THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF 196,350 COMPUTERS: HUMONGOUS RESOURCES THAT CAN SALVAGE EDUCATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA.

THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF 196,350 COMPUTERS: HUMONGOUS RESOURCES THAT CAN SALVAGE EDUCATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA.

“There is no such thing as a “resource” until MAN or WOMAN finds a use for something in nature and thus endows it with economic value. Until then, every plant is a weed and every mineral just another rock.”

(Peter Drucker - Innovation and Entrepreneurship).

Yes, there are 196,350 (one hundred and ninety six thousand three hundred and fifty) underutilized computers in Nigeria. These gadgets have been screaming for attention and usage for years now. Let’s substantiate the numbers first to defuse the tension and quackery. There are about 714 Computer Based Testing (CBT) centers in Nigeria and each center houses about 275 computers. So, when you multiply the total number of computers 275 by the total number of CBT centers 714, you will have 196,350 computers altogether. Well, I guess this is the part where you should say OK, I get it now – you can continue, you have my attention.

If you are familiar with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Examination – JAMB as a body has been leveraging on the CBT centers for some years now. Just to reflect, the JAMB CBT examination started about September 2014 thereabout, if I can remember correctly.

Let me introduce you to “Mr. Maxwell Akwuruoha”, he is the current President of CPAN (Computer Based Test Center Proprietors Association of Nigeria) and all members of CPAN are also the custodians or sole proprietors of the 714 CBT centers aforementioned above.

The CPAN comprises of some great people who are also constantly seeking to create more and better opportunities for: the CBT centers, themselves and also indirectly say the Government, because just imagine if they were all doing nothing (unemployed or staying idle deliberately)? Well, these people believe they can turn the CBT centers into valuable resource that can create more opportunities for both them and others. And of-course, it sounds like technology, problem-solving, helping people and yeah! The association sounds like a community! Of-course we can all agree that it is one. This was how they caught the attention of the cute black man writing this boring article. Somehow this challenge sounds interesting after hearing the first rhythm. I mean if you are a fan of adorable cats like Garfield, not like I am a fan of cats really, but problem-solving smells like Lasagna.

So, I embarked on the quest and jetted to Lagos on Saturday 12^th October, 2019 to meet some great people and honor the association CPAN.

I also believe that we all just need to do our collective little parts, I guess if the CBT centers were running at full capacity, you can imagine:

§ How many problems will have been solved through value delivery or better-still using the words of Professor Clayton Christensen “how many jobs will have been done or left undone”.

§ How many people will have been gainfully engaged in doing something meaningful and of-course, the rising unemployment rate will not have had that type of media attention really.

It is also believed that no single Government can solve all the problems of its citizens or her people; they have to rely on private businesses for support – I also share this philosophy and I believe it’s true.

So, get this straight, this write-up is aimed at supporting the Computer Based Test Center Proprietors Association of Nigeria (CPAN) to be visible to the world (individuals and organizations) who mean well for Nigeria and its people and see technology as a growth driver and problem-solving tool.

Individuals or corporate organizations as the case may be, can be aware of the possibilities they can bring about on creating value with the humongous underutilized 196,350 computers, which will eventually translate into beneficial opportunities for other Nigerians (individuals or starts-ups or SMBs) when you do the mathematics the right way!

So, as you read, you can also reflect or ask yourself this:

“What actionable step(s) am I personally taking to help businesses, people, associations or your country?” and if this question sounds funny to you, I guess this is where you need to stop reading, because the rest of the contents will eventually be comedy to you also! Perhaps you may not be the right target audience for stuffs like this – but if you are among the category of people that smiles a lot, cheerful and happy, may be you also had excess sugar growing up… Lol, let’s go!

