Application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Human Induced Crisis Management: The case of Nigeria
The prevalence of religious and political unrest in Nigeria and suchnegative outcomes as the killing of targeted groups of people, destruction of property,political and social unrest, and adverse economicimpacts for the affected communities should represent one of the primary rationales and motivations for the adoption and development of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) for such critical functions as building awareness, early warning and crisis managementby the government towards preventing and responding to crisis in Nigeria.Not to underestimatethe problem, crisis prevention and management should constitute a significant part of any developmental framework. Unfortunately, religious and political unrest and other human induced catastrophes are commonplacein Nigeria, where information flow is comparativelyslowbecause of limited ICT infrastructures and/or lack of ICT skills to prepare for and respondto crisis in ruralcommunities. This research focuses on identifying the role of ICTs in crisis prevention and management within organizations communities in Nigeria and proposes some strategies for Government led initiatives to make this a reality. Introduction Analyzing various transcripts of the June 28, 2013 unrest in Jos, it is clearthat there has been a recurrence of crises in Jos, Nigeria resulting inheavy loss of human life, property damages and an economic stalemate. It has become apparent the need to deploy ICTsfor crisis management: welfare and event logistics,to momentarily move people, information and material assets forsafekeeping. Analysis of the datashowsthat Federal government agencies simplyuse radio and local TV in such emergencysituations in an attempt to put the population in a state of readiness for crisis management. These available media channels: TV, Radio, and to a limited extent, mobile phones, are used mainly in reactive mode in response to acrisissituation. There is very low or next to no utilization of available computing and internet basedcapabilities. There are many reasons for this low utilization of computing/internet technologies. For one thing there exist very limited operational capability for these technologies; limited ICT skills and connectivity predicaments. An even more pressing reason, we believe, is the lack of appreciation of the special role these technologies play in knowledge management and communication. Against this backdrop, this paper seeks firstly to shed insight on the critical role that ICTs can play as astrategic tool for education and communication to reverse European International Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 2 No. 8 October 2013 105 vicious cycles at the root of crises in Nigeria. We will then propose some strategies for leveragingavailable ICTs to this critical function of crisis management. An obvious oneis the need forthe Nigerian government topartner with ICTsfirmsin order to increase the available technology infrastructure and advance the nation's telecommunication sector. Thisshouldaddresssuch problemsaspoor ICT infrastructure, short radio and TV signals, limited internet connectivity, accessibility and availability in Nigeria,and various trainings to strengthen and promoteawareness and use of ICT across the country. The purpose of the study The purpose of thisstudy is to examine the use of ICTs as an intervention measure for crisis prevention and management in Nigeria: specifically as regards questions ofmass education, readiness and rapid response to human induced and other crises in Nigeria. The analysis will also focus on the enablers and barriers to ICT use especially in humanitarian logistics for emergencycare in Nigeria. Some Key Research Questions This study will examine the answers to the following research questions: RQ1: What influence can ICTs have in reversing the upward trend of crises in Nigeria? RQ2: What types of ICTs if any are commonly used to avert, prepare for and respondto crises? RQ3:What are the barriers or enablers to these commonly used ICT systems? RQ4: What are some plausible strategies to leveraging ICTs for impactful intervention? Frequency of Unrest The frequency of Human Induced Crises(HICs) such as religiousunrests, political killings, kidnappings, attacks on law enforcement personnel and property destructions are on the increase today in Nigeria (NISER, 2012) Each time oneturns on the news or reads the newspaper, depictionsof various crisesmay take up to70% of the coverage.Anincrease in the number of such incidencescan be attributed toseveral factors;including but not limited to,economic and social marginalization, political power struggles, greed and egocentrism, poor leadership, rapid urbanizations and religious intolerance. Irrespective of the type of crisis the end results tend to be the same in the affected areas such asNorthern Nigeria and the Niger Delta:loss of life and property, economic downturn, military occupations that often create tensions with the population due to imposed restrictions in movement and communications, etc. Unfortunately, the poorer communities are the most vulnerable to such catastrophes due to a variety of socio political, cultural and economic factors which compel them to live in disaster prone areas (Benson et al. 2001) Unexpected calamites in Nigeriatend to disproportionately favor the poor by interrupting their revenue/income flows, reducing personal assets, and destroyinglives and essential public infrastructure. According to NISER (2011) the Plateau State ranked first with about 79 percent of the population affected by HICs between 1999 and 2011.The same report showed that Bauchi State came second while Borno, Kaduna and Kano States occupies third position.Today, Borno State ranks number one followed by Yobe State and Adamawa State. The case of Adamawa State is rather one of culprit by association as its inclusion in the States of Emergency arises largely from its proximity to the top two States associated with violence European International Journal of Science and Technology ISSN: 2304 9693 www.eijst.org.uk 106 today.Some estimates have it that these human induced catastrophes have killed more "innocent" people than the Nigerian civil war of 1967 to 1970(Akinadewo, 2011).The increase in the frequency and number of HICs in Nigeria today, the immeasurable suffering and unlimited damages caused in terms of life and property as a consequence, the pressure that is brought to bear on affected populace and the long run effect of such catastrophes trigger the need for both preventive and adaptive intervention measures. Tools for information gathering are essential in preparing for and responding to tragedies when they occur. As a result, the use of information systems in vulnerable communities for advanced mitigation of or in readiness for such situations is a key functionthat stakeholders involved in crisis management must consider. The use and application of ICTsin the affected communities in the event of such crisis is crucial; reliable communication in the 24 hours that follow an incident can make all the difference in saving lives and protecting property (Newport et al. 2003) Therehas been an increasing spike of violence threatening lives and properties stemming from religious and political unrests that stretches from the North Eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa to the Central Nigerian States of Bauchi and Plateau, specifically the city of Jos that remainsa boiling point. These would be the crucial areas of focus for deploying ICTs in an intervention effort at preventing or managing crises. The significance of the study It is envisaged that the findings of this study will raisepublic awareness about the levelof ignorance and lack of access to vital and timely information relating to such volatile situations. We will survey the type of ICT systems available and actually being used in these areas, the problems encountered in using them, and the nature of ICT infrastructure in Nigeria as a whole and additional opportunity for exploiting ICT capabilities to this difficulty. This study shouldmake a contributionon current studies on the role of ICTs in crisis prevention and management such as emergencyrelief for developing countries. It is also hopedthat the study will raise awareness on the key roleof ICT in such crises management efforts across Nigeria.