Terrorism and other security issues will only be addressed through providing information technology, education and employment opportunities, according to Nigerian Computer Society (NCS) president Demola Aladekomo.
Speaking during a press conference to announce the 2013 edition of the NCS International Conference in Lagos, Nigeria, Aladekomo said if young people were given the chance to train in ICT then insecurity issues would be minimised.
“The protection of life and property is the major function and responsibility of any government. All over the world, no nation is excluded from the challenges of insecurity. Murder, armed robbery, terrorism, cultism and other crimes abound despite the best efforts of security and law enforcement agencies,” he said.
“Let us engage the jobless youth population. There is no better time than now. Let us build IT parks around the nation where youths can be engaged. Let us empower the youths with IT tools and knowledge which will go a long a long way in preparing them for the global market.”
Aladekomo added that ICT would also strengthen e-government by participating in public sector organisations.
“One way to describe e-government is the application of ICT to strengthen governance — the use of ICTs in the operations and performance improvement of public sector organisations. It also means the use of ICT to achieve better stakeholders’ engagement.
“When carefully designed and diligently implemented, e-government tackles the problems of poverty, disease, unemployment and hunger. E-government strategies that work facilitate both public sector and private sector development.”
