The Federal Government of Nigeria has revealed its willingness to partner with the government of Cameroun in the implementation of its nascent e-Government master plan being facilitated by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
The managing director, Galaxy Backbone (GBB), Prof. Muhammad Abubakar, revealed this when he received the KOICA and Cameroonian delegation on a study tour of GBB’s data centre, led by that country’s inspector-general for the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reform, Tabod Jacqueline Mejand, today (November 19) at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
Recall that the government of Korea, in collaboration with the Nigerian government through KOICA has completed the first phase of e-Government and has gone into the second phase. A partnership that has led to the creation of the e-Government master plan, capacity-building programmes and the establishment of the e-Government training centre (eGTC). KOICA is replicating this same project in Cameroun, hence the tour to understudy its progress in Nigeria.
Abubakar restated Nigeria’s readiness to support Cameroun to point out the challenges and its advancements in the implementation of its e-Government master plan to fast-track the country’s process.
“It is important to say that the journey you have started in Cameroun in establishing the e-Government is a journey that is outside the norm. This simply means you are trying to bring some changes and that is why you always have push-back because you are bringing changes and opposition. I think you should brace yourself for that. It is one of the challenges and, perhaps, Galaxy Backbone will share with you.
“It is human nature to have a lot of push back anytime you are bringing something new because of the fear of the unknown. People may not comprehend fully what you are bringing on board which will be beneficial.
“We all know the benefits of the e-Government platform. We have already started seeing the benefits in Nigeria. One of the major causes of underdevelopment in Africa is the issue of transparency and accountability.
“These are the major things making it impossible for countries in Africa to advance. When e-Government is fully entrenched, it will solve almost 70 to 80 per cent of this. If that is entrenched, then we’ll have a clear path of development in the countries,” he added.
Earlier, Mejand who represented the Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform, Mr. Joseph LÉ, said the main objective was to come share with a sister nation on the highs and lows, seeing as the South Korean was geared towards assisting Cameroun facilitate the effective deployment of e-Government.
“Back home, we already have e-Government and a strategic plan in play. What we lack is coordination between the various government services.
“We want to thank you for the opportunity to visit your infrastructure today because we realise that for e-Government to effectively take place in a country and go operational we need infrastructure and those who will be able to train our decision-makers to make them believe and have interest in e-Government,” she added.
