Mrs. Omobola Johnson, minister of Communications Technology, said that the Commonwealth strengthens “cooperation in the midst of diversity, describing it as an established, independent and voluntary space at which issues that are common to all countries.
This is coming in the face of recent withdrawal from the British Commonwealth by The Gambia, the tiny West African nation bordered by Senegal, and growing concerns about the body’s relevance in contemporary international play.
She stated this at her keynote speech at the 11th Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) Forum which opened last night in Abuja.
She described the CTO as “an established, independent and voluntary space at which issues that are common to all countries, irrespective of their level of economic advancement, can be dispassionately discussed; and where realistic and realisable solutions can be proffered.”
Acknowledging that “recent events have led to some discussion on the continued relevance of the Commonwealth,” Johnson said the CTO “serves to remind us of one of the core strengths of the Commonwealth that the World appears to be losing sight of – that of cooperation in the midst of diversity.”
“Although we represent countries with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds, at this Forum we regard each other as equal in status. We have come with a learning attitude and a willingness to co-operate in achieving the goals that we all agree are important.
“These goals relate to the ability of our populations to communicate freely and affordably with each other … an ability that is fundamental to our success in building a more tolerant and peaceful World.”
She noted that the heart of the CTO deliberations will be how to make high-speed access to the Internet more pervasive, affordable and safe to the citizens of the Commonwealth (who make up close to 30 per cent of the global population).
According to her: “Global Internet penetration rates have continued to increase and almost 40 per cent of the world’s population are now online. However, the numbers of people connected to the Internet are fewer in developing countries than in more industrialised ones.”
She expressed concerns on the growing use of the social media, especially by the youth population in Nigeria, Johnson stated that “there is no denying the increasing influence of social media.
Just as the “Big Mac Index” has developed to be the informal way of measuring the purchasing power parity between inhabitants of different countries; the number of Facebook users is becoming an informal indication of the social media activity of a country.
“Nigeria recently became the location of the largest user base of Facebook users in Sub Saharan Africa. About half of the 11 million Nigeria users are under the age of 25 (5.6million), which perhaps underscores the importance of understanding how young people make use of ICTs. However, beyond knowing who is using social media, this Forum will discuss ways in which such tools can be leveraged as a platform for development, learning and increasing communication.”
She believes the Forum is veritable avenue to “assess the different stages of broadband development and discover best practice strategies for moving forward.”