The Center For Information Technology And Development (CITAD) has initiated the training of 27 selected individuals from communities across Nigeria on local solution to lack of internet service as well as epileptic internet service.
This was made known, Monday, by the National Coordinator of the CITAD Community Network, Haruna Adamu, while inducting the new trainees on local solutions to internet services and lapses in communities across Nigeria.
The trainees are expected to become experts at their community levels who can provide solutions, deploy and manage their own community network.
“The essence of this is just to bridge connectivity gap in areas where whether the network is epileptic, what we call underserved, or are totally not connected, which we call unserved.
“Even within the Kano metropolis here, there are areas that have underserved network. The totality of the Kano metropolis can be assumed to be fully networked. But if you go to some certain areas, there are areas specifically that they are unserved. The signals are not all that encouraging, that has deprived such areas from getting the necessary connectivity.
“In fact we call it digital justice, all areas should have equal access to network. Where something is wrong, then we have to get local solution to it.
“We expect them to take down the knowledge in their respective communities so that they can have this local solution” he explained.
He further described the local solution and how they will be given the most important resource, which is the knowledge of deploying and administering the network in their communities.
“The local solutions could be identifying resources like finance, linkages with service providers and of course provide security to their own initiatives so that they can have this equal access.
“The highest resource we give them here is the knowledge and maybe link them up with service providers and donor agencies that can support them. But we expect them to have that feeling in their minds that they have something to offer.
“Like in some communities, they can offer resources like land, building materials, where they can have a small hub. Then other development organizations can provide them with some equipments to deploy it. It is like a collaboration. You bring something, I bring something and then we come up with a network” he explained.
He also said that the trainees will learn how to engage some services and deploy them in their communities.
“We need some professionals like the Nigeria’s internet governance forum, service providers that have smart wifi and are present in Kano. There are also international organizations that can support you where the network is not strong” he stated.