This is what you need to know about CPAN:

a) There are about 714 CBT centers in Nigeria

b) Each CBT center houses about 275 computers (majority are standalone PCs while some are thin client computers e.t.c).

c) Each of the CBT center goes through a certification process screened by the examination body JAMB, before they can participate in the annual tertiary institution entry-level examination. The certification criteria among other things includes:

i. All computers should be networked.

ii. Closed Circuit TVs (CCTVs) ought to be in good working conditions. It’s believed that this will support the surveillance system comprising of cameras, recorders and displays for monitoring activities e.t.c.

iii. A functional power generating system (generator) and back-ups. The generator varies in capacity but on average, the 60kVA generator should be sufficient to power the 275 computers and other associated devices and equipment, for example the air conditioners or fans e.t.c.

iv. The JAMB examination is an annual examination that runs for about 8 weeks (2 months) between the months of March to April annually thereabout.

v. Most of the CBT centers in Nigeria are underutilized for the next 10 months, the equipment are always waiting patiently for another JAMB examination to get fired up. Well, the case varies in situations where the CBT centers may be in an institution where they are fired up more often, with Moodle for similar CBT examinations model, to reduce the burdens brought about by high enrollment of students in courses like General Studies (GST) or other similar scenarios or better-still some may use them for their various entry-level assessments into the tertiary institution called “Post UTME Examination”. But outside the cases shared above, those PCs and equipment are really bored – trust me, they are always in abeyance.

vi. Depending of the nature of the setup of the individual CBT center but the average cost of setting up a CBT center ranges between N25 million to N30 million (in USD using N360/$1, it’s about $69,445 to $83,334). And of-course, if you adopt the N25 million setup cost and multiply by 714 CBT centers, you are talking about an N18 billion ($50 million) industry.

vii. Well, this also varies slightly but each CBT center’s revenue base after the JAMB examination is about N2 million to N3 million (in USD using N360/$1, it’s about $5,556 to $8,334) averagely, except in unique circumstances where only very few of the CBT centers participate in other alternate revenue generating source.

So, why am I sharing all these boring stories, insights and indicators?

Of-course to bore you! Just kidding!

These are my reasons:

1. I believe this document will help to inform and guide people who really care about meaningful community support and development and also possess the hindsight of how best to leverage on technology as a tool for community development. I just hope you are not talking back to me with some words like “but big companies have embarked on this journey for years or even decades now in Africa, and to be fair we believe they cannot solve all the problems, but you cannot tell me that their various impacts were not felt? Try and be objective a little please!”

Well, even one of the top philanthropists in the world – Bill Gates encouraged the Nigerian Government to do more at some point, and believe me, the actionable steps of the current Nigerian Government is hopeful and showing great indicator in the right direction and this document may also come handy for someone or organizations searching for right direction.

2. I also believe you can contact the CPAN directly since you now know about them. By directly I mean, contacting the association directly will drive more meaningful impact and contribution on your various initiative and programs.

After all, what do I know – this is just some dumb **s guy trying to share some unvalidated insights into how real problems are solved and I can tell that he is really bored, imagine having the time to write all this long stuffs! – I get it and you are right but I can also recall one of the lessons I learnt from the Disruptive Strategy course I took at Harvard Business School (HBS) by Professor Clayton Christensen which says:

“If you want to know a company's strategy don't listen to what they say, watch what they do.”

So it’s simple, stop listening to what they are saying, just look at what they are doing, at least you were generous enough to give them ample time (I mean years) to validate their respective intentions, what they have produced is a reflection of who they are – simple mathematics that a dumb guy like me can understand easily. I think I will start learning more mathematics moving forward. Lol.

3. Lastly, try and understand this - those 196,350 underutilized PCs have so much economic value for people with great foresight and hindsight. The population is rising, the unemployment rates are rising but also is the internet penetration rates too are rising – currently at about 61.4% for Nigeria and remember that when there are problems, it also means there are also opportunities for significance.

Peter Drucker couldn’t have said it any better:

I am a learner who believes that this is one of the ways I can scrub off the endemic “act of quackery” and free myself from the humiliating stigma embraced by mediocre.

Understand that there are lots of people that the only means they have to get better in life (i.e. education, job) are the supports and aid they get from NGOs or also may be some for profit-making organizations or people like me. So, if perhaps you find yourself in the tunnel of similar jobs to be done, you have to do the right thing OK, because anything contrary means you are actually and literally carting away the little benefits of some helpless people.

So, since I know that mathematics is so difficult and I am looking for an easy way to understand all these complexities, I found this quote to be so useful to understand so many things:

“If you want to know a company's strategy don't listen to what they say, watch what they do.” And immediately I connected to the words of Andrew Carnegie (paraphrase) who said:

“As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men or women say. I just watch what they do.”

I hope this was informative for you and thanking you for the time to read.

CONNECT . INFORM . INSPIRE

#CPAN #GBGAbuja