LACK OF ADEQUATE RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN NIGERIA
Under civilize rule in the area when enlighten politicians governed Nigeria, many research institute like NIFOR, NISER and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture were able to engage innovation of various intellectual products. High grade cocoa, palm oil and other agricultural research flourished. Now these outfits have lost their relevance.
The parlous states of the national economy now militate against ICT enabled innovation eco-system.
In Japan, Germany, UK, and the USA and especially China, my contact yields the evidence that their governments encourage research and have put down regulatory mechanism to maintain a heavy ICT eco-system.
In Kenya, “family Health International (FHI360) has improved its ICT system by providing advanced integrated and locally driven solutions across the Globe. It is a consortium of two Organization which in 2011 came together to form the now FHI360. The Organization has been in existence for the last 40 years their work continues to be grounded in Research and Science, strengthen by partnership and focus on building the capacity of individuals, communities and countries to succeed through ICT initiative programs.
In most countries, distance learning has become recognized as a major system of education and for information dissemination.
The advantages are many as students do not have to compute on daily basis to school until graduation day.
As a result of wide spread of ICT materials, intellectual property right are violated with impunity by parents who use academic materials without compensation to the legal owners of intellectual property rights must especially in music and software.
The culture of free downloading of various materials leads to improper use of immoral programs, films and other materials.
Some have argued that “security and credibility of service rendered are questionable” the law that regulates ICT matters is imprecise and suffers for logical deficiencies from one jurisdiction to another.
Time Wastage: it has been discovered that some people waste an awful lot of time browsing through their gadgets which excess eye contact may lead to sights effects.
ISSUES IN THE USE AND ABUSE OF COPYRIGHT
In a recent article published in a PUNCH NEWSPAPER dated November 4, the author commented extensively “ fair dealing in the use of copyright material” with the proliferation of online news portals and blogs, and recent matters that I have been privy to, it seems appropriate to revisit the issue of fair use or fair dealing where copyright protected material is concerned. I think that there are a lot of misconceptions about what is allowable practice under fair dealing. Apart from the letter of the law, the intuitive way to disconcert what is fair dealing is to follow the money. For instance, if website B attribute the content to website A if they have copied so the complete story.
Website B has effectively deprive website A of any associated revenue from visitors who would have landed on their site had website B acted fairly.
Schedule two of our Copyright Act deals with the exceptions from copyright control, ie., when a copyright protected work can be used without permission or clearance from copyright owner. One of the those exceptions is “fair dealing” for the purposes of “research”, private use , criticism or review or the reporting of current events, subject to condition that, if the use is public, it shall be accompanied by an acknowledgement of the title of the work and its authorship except where the work is accidentally included in a broadcast”
The stipulation that the title and author of the work be acknowledge when the use is public is an acknowledgement of the author’s paternity right(the right to be identified as the author of the work) which fall under those non-economic set of rights called moral rights.
Until these matters make to the court so that judges interpret fair dealing and define its boundaries, we are essentially groping in the dark. However, there is sufficient guidance from similar jurisdictions and for the most part, it hinges on economics- have you dipped your paws into the pocket of the copyright owner?
SAMSUNG NOTE7 MALFUNCTION AS FAILURE OF ICT INNOVATION: LEGAL CONSEQUENCES
The Samsung Note7 was celebrated as a milestone in ICT innovation in September 2016. It approved a disastrous failure as the model was reported to catch fire during charging. This is the result of hastily approving the manufacturing of a new product without peer review. The consequences have led to great financial lose and lose of trade mark prestige. The same situation has accord in cars productions, which hard to be recalled for ratification. For example the Japanese Mitsubishi cars.
LEGAL CONSEQUENCES
It is usual to pay damages to persons and companies, who are victims of ICT failure. Although remedial ameliorate measures are usually put in place to the sad development but compensations and other financial considerations come in place.
PROBLEMS OF HACKING IN ICT PRACTICES
Law is an instrument of crime prevention, it control and regulate the societies. Law helps in restoring order, prevent anarchy, disorder, and ensure best practices in business and civil behavior. It also demands reparation, restoration of victims’ rights.
In ICT affairs, it is often very difficult to maintain honesty in the deals by company and individuals. This is because honesty takes precedence over morality.
It is a common knowledge that manufacturers who have ICT product often supply sub-standard goods at high prices to third world countries.
So Government should establish institutions to prevent their nations from being supplied with sub-standard goods at high prices. It is true that government officials who are responsible for product inspection do not carry out their responsibility with due diligence.
Corrupt practices destroy a nation’s soul; prevent political, social and economic development of such Nations.
In the last one year six month, the Buhari Administration has uncovered deals by Military General who embezzled colossal funds which were meant to acquire military technology and advance innovations.
Nigeria spends nearly half of her budget in Military procurements and on large Military that has not shown any dexterity in ordinance innovation as a result of massive corruption during President Jonathan’s Government.
The Nigeria Army is lacking behind in ICT matters. Even the signal Department has no modern ICT outfit. In America, and other Military formation around the world, promotion is based on creative innovation in the field of Military Technology. But in Nigeria, Military promotion is gladly based on participation in Military coup. As a result, we had generals who got their ranks as a result of participation in Coup de tat and not in the area of ICT.
