SEOUL – The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), on Friday in Seoul, commenced training of 14 Nigerian public officials in e-government.
Jang Bong Hee, the Deputy Resident Representative of KOICA in Nigeria, told The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Seoul that the programme was part of ongoing efforts by the South Korean government to develop an e- government master plan for Nigeria.
He underscored the importance of putting in place an e-government policy in Nigeria if the country with the largest economy in Africa was to achieve sustainable development.
According to Jang, the UN says the key to achieving development in any nation and increasing literacy level is through the implementation of e-government.
He quoted the 2012 UN survey on e-government carried out in over 200 countries as ranking Nigeria at the 168th position, while Korea ranked first.
He said Nigeria had enough resources to achieve development and that Korea would make every effort to assist it to attain the status.
“If the Federal Government and Nigerians cooperate, we can achieve this in a short time. We are aiming to improve Nigeria’s ranking to at least the first 100 in the next five years.
“KOICA has been training public officers for over three years in e-government. This year, it introduced the economic development workshop to share Korea’s experience with officers who are in charge of economic planning.’’
Jang said KOICA was also making plans to set up a modern training centre in the FCT, equipped with the latest technologies, to introduce top state and federal government officers to the importance and role of e-government in national development.
The agency had granted annual scholarships to Nigerian nationals in various fields and provided infrastructure to schools and hospitals, as well as technical aid.
He, however, said that the attitude of Nigerians and some government officers to the concept of development was not as positive and strong as it should be, and that had stalled the development efforts of government.
“Some Nigerians do not care about the national identity, but we see Nigeria as having the potential to develop if the people put in more effort and patriotism and government evolves proper policies.
Some of the participating organisations include the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology (FMCT), Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) and Galaxy Backbone.
Others are from the News
