Nigeria to host GUS hub for ECOWAS

The Economic Community for West Africa States (ECOWAS) is to foster electronic economy in the sub-region across its member states with plans to establish the Global University System (GUS) hub in Nigeria.

This plan would enthrone electronic learning (e-learning), electronic healthcare (e-healthcare) and electronic governance (e-gov) among other sectors of the economy for the benefits of ECOWAS member states.

Chairman of the United States based Global Systems Analysis and Simulation Association (GLOSASA-USA), Dr. Takeshi Utsumi, made this disclosure last weekend in an online chat, saying that ECOWAS plans to establish this through collaboration of relevant bodies; government and private sector enterprises by constructing national simulation models of 15 member countries of ECOWAS. According to him, this would be achieved among member countries with Peace Corps helping a country like Nigeria by the use of its domestic satellite like the Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSAT).

This much, he said, has been suggested to the federal government through the Ministry of Science and Technology under Prof. Turner Timinipre Isoun tenure.

As said by Utsumi, this would be a win-win solution at a global scale, since it may utilize unemployed college graduates in Nigeria whopping about 80 per cent the figure as at 2004.

Already, he said, the Millennium Institute has been contracted to construct national simulation models of 15 member countries of the ECOWAS, even as work has started with Nigerian model.

“They are the world renowned think tank with system dynamic methodology, and they will work on our gaming cum simulation about the verification of energy proposition made by Gore/Obama,” he said.

A demonstration, he said, would analyze the consequences of various policy alternatives in ‘what-if’ trial mode with graphic presentations on large Television screens ­ in a sense, hands-on experiential learning based on ‘facts and figures.’

“Not on ‘political illusions’ as it is often done by more traditional approaches,” he asserted.

Emphasising that this demonstration, would be the very first step of promoting a paradigm shift in international political science when utilizing both ‘normative (role-playing)’ gaming and ‘quantitative (model-based)’ simulation approaches for globally collaborative education and training.

“A very new and Non-Traditional approach for policy analysis and evaluation,” he said. Utsumi expressed hope that the success of this demonstration event will lead to the subsequent similar ‘normative’ gaming plus ‘quantitative’ simulation between School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) of Columbia University and a Nigerian higher educational institution to rekindle previous approach to them to part of the global e-learning course.

“We will then hope that the same would be realized with higher educational institutions in other African countries leading to the Globally Collaborative Network of the Centers for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution (GCN/CCPMRs) which may become one of the Research and Training Center (RTC) programmes of the United Nations University (UNU) ­ for example, on the water usage issue along the Nile River basin mentioned.

On economic, social and environmental issues in various countries such as Nigeria, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to name a few, he noted that the models of each countries will be interconnected through broadband Internet to enable two-tier system to exist.

Dr. Utsumi listed these tiers to include one, centering on training young would-be decision makers to understand interwoven world phenomena with rational analysis and critical thinking on policy analysis and evaluation, as well as on crisis management, conflict resolution, and negotiation techniques based on ‘facts and figures.’

Additionally, he said, that it would help decision makers to develop and use a globally distributed decision-support system for policy analysis and evaluation with positive sum/win-win alternatives to conflict and war.

While soliciting the partnership of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Dr. Utsumi said they are working through creation of a hub of Global Early Warning System (GEWS) in Nigeria for ECOWAS countries, riding on broadband initiatives.

The GEWS, he said, would be for Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote D¹Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togolese),starting at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).

This will also include a system dynamics seminar for Nigerian local intellectuals including government bureaucrats and graduate students to name a few.

Remmy Nweke
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