Our
life is a spider-web of Codes. Where
is Software Nigeria? For all those countries – especially in Africa/Nigeria who
are not aware or blatantly refused to acknowledge the power of Information
Technology (especially the Software of Things) and are therefore significantly lagging behind
the concept, challenges, complexities timely application and fatal consequences
of the neglect of Information Technology development, the compelling and
innovative truth is that “Life is a Code”. Indeed, our entire
life and the whole humanity is a crystal ball of code rapped in the mastery of
software and related IT Ecosystem. Only those who embrace and religiously
master it will effectively manage sustainable development and prosper. And
those who are currently blind, deaf and dumb to the amazing world of
Code……..will perish. Did I say perish? Nay such nations will depart this life
and be forever forgotten.
As the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) prepares to celebrate her 20th
anniversary, there is need to further explore the state of Software-Nigeria. Simply
defined, a code is a system of imagination and
interpretation of life patterns at all levels, by replacing the words in a
message with other words or symbols, so that it conjures complexity and nobody
can understand it unless he/she possesses the system knowhow. Intricate secret codes are used in
various forms eg: when the names of trees stood for letters. A code is also any system of signs or symbols
such as our finger-prints and the genetic Codes used by living cells to
translate encoded information (DNA) with
magical meanings.
A typical example is the Enigma Machine. The Enigma
machines were
a series of electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines developed and used in
the early-to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic and military
communications. Thanks to Alan Turing who cracked the Code and averted a major
world catastrophe during the Second World War. Indeed, Turing’s skill and work
during the Second World War were so decisive that Winston Churchill acknowledged
his role as follows: “Turing made the single biggest contribution to Allied
victory” Turing was a Code Warrior and brilliant Mathematician.
Going forward with
life as a Code, “Never before in
history has innovation offered promise of so much to so many in so short a
time.” — Bill Gates. And according to David
Landes (1998): “Indeed, the very notion of productivity is a by-product of the
clock: once one can relate performance to uniform time units, work is never the
same” (p. 49–50). It was the invention of the mechanical clock which in turn
led to one of Adam Smith’s seminal insights: wealth and prosperity depend
directly—to use Smith’s language—on the “productive powers of labor.” (David Landes (1998 - modified)
Therefore
Software Code is undoubtedly the backbone to 21st century economic
development, national security and survivability. Above all, it validates the
maxim: “we cannot manage what we cannot
measure (codify)”. Today, the quantum challenges, needs and
response aspirations for our national leadership, security of life and
survivability for a population of about 200 million people cannot be
effectively determined, scaled, effectively managed and/or measured without a
centralized and dynamic National Code in enigmatic Database and Security
Intelligent System. It is however
pertinent to state that Nigeria’s survivability is to a larger degree, a shared
inspiration, obligation and responsibility of the State and the citizenry.
According to Philip Zelikow Executive
Director of 9/11 Commission and a Professor at the University of Virginia, USA,
the most significant lessons learned from the 9/11 catastrophe is: “The United States of America would have done,
before the 9/11 saga, most of the
things (i.e: reactionary measures taken) that we did post 9/11!” A valid example is the establishment of the
Homeland Security Institutional framework with its complex, colossal,
multi-dimensional and highly-critical information infrastructure with expansive
Database systems on Cybersecurity and Terrorism. It is all for public safety.
Indeed, it is all about life as a Code.
Nigeria
is currently faced with a similar challenge of weaponized fire wrapped up in
Code- ignorance and hate against self -
informed by the magnitude our under-development and complexities of terror such
as the United Nations suicide bomb blast and other deadly hits, such as the
INEC bomb blast at Suleja, Niger State and the Abuja Police HQ, bomb blast,
Chibok Girls, and now Dapchi saga to mention but a few. Would we have done
some of the things we now intend to do – about 20 years ago?
Would we have
mobilized the IT Professionals and created a National Coding Platforms and
Institution, Security Intelligence Database, adequately prepared with disaster
recovery plans and mastered the related operational complexities before they
stuck? What
about the monumental and heart breaking corruption and thief-thief figures
slapping us in the face every nanosecond?
21st
century Information clusters are dynamic knowledge architecture for developing
Intelligent and security systems. Many centuries ago, great philosophers of
knowledge like Aristotle, Francis Beckon, etc., have informed us that the
character of a nation is dictated by the structure, knowledge modules,
organizational ability and programmed processes of her information and Database
systems.
In other words, “As we lay our national information systems
bed, so we sleep on it! The role of Technology and in particular,
e-Government and software systems in National Security Database Intelligence
dynamics has therefore become a critical and significant component as well as a
fundamental necessity for understanding e-security life-cycle. Also, it
amplifies the needs and accelerated urgency for deploying strategies capable of
protecting Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) with result-oriented and sustainable implementation process.
Software-Nigeria is the key and the secure Roadmap to our future and Indigenous
skill-sets must be called to national duty.
Empowering the Institute of
Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) therefore becomes an urgent
imperative to provide and deliver the required solutions. The reason is not
far-fetched, the task is a very sensitive initiative which represents and is
indeed, the knowledge laboratory for national survivability. India is a good
example of this process.
For
so long, our Information and Data attributes seems to have been sentenced by
ignorance to the death-roll of our nation building agenda and development
mission. This artificially conceived anti-Code
mindset (the Nigerian factor?) has indeed subverted and corrupted the conscious
layers of our intellectual and merit-mechanisms. Furthermore, it has aided and
abetted the migration of our patriotic ability, from a community of “what-you-know”
to a society of “who-you know” and where you come from! A robust national database can be designed
and built by IT professionals to resolve the crisis of Nigeria’s
under-development.
Above
all, it has created a society that is entangled in techno-phobia and estranged
by technology. A society that abhors critical information process; shuns, hunts
and crucifies rigorous database generation and myopically subdues professional
IT knowledge acquisition project implementation processes as insignificant or
unnecessary for national intelligence and people development.
The consequence
is that what we now have is a capital merchandising environment – otherwise
known as ‘Okada economy’! This has
led us to pursue and glorify 4-megawatts
of power generation, when indeed we require a minimum of 50-megawatts to jump-start a globally meaningful and competitive vision
as the single largest concentration of people of African descent under the
universe. It is all about Software.
It is about Database! Information Technology professionals can significantly
contribute to the national mission of providing constant power generation and
distribution for Nigeria.
The
reality today translates to the fact that it should be abundantly clear to us,
that the era and long-addicted habit of physically and blindly chasing the
containers and cargo packages at all our import terminals and air/land boarders
and throwing away the content of the manifest documents that represent the
knowledge-base and real world inside the containers, must be over by now.
The fact that ‘Kid Google’ utilizes
over 2.3million Megawatts to run its global knowledge business compared to
Nigeria’s dream for generating 10,000 Megawatts by 2020, or a reality that
Microsoft has earned more money in 25years of its operation – than what General
Motors has netted in 100years, should be a wakeup call to Nigeria! Waking up
here implies that Code Dreamers, Design-Thinking Innovators and IT
Professionals in Nigeria must be accorded their rightful place in the task if
Nation building and sustainable development and national security.
The
life we live today is made-up of and wrapped in Codes. Information Technology
(IT) is undoubtedly the world's fastest growing body of knowledge for
sustainable development and national survivability. At the centre of these very
complex processes is Software Infrastructure. On a thumb rule, Nigeria needs to
case a serious look into Code development and aim to spin out 500,000 Code
Warriors within the next 36 months. Life is a Code. No Code, No life!
*Contributed by Chris Uwaje
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