To ensure that Edo becomes fully digitalized, Edo state government has partnered with Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative (Tech4dev). They have done this to boost the capacity of 3000 workers to achieve a 100 percent balance at all levels in the public service. Haven worked round the clock in the past few years. The government has achieved tremendous success
Since the inception of Godwin Obaseki’s administration, Technology and efficiency have become a priority. It is a given that technology enables a smarter, more transparent, and more effective governance system. Today, the platform which bureaucracy runs in Edo state is technology-driven, resulting in a high level of efficiency and a renewed sense of responsibility among the Officers in the Civil/Public Service.
Jacques Ellul said, “Modern technology has become a total phenomenon for civilization, the defining force of a new social order in which efficiency is no longer an option but a necessity imposed on all human activity.” In bringing the words of Jacques Ellul to bear, the Edo State Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa Esq., had reiterated the terms of the Governor, Godwin Obaseki, when he said he would be the last governor of Edo State to treat physical files.
At a meeting with the President and Management staff of Tech4dev, the Head of Service, they have made known that Governor Obaseki has said that everyone in service who cannot use computers needs to be supported and trained. It has become a condition for public servants to grow and develop. In other words, For Civil/Public Servants to earn their promotion, they must be able to work on the Edo State Government portal. If they can’t use computers and cannot use the E-Gov, it will be near impossible to perform optimally.
In the words of Okungbowa Esq., “Government has ensured that there is a contract currently running to guarantee that fibre optic is extended to all the nooks and crannies of the state so that children in faraway Somorika, Igarra and the uttermost parts of the state can access the internet and showcase their skills just as children in Benin.”
This State Government wants to ensure that they leave no segment of society out of the digitalization plan. It also provides that the Civil/Public Officers in these faraway localities can carry out their functions seamlessly as their city counterparts.
The importance of co-creating the learning curriculum also comes into play. As amplified during the meeting, Edo State is ahead of many states with digital learning. In the words of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Digital Economy, Science, and Technology, Yuwa Naps, “We need to make people learn how to use the onboard applications within our Ecosystem.
We also need to train our people to localize or domesticate policies. The government need to build the skills across the MDAs to understand what these policies will do for them. We want champions within the Edo State Government ecosystem. They will drive the training deliverables because it is not just for the civil servants.”
It is a certainty that Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative (Tech4dev) will be assisting the Edo State Government to provide training for 3000 workers, given that the Organisation’s focus is on driving digital skills at the basic, immediate, and advanced levels across different ranges of audiences.
Giving a glimpse into its reliability and success rate, JOEL OGUNSOLA, Founder/President, Tech4dev, says, “We have done it successfully over the past seven years with a range of partners like Microsoft and Facebook. The UK government, an existing long-term partner of Edo State, supports the project for which we wish to partner with Edo State. The program is civil servants oriented, and we want officers passionate about learning about the internet.”
Technology for social change and development initiative (Tech4DEV) is a non-profit social enterprise that creates access to decent work and entrepreneurship opportunities and platforms for Africans through digital skills. The organization’s main focus is driving the adoption of digital skills at the basic, intermediate, and advanced levels across different ranges of audiences.
That Edo State has a people-oriented Government is non-disputable. The magnitude of the above readily calls to mind the words of Steve Jobs when he said, “What is important is that you have faith in people, that they are good and smart, and if you give them tools, they will do wonderful things with them.”
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