The Relevance of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for National Integration
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
African countries should integrate ICT into their governance structures in order to develop policies to advance national social cohesion. Developing an e-Cultural Synchronize model towards national unity in African nations with the synchronizing of indigenous cultures acting as the fulcrum allows us to offer a heuristic. The argument is based about the need for African states to pay closer attention to the cultural textile of their respective communities in order to show that several aspects of African culture are not incompatible with democratic governance or other forms of government which some African leaders have tried. This will help to ease tensions between different cultures. This article have highlighted different e-governance model that have been developed, then the model that is widely adopted with the stages involved. It also discusses how e-cultural synchronization model can be achieved with four stages of development. In this study, e-CS is not portrayed as a magic bullet for solving the problems crucial national integration in African nations, especially those with diverse populations. The e-CS was primarily created to provide data on e-Government portals regarding co-cultural entities in different African countries, and it is thought to be a significant part of national integration procedures. The study also revealed some basic components that e-governance requires to operate effectively and efficiently which are energy; telecommunications and related technologies; and dedicated political leadership. Indigenous cultural synchronization as a means of fostering national cohesiveness has received little attention in comparison to ideological decisions and democratic governance in a number of attempts at national unification.
Downloads
Article Details
References
Africa Priority Program for Economic Recovery (APPER) (1986-1990) United Nations, Retrieved from http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/spec/aress13-2.htm Accessed date:5/4/2015
Alapiki, H.E. (2000) Politics and governance in Nigeria, Corporate Impressions, Owerri
Alapiki, H.E. (2005) State creation in Nigeria, failed approaches to National integration and local autonomy. African Studies Review, Vol. 48, No 3, pp 49-65.
Anele, A.A. (1999). Social change and social problems in Nigeria, Springfield Publishers, Owerri
Attah, Noah. (2013) Contesting exclusion in a multi-ethnic state: Rethinking ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. Social Identities, Vol. 19, No 5, pp 607-620.
Ayo, C.K. (2009) Information Systems and Technologies, MCKAY Educational Series, Lagos
Bandyopadhyay, S. and Green, E. (2013). Nation-Building and Conflict in Modern Africa. World Development, Vol 45, No 5, pp 108-118.
Binder, L. (1964) National Integration and Political Development. American Political Science Review, 58, No 3, pp622-631.
Blake, C. A. (1988) Communication and Development and the Cultural Synchronization of Africa and its People. Africa Media Review, Vol. 2, No 2, pp 17-27.
Blake, C. (1989) The New Communication Technologies and the African Cultural Renaissance.” Paper presented at the Annual Howard University Communication Conference. Washington D.C.: pp 1-13.
Baum, C. and Maio, A. D. (2000) “Gartners four phases of e-government model”, Retrieved from http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?id=317292. Accessed date: 17/12 2014.
Carrizales, T. (2008) Critical Factors in an Electronic Democracy: a Study of Municipal Managers. The Electronic Journal of e-government, Vol. 6, No 1, pp 23 – 30.
Coleman, J. S., and Rosberg, C. G. (Eds.) (1966). Political Parties and National Integration in Tropical Africa, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA
Deutsch, K. (1971). The Analysis of International Relations. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliff, NJ
Davis, Thomas, J and Kalu-Nwiwu, Azubike. (2001). Education, Ethnicity and National Integration in the History
of Nigeria: Continuing Problems of Africa’s Colonial Legacy. Journal of Negro History, Vol. 86, No 1, pp1-11.
