Availability and accessibility of ICT in the rural communities of Nigeria

Published date12 June 2007
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/02640470710754869
Pages363-372
Date12 June 2007
AuthorHudron K. Kari
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Library & information science
Availability and accessibility of
ICT in the rural communities of
Nigeria
Hudron K. Kari
Library Department, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this work is to ascertain the information needs of the people of rural
Nigeria, to identify the type of information channels available to them and to suggest ways of
improving the provisions of information services to the inhabitants of rural communities.
Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted the descriptive survey research method with
the questionnaire as the major instrument. Interviews and observation were also employed. The
simple percentage method is used to present and analyse data with appropriate tables.
Findings – The empirical findings of the research are as follows: about 80 per cent of Nigerians live
in rural areas and are predominantly poor farmers and fishermen, of whom about 90 per cent are
illiterate in the Western sense. They lack basic information infrastructures such as internet, libraries
and information centres, and electricity. The oral tra dition is still prevalent and written
communication remains elusive because a majority of the populace is still illiterate. Rural dwellers
show positive response to the services of information agents such as agricultural extension workers,
rural health workers, etc.
Research limitations/implications – The study covers Bayelsa State which represents the Niger
Delta region. Further study is needed on information policy in Nigeria as a whole.
Practical implications – Electronic media like radio and television are seen as sources of
entertainment and often regarded as propaganda materials. Computers, libraries, and information
centres are completely absent. The traditional library is not suitable for rural dwellers. Apart from
printed materials, which are the stock-in-trade of orthodox libraries, rural libraries must include in
their stock visual and audio materials.
Originality/value – The majority of rural dwellers in Nigeria do not have access to new information
technology and are thus cut off from the global world. This work creates a greater awareness of the
vacuum that exists in the rural areas concerning information communication technologies and will
stimulate further discussion.
Keywords Communicationtechnologies, Rural areas, Nigeria,User studies
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The continuing growth of the global information society has profound implications for
African countries such as Nigeria, as it has the potential to impact positively on the
social, political, economic, educational, scientific, technological and other aspects of the
aspects of the lives of its people (Adomi, 2005). Modern information technology has
transformed this potential into a source of development of wealth and power, directed
for the wellbeing of humanity. The discovery and application of personal, mini, and
supercomputers on one hand, and telecommunications, satellite networks, video,
hypertext and machine translation on the other has firmly established modern
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
Availability and
accessibility
of ICT
363
Received 8 October 2005
Revised 28 March 2006
Accepted 4 May 2006
The Electronic Library
Vol. 25 No. 3, 2007
pp. 363-372
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/02640470710754869

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