Untapped economic potentials   Solid minerals: Gold, Lithium, etc.   Information technology (ICT)  
         
Stronger economies together   Arewa center of excellence   Arewa strategic development  
         
Era of collaboration & partnership   Small & medium enterprises   Arewa regional decision makers  
         
Arewa demographic shifts   Arewa, the quest for unity   Publications  

 

         

Visualizing critical data that informs Arewa leaders and organizations of the region's unique characteristics.


Why Citizen Engagement is a game changer for Arewa

History has shown that engaging citizens has led to more sustainable, open and just governance. Whether formally integrated in documents such as the Magna Carta and the Code Napoleon, or informally presented at local levels, the concept of citizen engagement is widely global. Going back in history, the first Islamic State has based its “Medina compact” on a social contract whereby it clearly explains the nature of collaboration and accord between the citizens and the state, shaping the relationship governing them. World Bank also draws on a long history of advancing governance reforms, on multi-stakeholder engagement, citizen participation, social accountability, and government transparency. An important development was the establishment in 2012 of the Global Partnership for Social Accountability (GPSA), to enable civil society organizations to worktogether with their governments to solve difficult governance problems using citizen engagement and social accountability mechanisms. The 2017 World Bank World Development Report, on Governance and the Law, also highlights the importance of creating the space for citizens to affect government policies. The Report focuses on the determinants of policy effectiveness, exploring how policies for security, growth and equity can more effectively achieve their goals by taking the underlying drivers that influence governance into account. Given the complex landscape of citizen feedback with so many experiments underway around the world, the time is ripe now for northern Nigeria; and indeed Nigerian Government to look at citizen engagement holistically as a game changer for national development and very critical for maintaining national security.

 

A key element of democracy is active citizenship, and together with that is a responsive, accountable, fair and corrupt-free government. It is important to listen to the citizens and make sure that their concerns, their problems are actually attended to in a process where they are engaged in an empowering problem solving process. ...Read more>>


ICT has become the catalyst that enhances development process of a nation...READ ON
 

   

AREWA INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

More than ever, the advent of the knowledge economy and global economic competition compel governments to priorities educational quality, lifelong learning and the provision of educational opportunities for all. Policymakers widely accept that access to information and communication technology (ICT) in education can help individuals to compete in a global economy by creating a skilled work force and facilitating social mobility.

 

They emphasize that ICT in education has a multiplier effect throughout the education system, by enhancing learning and providing students with new sets of skills; by reaching students with poor or no access (especially those in rural and remote regions); by facilitating and improving the training of teachers; and by minimizing costs associated with the delivery of traditional instruction

 

At the international level, policy for integrating ICT for development was first formulated in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Target 8.F, which states that “in cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications” (United Nations, 2000; 2012). Moreover, while not mentioned explicitly in the Education for All goals, it is arguable that ICT plays a pivotal role in achieving these goals, including broadening access, eliminating exclusion, and improving quality (UNESCO, 2000). That is why, more than ever, there is the need for a comparative analysis of ICT integration and e-readiness in schools across the Arewa region in order to meet the UN SDGs.

 

The global economy is changing and affecting the way Region needs to plan its economic and social growth in that new economy. The shift in the economy from manufacturing to services places ‘knowledge work’ and the human resource as key factors of production in sustainable development. Global statistics show productivity gains in all sectors resulting from use of ICT, and further evidence shows the relationship between productivity and broadband availability.

 

In this regard, ICT infrastructure underpins the knowledge economy of the so-called ‘Information Society’. Several issues in the global environment have impacted and will continue to shape the regional environment, therefore for a sustainable economic development of Arewa region, the States within the region must come together in a concerted way to formulate the Arewa Regional Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Development Strategy.


Blockchain Ecosystem for Business Partners - The most transformative era in business is happening right now. Innovators, entrepreneurs and forward-thinking enterprises are embracing Blockchain solutions ...

       

 Restructuring may not be a bad idea for the North because the North has so many Potentials of Solid Mineral Exploration, so great that by the time the northern  Governors realize it they will almost forget about allocation funds coming from Federal Government and too much Taxes on its citizens to generate more internally generated revenue (IGR). The potential is great and better than crude oil of the south. Gold, Uranium, Iron Ore, Gemstones, Columbite, Tantalite, Kaolin, Goshenite and other precious minerals are everywhere across the north, but also High-Grade Lithium ore in Brine Rocks, lithium-bearing pegmatite and spodumene, a critical component for making electric car batteries. By 2030, oil will no longer be that important as electric cars will take over, lithium batteries will also be used for powerhouses and so much more. The potentials for export of these natural minerals and local use in manufacturing from the north are unparalleled.

 

The northern demographic shifts will fuel the growth of new sectors, markets and service lines. They will begin to innovate and with creativity build viable businesses in areas of the business supply chain, and in agriculture, livestock mainstreaming, no more transporting live animals to the south but slaughtered and freight in refrigerated trucks, renewable energy like solar farming, ICT, Business Processing Outsourcing and in healthcare, manufacturing and revitalizing Kannywood entertainment industry in partnership with Indian Bollywood.  The unity of northern diversity is the power that will propel the business communities and consequently, the northern upcoming industries into new dimensions of performance. Soon there will be on the horizon, more northern banks, northern media and corporations; and northern intelligentsia that will meet every contemporary challenge; build capacity and human capital knowledge-pool; and the end of youths banditry, kidnappings, communal crises, terrorism and religious violence because everyone will have work and meaningful things to do under strong, compassionate leadership, propelling the country to a Greater Height as a whole. ICT-enabled solutions in healthcare, agriculture, education, financial services and States-public services will drive socio-economic inclusion of everyone in the region and the country faster, cheaper and more efficient than traditional methods. Indeed, the North; and Nigeria will be Great Again... READ THE WHOLE INTERVIEW

 

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