Speaking at the closing ceremony of the CANEX Live Theatre during the 3rd Intra-African Trade Fair, IATF 2023, held in Cairo on Friday, Soyinka expressed his concerns about the evolving Internet culture.

While acknowledging the positive aspects of technology, including its role in movements like the Arab Spring, Soyinka cautioned against the emergence of what he referred to as the “new Internet culture.”

He described this culture as tyrannical, insolent, and abusive, downgrading real creativity in favor of cheap, populist, and subversive tendencies.

Soyinka emphasized that this Internet culture is contributing to the creation of new generations of illiterates who believe it is noble and progressive to disdain meaningful culture.

He highlighted the degradation of genuine cultural values and the prevalence of abuse facilitated by Internet technology, particularly in Nigerian society.

The Nobel laureate urged caution and a nuanced approach to addressing these issues, emphasizing the need to resist the degradation of meaningful culture and not let the “barbarians” succeed in their efforts to undermine the essence of culture in the digital age.

The government explained that this is to ensure the process is seamless, fair and credible.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed this at a three-day capacity-building workshop on the 2023 Population and Housing Census for State Directors and Management Staff of the National Orientation Agency.

The Minister, who was represented by the Director General, NOA, Garba Abari, added that this was important as the world has moved to a digital era.

He said, “The idea of a digital census being pursued by the NPC and the assiduous plans by the commission towards the 2023 national census is indeed a novelty that must be commended. This is because it allows us to deploy technology towards addressing national development concerns.

“The idea is to ensure the exercise is credible, fair and inclusive. The digital census being planned is what is expected at a time when our world is being increasingly digitalised. I commend the commission and I want to urge you to give Nigeria a transparent census exercise.’’

The Chairman of the National Population Commission, Nasir Kwarra, said the commission needed collaboration to educate Nigerians and purge them of wrong perceptions about the census in the country.

He said, “We require solid collaboration in information, enlightenment, and advocacy not only to mobilise the entire populace for the 2023 Population and Housing Census but also to help to clarify possible misrepresentation and misperception that are bound to occur in the process.”

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, disclosed this on Tuesday during his keynote address as the special guest of honour at the Digital Africa Annual Conference, which held virtually.

This was contained in a statement on Tuesday titled ‘Federal Government to establish emerging technology centres across the nation’ by the minister’s spokesperson, Uwa Suleiman.

The statement quoted Pantami as saying, “The seventh pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy focuses exclusively on developing emerging technologies among the populace.

“One of the ways of achieving this has been through the establishment of the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and two virtual institutions currently building capacities in artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, Internet of Things, cloud computing, robotics and various other related fields.

“The development of a National Policy on Emerging Technologies, as part of NDEPS, which will further support the establishment of emerging technology centres in Nigeria, is underway.”

Sanwo-Olu, who spoke through his Deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, made the disclosure at a program organised by the Eko Innovation Centre in Lagos, stating that his administration recognised the place of technology as the key driver to fast-growing economies.

According to him, “Technology is the way to go. It is the way of the future and our administration is committed to leveraging on technology in delivering the megacity dream.

“As a government, we will build innovation and technology centres where we can bring in private capital and investors, get ideas from young people on technology and be able to start creating employment for our youths.

“We also believe that to achieve the THEME concept that has to do with the environment, education, transportation and health, innovations and technology is key.

“People from those centres would come and give us innovative ideas to solve our transport problem; ideas with which they think locally.”

In his address, Mr Victor Afolabi, the Founder, Eko Innovation Centre, said the objective of the initiative was to transform the technology and innovation landscape in Nigeria and by extension, Africa.

Afolabi said that lack of capital was limiting the capabilities of entrepreneurs to develop innovation technologies in order to solve the problems in the country.

He urged the state government to support and create the enabling environment for start-ups to thrive.

Also, Mr Andrew Nevin, Co-founder, African Leadership Institute, said that creating smart economies with technology-driven innovative solutions would lead to creation of new jobs that previously never existed.