These Generals preferred to engage in politics of which they are neither qualified nor are they relevant compliments in science and technology.
CONFLICT OF LAWS AND ICT HACKING
Law operates in many jurisdictions and in various ways. German law adheres to strict interpretation of texts; while in French, English and Russian law always seek grammatical, literal and ontological interpretations of paragraphs.
The problems inherent in the conflict of various laws complicate arbitration and legal dispensation over ICT cases.
The problem of finding a standard system for registering ICT models and dissemination require meticulous studies.
Institutions that regulate copyright, patents and intellectual property categories should find accommodation for the establishment of advance ICT eco-systems.
In Nigeria, many States and Ministries have not taken ICT concerns seriously.
THE USE OF ICT DURING COLONIAL RULE
Long before ICT came into popular use; it had long historical use of abuse.
ICT gained its popularity during the Second World War in enhancing Military Operation between the Allied powers. ICT was very useful in the political control of British, French, and German colonies.
In Nigeria, ICT was crucial in maintaining British colonial powers through Overt and Covert methods. ICT was used effectively by the British Post and Telegraph Department popularly known as P and T. the telegraph section was manned by British Intelligent Officers who used the Morse code to transmit sensitive information to the British Colonial Office and Common Wealth Relations Office in London.
After our Independence in 1960, one Mr. Peter Stallard was in charge of defense and foreign ministries. His Covert and intelligence gathering operations were later expose and the University of Ibadan student at the time demanded that Mr. Stallard must go. In furtherance of British Intelligence gathering in Nigeria, with the assistance of ICT method, British Colonial Rule was very successful. British Political Officers in Nigeria could be divided into FOUR groups:
- The Intellectual Trading Post Agents
- The Bureaucratic Trading Post Agents
- The Commercial Trading Post Agents
The Military Trading Post Agents which had a well-trained Military Intelligent Coups. These wing of the military using Military Signals caused the Over thrown of the Federal Government of Nigeria headed by Alh. Tafawa Balewa from Bauchi. The leader of these Military intelligent officers was one Major Chukwuma Nzeogwu and others.
The Intellectual Trading Post Agents in Nigeria were mainly trained in English University especially Oxford and Cambridge University.
The Commercial Trading Post Agents were mainly Un-educated traders who became rich by serving as crown agents. They were Members of the Various Chambers of Commerce and they had easy access to Credit from British Banks especially Barclay Bank and Standard Bank now First Bank.
The Bureaucratic Trading Post Agents were the super Permanent Secretaries who met with their British Political Officers at various elite clubs in the Cities Capitals of Nigeria. All these groups were linked by Telegraphs and dispatch riders who communicated with them bringing top secrets, Secrets, and confidential and immediate attention Posts.
These groups met regularly with their British handlers for deliberations and exchange of information that were detrimental to Nigeria’s struggle for Independence but further the interest on British Colonialism.
It must be pointed out that some of these Anti-Nigeria activities were encourage by some Members of Nigeria elite who love money and power. They gave Parties, invited British Colonial Personnel and must be said, that as the result of Secrecy of ICT operation in the 60’s in Nigeria, many Politicians, Nigeria Officials and Military Personnel were ignorant of ICT Operations that control the Nigeria Government System at the time.
The Abysmal Irreparable disorganized Nigeria State Craft in Nigeria today is clearly traceable to the ICT manipulation since 1959.
Mr. Harold Smith, a retired British Colonial Officer recently lamented the role of ICT in Nigeria during the Colonial Rule. The over-throw of the Nigeria Political Order through Military Intelligent Operations and the imposition of a relay-race of Military Administration have had disastrous consequences for which Nigeria may never be able to escape from.
All former British colonies have suffered the same Political and Economic retardation. In Kenya, the Mau Mau movement was brutally confronted as a result of the REDIFUSION ICT system which was used to relay strategic information to British Security (M. I. 6) formation which used wireless instrument to comb the villages where the Mau Mau resistance groups operated from.
The natives in Kenya believed that the British Security forces and their Kenya stooges had magic powers which helped in fishing them out.
The same Mechanism was used in Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, were the addresses the Freedom fighters and their leaders put under surveillance. Unknown to them the telephone were bugged and their mails were secretly opened leading to arrest and imprisonment as well as treason trails.
European brutalities in the colonies were made possible by a brain-washed Military Intelligence Cadre and ICT Mechanism Operation which used army signals to monitor popular upheavals.
It showed the type of education our Africa soldiers imbibed from Africa Oppressors.
The struggle for Freedom in African nations was bloody and unkind as brothers assisted colonial oppressors to use ICT systems to politically control our development. Even till today, YAHOO, INTERGRA, and other internet formation are used to monitor information flowing from the Africa Continent to other part of the world. The corruption that is spread through social media has reached Luciferian Proportions.
Disinformation, misinformation, falsehood are spread quickly and widely.
Long distance learning, the functions of Open Universities, dissemination of ideas, however overrides the use of ICT for pornography and other indecent communications.
Evangelism has benefited for the wide use of preaching the gospel of Jesus through Television.
Blood-chilling reports on wars and human suffering are rifer.
