CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study
David is the biblical man for all
seasons, the most complex and many-sided human character in the bible. He was
variously shepherd, fugitive, politician, king, poet, musician, prophet,
warrior and so many attributes. The role in which David is best known to the Western
imagination is that of ‘boy hero and giant killer’. When he killed Goliath, he
became an instant public hero, a civic liberator providing possible inspiration
for fictional heroes, following in wake from Beowulf to Jack of the beanstalk
(1Samuel17: 1-58). This victory by the boy David can be liken to the
introduction of Information CommunicationTechnology in curbing or minimizing
corruption and so many social vices in both private and public services.
The current use of the internet,
digital connectivity, the explosion and use of e-commerce and e-business models
to enhance efficiency in the private sector is pressuring the public sector to
rethink hierarchical, bureaucratic organizational models (Ndou, 2004:30-46).
Moreover, the increasing expectation ofNigeriansand the pressured effective
service delivery of the private sector are pressing the bureaucracy to be time
responsive. As a result, the 21st century has experienced a shift in the role
of government. Unlike before, the government’s role has been redefined to
empower rather than serve the customer, shift from hierarchy to teamwork and
participation, and be mission-oriented and customer-focused, and to enhance
with prevention rather than cure (Osborne&Gaebler, 1992).
In the early 1980s, the need to reform
the bureaucracy became imperative all overthe globe. Consequently, the
governments of developed and developing countries are faced with the challenge
of transformation and the need to modernize administrative practices and
management systems (Tapscott, 1996:60-66). In this regard, Information and
CommunicationTechnology (ICT) is seen as a tool to support the work of
governmental institutions and agencies with the objectives of delivering public
services and information in a more convenient, citizen-centric way and to curb
corrupt practices. In other words, Information and Communication can be an
effective tool to ensure increased accessibility, inclusivity and flexibility
of government services.
The
Federal Government of Nigeria has recognized the importance of ICT for making
service delivery prompt and effective. It has introduced ICT tools such as
online payment of salaries and wages, accounting package, advertisement of
vacancies and so on in different public offices. As a matter of fact, when the
National Information Technology Policy was approved to guide the ICT project in
Nigeria, this was followed by the enactment of the National Information
Technology Development Agency Act 2007, which provided the legal platform for
the creation of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Lagos State Government
in an effort to align with the Federal Government NITDA policy, decided to have
strategic partnership between herself and the UK Department for International
Development (DFID) through State Partnership for Accountability, Responsiveness
and Capacity (SPARC) program and related bilateral and multilateral aid which
aims at bringing about reform that will position Lagos State in terms of its
vision of Lagos becoming a mega city with world class ICT infrastructure,
comparable to that of any other mega city in the world. Lagos State Government
recognizes the necessity for competence in ICT. Therefore, in May, 2011it
Established Public Service Management ICT subgroup to guide the conception,
design and implementation, applicable, development of ICT in the state .The
Lagos State Government ICT Policy according to the state website design assured
that “The
relationships between people, process and technology is effectively managed by
the singular most important document – the Policy which ensures business
process alignment between the different aspects of any organization. An ICT
Policy for Lagos State is therefore the most important outstanding document
that will effectively guide how to manage ICT infrastructure and continuously
align the acquisition and use of ICT resources with the States strategy. The
policy document will define the course or method of action to guide and
determine present and future decisions. If well implemented, the ICT Policy
will ensure the establishment of guidelines and procedures for the acquisition,
deployment, usage, and retirement of Information and Communication Technology
resources in Lagos State government Ministries, Department and Agencies. It
will also ensure the safety and security of Information Communication
Technology resources within the State government from both internal and
external threats” (Lagos ICT, 2011).
It should be noted that this ICT
policy document was produced in collaboration with input from the Public
Service Management ICT subgroup which will help in establishing and
strengthening good governance within the LASG and in turn ensure the provision
of a world class ICT solution benchmarked against International best practices.
