Technological Slowdown, Threatens The Nigerian Dream

Tech Slowdown Treatens The Nigerian Dream

Credit: Afolabi Sotunde

Earlier this month, I was surfing the net and came across a headline that was puzzling and irritatingly funny to me. It was about the then JAMB that was scheduled between March 10-13 and the CBT centers to be used which ought to have been put in place long before the exams were still asking for more time, “More time for what ?” I pondered.

Apparently the article was saying they needed some more time to get their facilities checked and put in place every necessary things for the exam. They gave excuses when it was just days to the exams which led me to start thinking we need a technology revamp in this country.

No doubt the introduction of the of the CBT spoke well on JAMB’s need to make things easier embracing a technological advancement and as much as we make strides to take technology up a notch in the country which I personally (I don’t speak for everyone) really appreciate, we still are far behind and when we as a country even adopt one it seems not to be done well.

What then is the gain to start a project just to leave it halfway, what is the gain if we do not put conscious commitment to tasks? For example, 4G network had already been put in place in developed countries far before Nigeria started playing catch up, giant telecom providers Glo and MTN were finally able to provide us with this but it is still not available everywhere in a mega city like Lagos.

jamb cbt Technology Slowdown Treatens The Nigerian Dream

A country that wants adequate changes never joke with technology. Since this article started off talking about CBT, my first ever CBT experience I had was during a GST exam in my second year in the university and it wasn’t an experience I’ll want to have again.

The penchant for leaving things half-done is sickening, well I got to the exam venue in the IT building beaming and grinning like a fully-fed goat, I was nervous at first but it was like a nervousness with a good edge, “A sweet nervousness” because it was my first computer based test and I was happy the school was making things easier, yaaaaayyy ! we were joining the big boys.

We were told our login details was our course code and surname for the username and password respectively and that was when the mayhem started, the disgust, brittle whispering and aching coming from sections of the hall. Some couldn’t login as seconds turned to minutes and minutes leading to hours for some very unfortunate ones, one could literally smell panic as it began to stench the hall.

Fear gripped some of us as we could see some of our mates going on with their exams and we couldn’t even login, my nervy hands began to take its toll in my mind, exam fear crept into my body and I was beginning to feel numb.

Some caused more ruckuses, they logged in and all of a sudden there was a trip in their computers and it logged them out and submitted their exam script without them even attempting a question. The IT technicians couldn’t even handle the situation well, so much for advanced technology.

Advance technology has always been alien to us, a country that doesn’t appreciate technology gets left behind and die in the embrace of the archaic. We rarely have dedicated people who see technology for what it is – A REVOLUTION.

Technology Slowdown Treatens The Nigerian Dream

When we even get to talk about technology some just see it as phones, computers and gadget accessories and think that is all there is to it. Technology goes beyond that, it comes in our everyday life, day to day activities, our body, our environment, we see technology in movies, music, journals, papers, magazines. Technology is in what we do, why we do it and also how to do it and quite a lot more.

Also Read: Three Successful Women In Tech Share Their Secrets

We don’t need half-sized technological growth our leaders should know this. If we can’t seem to fix little things like CBT exams in time, how then do we conduct researches to the moon and back or manufacture automobiles that don’t pollute the environment ?

It all leads to this question – “ARE WE PREPARED FOR REAL TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS ?”

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