a longer period of time before now say decade of decades live in an abyss of destitution and uncivilized state of lack of access to telephone, sound radio and televising system, internet based services, computer data processing utility and facsimile will be a marvelous achievement and have a far- reaching impact on the class of the poor, most marginalized, the unemployed youth, women, the illiterate and in-exposed persons living in these remote areas.

• The result or outcome of this study reveals Mado Village in Jos, Plateau state as a replica of these so-called neglected and lagged behind communities in the country.
• Because of their weakness in the race to be digitally transformed people and the liability to lay hands on the available potential of ICT, the local people of Mado are less-empowered and developed, particularly the girl child and women who are discriminated against in one way or the other, young people, people with disabilities and those living with HIV/AIDS.
• What milestones will be celebrated by these human persons at the realization of their long virtualized dream of an information technology sure environment? If this an agreed fact that ICT in education can be understood as the application if digital equipment to all aspect of teaching and learning and that if well achieved through the effective use of the internet, broad band connections to schools and applying its know how, understanding and expertise in all subjects can be a positive achievement.
• Then there is no doubt about the long term impact that this realization will leave on lives of the local people, as it will systematically promote literacy and communication, raise educated and knowledgeable human resources from these parts, enhance academic performance and cut down to minimal various forms of life’s negativisms.

In consideration of the problem discovery and the need for developing a sustainable information and communication centre in Mado, a disadvantaged community (local) in Plateau State, Nigeria, the concept of Disraeli has been adopted to show what an ICT related projects should consider and anticipate to offer to the local people.

The success of ICT projects in rural communities, according to Disraeli {2001; 4}, depends on sustainability and the deployment of suitable infrastructures, in other words, an ICT- related project should consider local needs and local skilled staff, or the adequate training and development of the local people.

If such project still depend on foreign staff and skills, then it is not the case of the transfer of technology but the “dumping” of the technology that’s outdated… which of course does not point to empowering and developing the local communities to become effective and well trained to use the technology to their benefit. The outcome in a real sense is to train them to be users of it, and then it becomes impacting.

Conclusion

Although the institutionalization of effectively sound culture of information and communication technology tools and equipments in remote areas of the society can be a difficult challenge or task, considering the huge investment of capital resources and immense application of intellectual power, it yet does not leave any iota of doubt in on the mind of a potential investor realizing the vitality of developing human resources (especially these local persons) for bringing future transformation to an international, regional, National - with implication a local health, business, religious and education systems.

From looking at the focal community of this work, studying critically the results stated in the findings of investigation and observing the rationale and background of the project, one can draw a number of conclusion as to the adverse effect of the absence of ICT blessings on the local people -poverty and ignorance, lack of awareness and inability to escape sudden out breaking diseases, poor level of communication skills, lack of direct and factual information, which lead to a drastic drop in the standard of education in their schools and most notably:

• An increased level of illiteracy and in-exposure amongst women and the girl child who are viewed as not having an equal right like the male to go on a distance learning excursion for the fear of sexual abuse, untold violence and other forms of discrimination against them.
• Results from interviews with local people of Mado Village clearly show the above related problem and express their avowed interest for a sooner change.

It is in this light that this proposed project calls for support from international institutions, national bodies and concerned NGOs, corporate groups and individual for an action to ensure the realization of the transfer of ICT technology project closer to the local people, training them to handle, use and maintain its equipments by themselves, giving them a sense of purpose and making them feel belonging to the global world. source

• Africa