The policy document will be undergoing an approval process which is led by
strategic Ministries, Department and Agencies, and when finally approved and
put in place will help to structure, streamline and provide the needed rules
and framework for the Lagos Stage Government. In addition to the ICT policy
document, an ICT Acceptable User policy and Information Security Policy
document were also produced (Lagos ICT, 2011).
The invaluable role of local
government in Lagos State with its mandate to bring development nearer to the
people has become a relevant discourse of our time. The United Nations (2009)
and Nassanga (2006) explore the power of Information and Communication
Technology in achieving this statutory role of local government. In Nigeria,
there are several initiatives geared at accelerating development via the
technological platform. Overcoming the challenges of transformation of
administrative bodies as service deliverers to the citizens is only possible with
proper application of Information and CommunicationTechnology(ICT) which allows
citizens to access various electronic services. Hence, citizens are able to
publicly express their opinion about the functioning of local government and
proper conducting of public affairs, thus increasing the role of grass roots
administration as a service oriented towards citizens. With these assumed
benefits of Information and Communication Technology policy by LSG as
enumerated above, this research work attempts to carefully examine the impact
of ICT in Alimosho,Amuwo-Odofin, Badagry, Ikeja, Ojo and Oshodi-Isololocal
government areas of the state.
It is imperative at this juncture to
note that there is uniformity of function and responsibility for all the local
governments throughout the Nigeria federation as enshrined in the 1999
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The functions are made up of
mandatory for which local governments have full responsibility, those which
they sharing functions with higher levels of government and those functions
that the state or federal government can from time to time assign to local
authority (Constitution, 1999).
In the FourthSchedule of 1999 Constitutions of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, the functions of local governments are spelt out to include provision
of nursery, primary and adult education, administration of maternity centres,
dispensaries and leprosy clinics and health centres, lighting and drainage,
support for arts and culture, control of pollution, public housing
programmese.t.c
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The recent development
in information and communication technology provides opportunities for bridging
the gap between the government and the citizens. ICT provide avenue for
effective interaction between the government and citizens at local levels. It
also serves as a tool for eliminating barriers confronting citizens’
participation in governance at local level.
The Lagos State government effort in
implementing ICT across the entire state including local government areas
should be commended as it is an effort in the right direction. However, for the
projects and processes to be effective and efficient there is need for
appropriate coordination and streamlining. The significant role information and
communication technology is playing now in Lagos State strategic business
decision and the role it will continue to play in the nearest future cannot be
overemphasized. This therefore puts the state in the position to make concrete
and crucial decisions on what the strategic role ICT centre should be playing
in the development of ICT across the state and the use for effective and
efficient service delivery.
The present state of affairs in the
public sector, especially at local government level appears that the variables
responsible for poor performance have not been dealt with and so the problem
still lingers. It is against this background that the researcher sought to
examine to what extent has informationand communication technology been used to
resolve the problems of ineffective service delivery, low performance and
corruption in the local government administration.
1.3 Objective
of the Study
The general objective of this study is
to examine Information Communication Technology (ICT) and local government
administration, in Lagos Statebetween 2007 – 2015 with specific reference to Alimosho,
Amuwo-Odofin, Badagry, Ikeja, Ojo and Oshodi-Isolo. Other specific objectives
are to:
- examine
theuse ofICT in assessment of employees’ performance in the Local Government
Areas in Lagos State.
- determine
the extent to which ICT has improved transparency and accountability in the
assessment on employees’ performance in the sixlocal government areas
- investigate
the relationship between information and communication technology and effective
service delivery to the citizens in the six local government areas.
- analyse
the effects of ICT on both the users and the overhead cost operations of the
six Local Governments in Lagos State.
- examine
the use of ICT vis-à-vis bureaucratic bottlenecks in Local Government
administration in Lagos State.
1.4 Research
Questions
To achieve the stated objectives, the
following are the research questions to guide the study.
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION IN LAGOS STATE (2007-2015)
