Hello Goodman, what a wonderful topic!
Nigerian youths these days are well aware that computers are important. The problem is that beyond desktop computing - MS Office, Coreldraw, Pagemaker, scanning and printing - the computers we have are not being fully utilized.
Businessmen and businesswomen have not really started to use PCs and computer networks to speed up their work, and the reason is simple: '
NEPA strikes' (unstable power supply). Our public power supply is so unreliable that small businessmen are reluctant to make their businesses depend on computers, because computers need electricity to run. If you have to use a generator, your costs go up which might drive up your prices. And besides, who says generators don't break down at inconvenient times?
There's little that can be done to improve computer literacy in Nigeria today - we just need reliable and affordable electricity and Internet access and an unrestricted private sector. When those things are available, then young people will be able to attend part-time computer coaching classes for the basics and go to the Internet to learn more advanced topics (
like programming).
I learnt how to use computers in 1991 when the secondary school I was to enter organized a holiday coaching class, and escept for a period of 2.5 years at OAU-Ife, I've not looked back since then. I'm very confident using my computer, which I use primarily for maintaining and promoting this website and finding articles on the Internet.
Whenever my computer breaks down, I first of all identify the part that has gone down and then go to the
Ikeja computer village to buy a new one, which I would fix myself. If something like a monitor or UPS gets spoilt, I just take it to computer village because I know that I'll find a competent electronics technician who can help me.