By Emeka Aginam

Except issues around legal framework, data security, key public infrastructure among others were resolved urgently, Nigeria’s quest for e-government implementation in the 21st century knowledge society may be derailed.

These among others were some of the views expressed by participants at the just concluded international conference on e-government and national security under the auspices of the Nigerian Computer Society, (NCS) Osun State last week.

For e-government to work successfully, the forum also noted that there was need to establish steps to protect all critical government information infrastructure and secure computer systems and networks in the country. The IT infrastructure, it would be recalled has been porous as a result of lack of legal framework which has made it easier for foreign vendors to control Nigerian cyber space.

The forum further noted that Key Public Infrastructure, which is a set of hardware, software, people, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store, and revoke digital certificates must be fully implemented for e-government to work out successfully.

From left: President, CPN, Alhaja Sekinat Yusuf; Sir Demola Aladekomo, immediate past NCS President; Comm Tech Minister, Mrs. Omobola Johnson; former Petroleum Minister, Chief Don Etiebet; GMD, Omatek Ventures Plc, Mrs Florence Seriki, and ISPON President, Mr Chris Uwaje during the Nigeria Computer Society 11th annual conference, in Osun State. Photo: Emeka Aginam.

Legal background
Although e-government if implemented would address majority of anomalies in governance and improve the delivery of government services, major concerns of the stakeholders at the forum was that necessary legal infrastructure must be put in place for a safe cyber space.

For majority of speakers at the forum that elected Prof. D.O Adewumi as the new President, the cyber security bill has to be implemented if the country wants to have a safer environment to operate as it would address many security challenges in the country especially online crimes that have been on the increase as a result of lack of legislation that will enable the court to prosecute and punish online offenders.

Cyber security bill coming soon
Speaking during the event, the Vice President Namadi Sambo, represented by the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson assured the gathering on speedy passage of  the much awaited cyber security bill which is expected to promote e-government. To tighten Nigerian cyber space, he said that there was urgent for the passage of the cyber security law which has a clause that will enable the President   to designate key ICT resources as critical national infrastructure.

Robust and secured IT infrastructure:
Accordingly, the Minister in her keynote speech  said that the development of a robust, secure and shared IT infrastructure managed by the Galaxy backbone would enhance e-government services.

Skill and talent:
She said that the skill and talent to mange the effective and efficient deployment of a substantial IT budget  were needed for e-government implementation.

To make e-government initiative successful, citizens must also be confident about transacting their businesses over the internet or other ICT channels, she explained.

“The internet must be considered safe and secure place with citizens confident to provide sensitive information online. We must also have secure ways o working and recourse to the rule of law to discourage potential offenders  and punish actual ones. The recent experience with ‘Paddy hacker’  Vice President speech and is only one example of what we can expect if we do not tighten up our security” she explained.

Cross section of participants at the event

Proliferation of bio-metric databases:
The apparent proliferation of bio-metric databases at the national and sub-national level key infrastructure required to deliver e-government services to the citizens, according to her , raises concerns  about trust in government’s ability to store manage vast amounts of sensitive information. The protection of citizen online activity will mean investments in the systems that reduce the possibility of identity theft and robust privacy laws that protect citizen information that is available online” the Minister further explained.

The immediate past President of the NCS, Sir Demola Aladekomo in address told the gathering that e-government and national security as the theme of this year’s conference was borne out of the need to highlight the relevance of IT to governance and national security to ensure real, all-inclusive development and transformation of governance through IT, while overcoming the menace of insecurity bedeviling the nation.

Fight terrorism with IT
Unless IT , education, employment creation were given urgent attention in governance, the fight against terrorism and other acts of insecurity may be long-drawn, he said.

He said that e-government  will tackle  the problems of poverty, disease, unemployment and hunger, adding that  E-government strategies that work facilitate both public sector and private sector development” he said.

KPI to curb cyber crime:
For Taofeeq Olatinwo, President/CEO Harmony Worldwide Inc said that in  our goal to attain vision 2020, the government needs to take advantage of PKI to curb Cybercrime and improve our image

He said that KPI if implemented by NITDA will create  digital signatures detailing the information about a specific transaction in order to forestall electronic transaction crimes, confirms or authenticate people or parties involved in the transaction, and reduces  or eliminates outrageous claims and legal tussles resulting from financial.

He recommended that government should approve the PKI blueprint developed by NITDA and start the implementation for all e-government systems, continue and complete the establishment of a fully functional national digital forensic laboratory in the office of the NSA and also work with  IT professionals, investors and entrepreneurs to develop a sustainable and secure platform for cyber accessibility, secured transaction and credible identity.