A Critical Assessment of Nigeria’s Presence on the Cyberspace
Author(s): U. M. Mbanaso, G. A. Chukwudebe & E. E. Atimati | Published date: Dec, 2015
<strong>Abstract</strong>—This paper presents a study of the Nigeria’s presence in Cyberspace. The Cyberspace (Internet) is now critical to every nation’s socio-economic, cultural and political activities. When it is disrupted or fails, can grind a nation to a standstill. On the contrary, its correct functioning and pliability is transforming modern society with exceptional pecuniary and social benefits. With nearly all traditional activities increasingly moving to the Internet, Cyberspace has become a new stage for innovations, enterprises, social networking, criminality and war. For this study, the United Nations (UN) e-governance framework was used, the highlights of the United Nations E-Government Survey report of 2014 was analyzed to show the ranking of the world leaders, West African countries and where Nigeria stands. The Internet penetration growth and evolving Internet infrastructure provisioning in Nigeria were reviewed and a critical assessment of Nigeria’s presence on the Cyberspace was carried out using the UN online presence index methodology between the months of August and September 2015. The web content, interactivity, the currency of information, downloadable documents, etc. were used to compare various sectors of the Nigerian economy; all tiers of government, academia, and the organized private sector. The study revealed that the organized private sector and private educational institutions are doing better than government educational institutions and ministries. Based on international best practices, a list of recommended actions for increasing cyberspace presence and achieving e-governance for improved services and productivity in Nigeria and similar developing countries is proffered.
Download pdfThe Use of Social Networking Service among Nigerian Youths between Ages16 and 25 Years
Author(s): U. M. Mbanaso, PhD; E. S. Dandaura PhD; G. N. Ezeh PhD; U. C. Iwuchukwu | Published date: Dec, 2015
<strong>A</strong><strong>bstract-</strong> This paper presents an investigation of the use of social networking service among youths aged 16 through 25 years, in Nigeria.The convergence of information systems and networks, the Internet and mobility has brought about a fundamental shift on how people generate and share information. Specifically, social media has emerged as a powerful tool in a digitally connected world, touching every aspect of human existence. This paradigm swing cuts across people of diverse age albeit affects each age category differently. This work presents the outcome of a study conducted in select towns in central part of Nigeria between January and June 2015. The focus was to determine how youths (age 16 through 25) use social media platforms in terms of the frequency, and purposes of social networking site usage. The survey revealed that, 99% of the respondents have social media accounts out of which 95.2% use smartphones to access various social media platforms. 46.4% from the respondents fall under the category of those very likely to use social platforms in a week, while 26.8% account for those who are extremely likely to use the social networking service within same time frame. Only 0.7% of the respondents were not likely to use social networking service within a week. Among the twelve social media platforms surveyed, Facebook ranked top as the most commonly used social networking channel with 91%, followed by WhatsApp (87%) and Tango ranked last at 1%. Based on the analysis of the result, it is highly likely that social media may have severe impact on young people who have no form of restrains with consequences of huge distractions and privacy intrusions. Conversely, the fact that social media is rapidly building social and communications habits into the youths point to its potential to enhance their learning habits if properly harnessed and formalized to aid pedagogy at secondary and tertiary levels.
Download pdfConceptual Framework for the Assessment of the Degree of Dependency of Critical National Infrastructure on ICT in Nigeria
Author(s): Uche Mbanaso, Victor Kulugh, Habiba Musa and Gilbert Aimufua | Published date: Nov, 2019
<strong>Abstract </strong> - Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) are assets that provide core functions to modern society, which failure or incapacitation can adversely affect national security, economic prosperity and wellbeing of citizens. In an evolving digital society, CNI rely heavily on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure to improve productivity, and effectively deliver critical services in timely and cost-effective fashion. However, the underlying ICT infrastructure that drives CNI amplify cyber risks, threats and vulnerabilities exponentially. Consequently, a failure in ICT infrastructure has the potential to affect CNI in an unexpected manner. The risks associated with the use of ICT are dynamic, raising the need for continuous assessment of degree of ICT dependency. Presently however, there is rarely a framework nor a publicly available tool in Nigeria that can quantitatively gauge the degree of CNI dependency on ICT. The study addresses this gap by the development of a conceptual framework that can facilitate the assessment of the degree of CNI dependency on ICT. In this study, existing relevant documents on critical infrastructure, ICT frameworks and standards and critical process engineering principles were scanned, analysed and synthesised to conceptualise the framework, and the construction of the building blocks, metrics and indicators. The framework was tested using a hypothetical discrete dataset. The outcome further facilitated the framing of ICT Dependency Index (IDI), a predefined quadrant, of which the computation of Dependency must fall within one of the quadrants.
Download pdfCharacterisation of Critical Infrastructure Organisation in Nigeria
Author(s): U. M. Mbanaso, V. E. Kulugh and J. A. Makinde | Published date: Dec, 2019
<span style="left:85.6px;top:318.433px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.03316);"><strong>ABSTRACT:</strong> This paper presents th</span><span style="left:310.4px;top:318.433px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.0557);">e characterisation of critical </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:335.633px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.0738);">infrastructures in Nigeria as an </span><span style="left:269.999px;top:335.633px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.02448);">initial step towards development of </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:353.033px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.07608);">a framework for the uniform designation of an infrastructure as a </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:370.234px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.05915);">Critical National Information Infr</span><span style="left:293.399px;top:370.234px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.0556);">astructure (CNII) in Nigeria. </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:387.434px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.04926);">Notably, there is no globally acceptable criteria for the designation </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:404.635px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.0331);">of an infrastructure </span><span style="left:201.799px;top:404.635px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.03007);">as Critical National Infr</span><span style="left:360.199px;top:404.635px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.01921);">astructure (CNI) or </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:422.035px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.00859);">CNII. However, there is a consensus that CNIs are vital for a modern </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:439.235px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.05939);">society, and drives economic growths and national prosperity. </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:456.436px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(0.991078);">Although there are similarities in </span><span style="left:286.398px;top:456.436px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.00425);">such infrastructures worldwide, </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:473.636px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.04837);">every nation determines the value to attach to each CNI depending </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:490.837px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.02979);">on its developmental goal, priorities and the level of dependency on </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:508.237px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.08443);">such infrastructure. In Nigeria, </span><span style="left:287.999px;top:508.237px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.05886);">there is no publicly available </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:525.437px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.02747);">information on the categorisation of infrastructures as CNI or CNII. </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:542.638px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(0.996755);">The mythological approach adopted was document scan, analysis </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:559.838px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.02939);">and synthesis of publicly available information on CNI and CNII of </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:577.238px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(0.978182);">some selected countries, followed by a comparative analysis. Five </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:594.439px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(0.986047);">countries were selected from each of the six continents based on </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:611.639px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(0.985442);">population size and adoption of Information and Communications </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:628.84px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.0113);">Technology (ICT). The findings revealed that about 90% of the </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:646.24px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.02245);">countries studied categorised energy, transportation, water, </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:663.44px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.04645);">communications and health as sectors of CNI. Conceptually, based </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:680.641px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.00458);">on the outcome, CNIs in Nigeria were characterised into twelve </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:697.841px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.05713);">critical sectors. This initial st</span><span style="left:266.799px;top:697.841px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.05404);">udy forms the first step towards </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:715.241px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.03941);">development of a framework for the correct designation of an </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:732.442px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.00705);">infrastructure as a CNII in Nigeria as opposed to arbitrary </span><span style="left:67.5999px;top:749.642px;font-size:15px;font-family:serif;transform:scaleX(1.03372);">designation. </span>
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