Introduction:

We would say Africa still has a lot to do but you will definitely agree with me that we have grown too in other different things. We are breaking ground in different areas and aspects of life and that's great. Currently, we are rated amongst the best in several things such as literature, arts, Entertainment, Culture, Sports etc but not Technology. Why is this so?

I would say the major reason is our background or foundation if you might call it so. Take a deep look at it, we have been practising these things right from the 90s, talking about sport, entertainment, culture etc

All that was needed was promotion and improvement and looked at how far we've gone in those aspects. Nigeria’s entertainment and media industry revenue witnessed a 25.5 per cent growth. This amounted to $3.8 billion with $605 million of the estimated $764 million rises (according to PREMIUM TIMES)

This is because the background was strong in entertainment, art abd culture, we have grown and shown many improvements.

Take a deep look at Technology in Nigeria, we are still crawling, but thank God for all the Tech Hubs in the country that have been doing awesome programmes and innovations and individuals that have taken it upon themselves to make a change and to bring Africa into the light.

The foundation at that time was so bad that it was like a norm that after Primary & secondary schooling one has to enrol in a computer training school just to learn Microsoft Office, only a few who attended very good schools had access to these in school in their early days.

Why was it so?

I would say we had that mentality of it's, not our thing, let's leave it for the whites. It was too expensive and so the masses couldn't afford it. We didn't know its value and usefulness. So now that we have seen the value and its use, things are still moving slowly and sluggishly.

Should I call it greed or ignorance?

• Up till now in our universities, the computers we use are still of low standards compared to what the average company uses.
• Up till now in our universities, computer sciences students program on paper and save the computer laboratory for the final years or project days.
• Talking of power issues and access to the internet is still a major issue (It's still expensive and still not good stable enough in most places).
• There is a long list of challenges facing the Tech industry. However, let's not ponder on them but go straight to solutions.

We are considered great so it's expected that we show an example. Tech is here and here to stay so we need grass-root solutions.

There are several Tech Hubs, Firms and indicates that are already solving problems, teaching kids how to use tech, and understanding Artificial intelligence amongst others but these guys are not being heard about. (It's not exposed enough, only in Lagos where it's mostly known).

They can only reach out to a few people because of their resources or capacities. But if we get private investors in the tech sectors, just as they are in the entertainment industries we would reach more people and in turn make greater improvements.

To my knowledge most Tech programmes or evangelism are being sponsored by individuals and growing tech bodies, little comes from the government or big companies who only sponsor people in their fields so as to benefit from them in the future. If they are doing it, then little is being done.

Take a look at what Rwanda is doing. For instance with Kigali Innovation City and lots of Other tech projects and we are still fighting corruption.

We have seen great innovations from several youths, teens and children. But little is done to help or assist them.

With little or no resources/assistance we have grown up to this level, all thanks to individuals that had dedicated time and resources and also to organizations like Google, Facebook, Github, Andela etc. We have seen Representatives from Nigeria in many tech summits, Open source Africa is also doing well and lots of other bodies.

The tech industry alone in the United States made$351 billion in retail revenues ($266 billion wholesale) in 2018 – 3.9 per cent in 2017ording to new research from the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). We need to step up and step fast.

Africa is Great, Nigeria is Great