The picture of Babajide Sanwo-Olu the governor of Lagos State, holding a virtual meeting with his commissioners and advisers has become the reference point for how states can leverage digital technology to keep functioning despite a lockdown.
Prompted by the coronavirus pandemic that has conferred on the state the most unwanted title of the hotspot of the virus, the virtual meeting is the first of its kind. It is the first time a government in Lagos – reputed to be the hub of technology activities in West Africa – and the commercial hub of Nigeria is conducting such a meeting.
It won’t be the last time, at least for as long as the shutdown induced by the coronavirus pandemic lasts.
As at 09:30 pm on Monday, 6 April, Nigeria had 238 confirmed cases, 120 of whom are in Lagos, 35 people have so far recovered from the virus and five have died.
The rest of the states with confirmed cases include FCT- 48; Osun- 20; Oyo- 9; Edo- 11; Kaduna- 5; Akwa Ibom- 5; Ogun- 4; Bauchi- 6; Enugu- 2; Ekiti- 2; Kwara-2; Rivers-2; Ondo-1; and Benue- 1.
Three governors, Bauchi, Kaduna, and Oyo, have so far tested positive to coronavirus.
Nearly all the states have sent their civil servants home which means that without the necessary digital equipment, governance will grind to a halt.
Unfortunately, the states are not rushing to replicate the Lagos feat in teleconferencing or if they are they are not making it public.
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While Lagos was the first state government to conduct a teleconference, the federal government took the lead weeks before Sanwo-Olu when the Vice President, soon after he went into self-isolation, resorted to meeting with officials virtually.
It was the first of many more teleconferences that will be replicated by officials of the executive arm of government. The minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, for instance, participated in a virtual meeting with African Ministers of Finance themed “Coordinated Africa, Response to COVID19 Economic Impacts: Updates and Further Steps.”
On Friday, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy ordered the deployment of telepresence facilities through the Galaxy Backbone (GBB) Limited, a parastatal agency under the ministry.
The GBB said it has installed the facilities at over 120 Federal Government institutions, including the offices of the Vice President, 26 ministers, 17 ministers of state, Chief of Staff to the President, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of Civil Service of the Federation, 37 federal permanent secretaries, Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and other key ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government.
While the need to keep government functional is paramount, government meetings are not the only thing receiving digital transformation. Nearly every effort in flattening the curve like testing individuals, sourcing of medical materials and providing accurate information about the virus are also using digital solutions.
Chikwe Ihekweazu, head of NCDC had on Thursday during a press briefing said that the institution had partnered with Sormas Global, a German surveillance and management company, to identify coronavirus cases and their contacts for prompt isolation and treatment as required.
“We are utilising a Sormas Global software for real-time collection and analysis of data on coronavirus in Nigeria,” Ihekweazu said.
Government agencies are also partnering with startups to fight misinformation with digital solutions The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), a technical institution of the African Union, collaborated with Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) a technology innovation centre in Africa, to combat stigmatisation and dispel misinformation targeting the semi-urban and rural population across Africa. The partnership has the support of NCDC and the Lagos State agency LASRIC.
To further deepen the adoption, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) set up the 10-man Advisory Committee for Technology Innovation Ecosystem on 1 April. The committee is to advise the government on measures to be taken to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on startups, small and medium businesses as well as the technology ecosystem.
The Committee has the Chairman, Innovation Support Network (ISN) and President, African Business Angels Network (ABAN), Tomi Davies, as its Chairperson. Other members of the Committee include Amal Hassan, MD and CEO, OutSource Global; Bosun Tijani, MD and CEO Co-Creation Hub (CCHub);
Juliet Anammah, Chairperson Jumia Nigeria and Head, International Affairs, Jumia Group; Kola Aina, Founder, Ventures Platform; Musa Ali Baba, MD and CEO Teasy Pay; Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Co-Founder, Andela; Collins Onuegbu, MD and CEO Signal Alliance.
While much of the developments have the coronavirus pandemic to thank, the digital changes may likely become the new of doing government business post-COVID-19 era. If there is anything the government has learned it is perhaps that it is living on borrowed time.
