The Prospects and Problems of Adopting ICT for Poverty Eradication in Nigeria

Abstract

Despite rapid and dramatic technological change in the 1990s, the World inequality i.e. absolute gaps in per capital income between developed and developing countries increased. The number of people living in dollar poverty i.e. who consume less than a dollar a day, has remained constant at 1.2 billion. This paper critically examines how to help poor people especially of the developing countries (e.g. Nigeria) choose and use ICT; to adapt, develop, improve it, and to be able to manage it over time. The invisible hand of the market rather than the public good is shaping technological advancement. To reclaim it for public good and harness ICT for poverty reduction then poor countries of the world must integrate ICT into the economic and social fabric of their nations by broadening access to ICT, training the population to better tap into the immense potential of ICT and making the relevant policy adjustments in order to create the milieu in which individuals and investors will be able to benefit.