A member of the British Computer Society and the Managing Partner of
Techsol Professional Services Ltd, Mobolaji Moshood, has called on President
Muhammadu Buhari to use e-government to build public trust in governance.
In an interview, Moshood said e-governance was no longer a mere concept
but a practical administrative tool governments in different parts of the world
are using to broaden citizen’s participation in decision-making process, drive
socio-economic growth and build trust in public policies.
According to him, nothing short of “radical transparency” will move the
country from its current socio-economic status to the position it wants to
attain. He urged the government to employ new technologies and digital media to
raise the bar of transparent governance and public engagement.
The call comes when President Buhari whose electoral success was largely
driven with digital platforms, seems to have mellowed on the Internet. For
instance, his two Twitter pages – @MBuhari and NGRPresident – have yet to
respond to trending sentiments and criticisms that have welcomed his recent
appointments.
Similarly, @Asorock, a Twitter handle operated by the State House, has
not tweeted since May 31. The speedily-verified account stopped tweeting two
days after the current administration was inaugurated. Its last tweets were
published when the President appointed his media aides – Femi Adesina and Garba
Lawal.
Since then, the Twitter page has failed to keep its own promise –
“Follow for the latest from the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.”
And despite its inactivity, its following keeps growing, an indication
that many Nigerians are, indeed, ready, for a more transparent and engaging
governance.
Moshood challenged the government to put “big data” collected from
citizens in public space. He also said citizens should be given the opportunity
to determine what data are collected from them, how and when they are collected
and the purposes they served. The public, he added, should have an uncensored
access to data collected by both public and private agencies.
He said, “Big data can provide better information, enabling better
policies for the country. For that to be accomplished, Nigerians must be
confident that the country is acting in good faith and with full
accountability.
“This is why the e-government initiative as endorsed by the United
Nations Public Administration Network is imminent. Ironically, the only time
private industries are forced to reveal their data is when there is a breach.
“Government must go beyond the standards of the private sector and
ensure that citizens can determine how and when agencies collect their
information and to what extent it will be used.
“Policy-driven big data collection by public agencies is, decidedly,
less attractive. Agencies must educate consumers on the benefits of research
and statistics. But, ultimately, only radical transparency will build the trust
needed to construct better policies that are built on better data.”
While many developed countries store information on their citizens in
publicly-accessible media such as the Internet, Moshood said the Federal
Government had yet to encourage public and private organisations to follow
similar path.
This, the information technology expert said, was responsible for the
wide gap between those countries and Nigeria in terms of development.
“If allowed to be analysed, information already collected could offer
accurate, impartial answers to questions of income and unemployment, resource
usage and transportation patterns.
“For example, economists can use high integrity data from the Federal
Inland Revenue Service to determine which Nigeria cities will move from low-income
positions to the middle class in the nearest future.
“Every year, the Federal Government budgets for projects that are aimed
at expanding access to public data. But often times, none has achieved the
desired result. There are many legal, political and bureaucratic hurdles
stopping us from making a leap,” he said.
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