Emelonye, U. and Buergenthal, R. M. (Eds). (2011). Nigeria: Peace Building through Integration and Citizenship, International Development Law Organization, Rome, Italy
Enegwa, G. and Umoden, G. (1995). Twenty Years of National Service, Gbajumo Publishing Company Limited, Lagos
Graafland-Essers, Irma and Ettedgui, Emile. (2003). Benchmarking e-government in Europe and the US. RAND, Santa Monica, CA
Hafeez, S.and Sher, S. W. (Eds). (2006). UN Global E-Government Readiness Report (2005). From E-Government to E-Inclusion. United Nations Publications, New York
Hafkin, N.J. (2009). E-government in Africa: An Overview of Progress Made and Challenges Ahead. UNDESA/UNPAN workshop on electronic/mobile government in Africa. http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/un/documents/un/unpan034002.pdf. Accessed: 17/12/2014
Haveez, S. (2004). UN Global E-Government Readiness Report (2004). Towards Access for Opportunity. United Nations, New York UNPAN/2004/11.
Ihonvbere, J.O. (2003). The Nigerian state as obstacle to federalism: towards a new constitutional compact for democratic politics. AT, Gana et al. Federalism in Africa: The Imperative of Democratic Development, Africa World Press, INC, Trento
Jayashree, S. and Marthandan, G. (2010). Government to E-government and E-society. Journal of Applied Science. Vol. 1 0, No 19, pp 2205-2210.
Jude, C. O and Okoroafor, E.C (2018). National Integration in Nigeria: A Philosophical Insight. International Journal of Novel Research in Humanities, Social Sciences and Management. Vol. 1. No 1, pp 55-56.
Kraemer, K. L. and J. L. King (2006). Information Technology and Administrative Reform: will e-government be different? International Journal of Electronic Government Research (IJEGR), Vol. 2, No 1, 1-20.
Layne, K. and Lee J. (2001). Developing fully functional e-government: A four-stage model. Government Information Quarterly, Vol. 18, No 2, pp 122-136.
Mintzberg, H. (1971) “Managerial Work: Analysis from Observation”, Management Science, Vol 18, No. 2, pp 97 110.
Moon, M. J. (2002). The Evolution of e-government Among Municipalities: Rhetoric or Reality? Public Administration Review, Vol. 62, No 4, pp 424-433.
Moynihan, Donald P. (2004) Protection versus Flexibility: The Civil Service Reform Act, Competing Administrative Doctrines and the Roots of Contemporary Public Management Debate, Journal of Policy History, Vol. 16, No 1, pp 1-35.
Obodo, N.A. & Anigbata, D.O. (2018). Challenges of implementing electronic governance in public sector organization in Nigeria. International Journal of Applied Economics, Finance and Accounting, Vol. 2, No 1, pp 30-32.
Oduro, F. (2009). The quest for inclusion and citizenship in Ghana: challenges and prospects. Citizenship Studies, Vol. 13, No 6, pp 621-639.
Olowu, Dele. (2004) Bridging the digital divide in Africa: Making the governance discourse relevant. (Eds).
Ben Soltan et al.African Networking: Development, Information, ICTs and governance, International Books, Utrecht
Onifade, C.A. and Imonophi, D. (2013) Towards National Integration in Nigeria: Jumping the Hurdles. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol. 3, No 9, pp 75-82.
Palvia, S.C.J., and Sharma, S.S. (2007) E-Government and e-Governance: definitions/domain framework and status around the World, 5th ICEG International Conference on E-governance, in Zakaru, I. S and Obeidat, Y. K. (2013) A Framework for an E-government Based Oriented Architecture for Jordan, International Journal Information Engineering and Electronic Business, Vol. 5, No. 3. Pp 1-10
Pudjianto, B. W. and Hangjung, Z. (2009) Factors Affecting E-Government Assimilation in Developing Countries. In 4th Communication Policy Research, South Conference, Negombo, Sri Lanka.
Srivastava, S.C. and Teo, T.S.H. (2006) “Determinants and impact of e-government and e-business development: A global perspective”, Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2006), Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Unies, N. & Development Management. (2008) United Nations E-Government Survey 2008: From E-Government to Connected Governance. United Nations, New York
Whitaker, B.E. (2005) Citizens and foreigners: democratization and the politics of exclusion in Africa. African Studies Review, Vol. 48, No 1, pp 109-126.
Zolberg, A. R. (1967) Patterns of National Integration. Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol 5, No 4, pp 449-467.