Almost everything we do in life today is influenced or impacted by technology. Technology has not only helped us to solve practical problems – it has changed our thought patterns, social activities, daily habits and communication/work skills. From computers, cell phones, smart TVs, and autonomous cars to cloud computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning – technology has improved how we live, think and complete tasks.

By and large, technology has changed how we work, play, study, travel, shop, and behave. The following are some of the ways technology has made our lives better in today’s world:

1. Instant communications with people far and near

Technology has made it possible for us to communicate and receive instant reply within seconds. We can communicate with people and machines. Technology has produced electronic communication tools that enhance instant communications via social media, emails, voice-mails, video conferencing, instant chats, and even with emoticons.

Regardless of distance, time and space, digital communication has become the best thing to happen in the world of modern technology. We can now transmit messages and receive instant answers with family, acquaintances and even strangers from across the world. Even from space. And to make things even better, we can communicate with people on the go – while jogging, climbing, driving, and scuba-diving with all clarity and spontaneity.

2. Convenient acquisition of education without leaving home

With modern technology, anyone can now obtain quality education without necessarily leaving home. Using devices such as iPads, you can attend virtual lessons in another country! In real time, you can see the lecturer teaching and ask questions while sharing visual lessons, presentations and other academic data with friends and school staff. You can do tests and exams online and get graded within minutes.

Technology has changed the face of education with a vast resource on academic access and materials. You can now access digital or virtual libraries and download books for instant reading. Academic materials now come in various formats via better technology – ebooks, animated images, interactive videos, clear audios and other similar resources. As a student, you can access these materials for better education – and as a teacher, you can teach others in a virtual world and get paid real money.

3. Convenience of traveling even in autonomous vehicles

Gone were the days when steamships sailed seas. Gone were the days when coal-powered trains traversed the hills. Gone were the days when donkeys and camels and horse-drawn carriages were the only means of transportation. Today, it is the era of jumbo jets, spacecrafts and self-driving cars. It is no longer the era of sailing from one country to another on the high seas over a two-month period, or reaching your destinations after one week in trains. It is now the era of the fastest and most-luxurious means of transportation.

With autonomous or self-driving cars, you can sit back in the vehicle and only issue voice-commands for the driverless car to take you to your destination. The autonomous car can deliver you to the other end of state without crashing into other vehicles or hitting an object. You can interact with the car as you travel and enjoy the best of favourite music via voice-commands. Although Tesla is taking the lead with self-driving cars, others such as Mercedez and Honda and Toyota are following suit.

4. Improved home and mobile entertainment

Did you live in the era of cartridge stereos, audio cassettes, black & white TVs, and even VHS videos? Can you compare that to the modern times of DVDs, home theatres, smart TVs, and 500GB smartphones or iPods? Can you spot the difference? That is what modern technology has brought to electronic entertainment. You now enjoy better audio clarity, crispy-clear vision, and richer sound systems with entertainment that lasts longer than before. In fact, you can now play digital games with better improvements at home than before.

5. Better diagnostics and healthcare treatments

Technology has done a lot to save lives in terms of improved diagnostics and healthcare. With modern technology, medical experts can identify the nature and cause of any illness within minutes and arrive at the best medical solution. Surgeries can now be performed by robots with precise accuracy. Surgery theatres can now carry out any medical procedures with higher rates of success than obtainable 10 years ago.

Also, individuals can now monitor their weight, heart rate, blood pressure and other vital signs using apps on their smartphones. During daily exercises on the road or in the gym, individuals can see how they are performing and how their body is doing with smartphone apps. Moreso, technology has made it possible for doctors to consult with other doctors around the world using smartphones before engaging in any delicate medical treatments and procedures.

6. Better lifestyle

Almost every aspect of our life has become improved by modern technology. From automated door locks, security cameras, lighting control and keyless entry to our houses and cars, technology has improved our life in all ways. When it comes to accessing instant information and news, we could get instant news and info updates whereever we are and at any time via internet-connected smartphones. Our workplace environment is also better and we achieve so much more in very little time at work.

Technology has improved our daily lives for better productivity – but there is still so much more awaiting us in the next 10 years.