E-Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Nigerian Experience

Background: On March 15, 2014, some 700,000 unemployed Nigerians gathered in sports arenas in various cities for a 0.07% chance of recruitment to one of 5,000 positions in the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS). The candidates arrived with pens and papers to write tests in crowded venues. In one city, 100,000 candidates squeezed into a 60,000-capacity arena. By the end of the day, 20 of them, including a pregnant woman, had been trampled to death in a struggle for space (in its many dimensions). Hundreds of candidates sustained injuries. The tragedy generated heated debates in the country, much of which centered on the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in government. This focus was inevitable given that the NIS boasts extensive utilization of ICTs in its functions. Many then wondered why the agency did not perform online testing that would have reduced the number of candidates invited for face-to-face interviews.Research: Besides the public discourse, the incident generates scholarly interest on the conceptualization and status of e-government/e-governance in Nigeria with comparative application to other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. It compels an examination of the relationship between policymakers’ definitions of e-government/e-governance and practice. This research is therefore framed by the following questions: a) What does e-government/e-governance mean for Nigerian policymakers and public officials? b) To what degree are assumptions about ICTs as tools to bridge the gap between the state and citizens consistent with practice? c) What is the status of e-government/e-governance in key government agencies and departments in the country? d) Who benefits from the integration of ICTs in government practices? e) Are there lessons in the Nigerian experience for other Sub-Saharan African countries?Data: The research is based on primary and secondary data generated from: a) Examination of online services provided by six Nigerian government ministries and agencies: Ministry of Education, Ministry of Communication Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the NIS and the Presidency. These agencies are strategically selected either because their services have immediate and direct impact on the citizens, or their role is central to the diffusion of ICTs in the country. b) Review of the websites of the selected ministries and agencies to rate their currency (in content), interactivity and ease of use.c) Interviews with staff of the E-government Department at NITDA, the agency created to provide oversight to the development and utilization of ICTs in Nigeria. Contribution to the field: Early research on ICTs in African development focused on the socioeconomic dimension. However, policy and research interest has, in recent years, shifted to the integration of ICTs in governance with emphasis on the capacity to bridge the chasm between the state and citizens. However, it appears that for many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, e-governance/e-government is understood simply as the creation of information websites for government departments and agencies. Traditional methods of non-interactive and one-way communication are often ‘uploaded’ to the online environment without any transformative impact on state-citizen relational dynamics. An understanding of these practices as well as the political dimension of ICTs is therefore critical to policy and research. This research contributes to this understanding.