EMERGING FROM THE DARK AGE

The dark age in Nigerian history to me was not the period between 1967 and 70 when Nigerians raised arms against Nigerians in a bloody civil war. The darkest hour for Nigerians was from the late eighties to nineties. During that period, Nigerians became more aware of the possibilities technology could bring and yearned for more of such information but sadly, information was costly to get. Only elites could afford to offset the huge naira needed to get an internet connection (the window to endless information).

A lot of problems plagued that era basically because of lack of information. I recall like it was yesterday when HIV/AIDS became a pandemic in Nigeria; a section believed it was a diabolic disease sent to people by their enemies. The discrimination against people living with the disease was unimaginable. So bad it was that at some point I feared shaking hands with anyone that was lank because I wasn't sure how I could go wrong. In rural areas, cases were reported of people who believed they would be cured by sleeping with infants (besides ending behind bars, I don't know how that played out with their infection).

Endemic sub-Saharan diseases like malaria, cholera and typhoid fever took the lives of many (and probably still do in rural areas) because little was known of their mode of transmission and prevention. It is not surprising how the mantra, 'disease no dey kill African pikin,' born by ignorance quickly gained acceptance.

As technology advanced and information became nearer grasp, farmers didn't need to practice their career blindly. There came meteorologist that didn't just guess the weather but said with a high degree of precision how the weather would play out the entire year; the amount of rainfall and drought. This helped to reduce the amount of seed plants lost to flood and drought hence more fruitful harvest and better food security to the nation.

The advent of cheaper data (orchestrated by launch of indigenous satellite into space) proved that our actions were driven by ignorance. Information pertaining the vector and mode of transmission of some of the common diseases became an easy and verifiable read from the internet rather than mere speculations. There was an obvious decline in the amount of deaths recorded on those diseases from the year two thousand and five upwards. 

More recently, there was an Ebola outbreak in some West African states. When it came to Nigeria however, it was defeated, it was defeated. It wasn't defeated by drugs (obviously there is no known cure yet) or was it defeated because Nigerians were stronger than her neighbours. Nigerians were simply more prepared with more information.

From two thousand and five upwards too, Nigeria saw entrepreneurs making legitimate living from the internet, most notable Linda Ikeji the blogger. Others exploited the boundless world to market their products and services thereby reducing significantly the level of poverty. The internet also created jobs for writers and freight services (online shop deliverers) and computer engineers.

Inasmuch as data is relatively cheap and available, it is pathetic to know that rural dwellers in most part of the country are still cut off from this vast network and information. No doubt their behaviour and actions seems awkward to an urban dweller. A lot of avoidable deaths are recorded on such areas on daily basis and poverty flourishes there. It is not enough to pride ourselves as a great nation with accessible internet. We have to ensure that every single citizen is carried along in this transition. Data should be made available and cheap (if not totally free like my friend suggested when we spoke last week) to the nooks and crannies to help these poor ones get enlightened and polish their lifestyle.

If that farmer that owns a small piece of land in the village knows how unstable the economy is, he may reconsider taking up a fourth wife. If those ebullient young men that parade themselves as village champions, unleashing terror in their communities knew the vast opportunities on the internet they may reconsider their lifestyle. As a nation, we should keep pushing the boundary till every single citizen has access to limitless information because every single individual left behind under the tutelage of ignorance is one more individual to worry about in the future.