There is no gainsaying that
the present world order is one strictly ruled by the power of information and
not that of money. Unlike several decades ago, the world today has come to a
full realization of the fact that information “is the prime commodity of the
presence age “ (Issa, 2002 ). This is especially so for the advanced countries
of the world where this has been long established as a reality. As for majority
of the developing countries, that are yet to reach such an advanced stage of
the realization of its significance, they are fast coming to terms with the
inescapable reality of this.
the present world order is one strictly ruled by the power of information and
not that of money. Unlike several decades ago, the world today has come to a
full realization of the fact that information “is the prime commodity of the
presence age “ (Issa, 2002 ). This is especially so for the advanced countries
of the world where this has been long established as a reality. As for majority
of the developing countries, that are yet to reach such an advanced stage of
the realization of its significance, they are fast coming to terms with the
inescapable reality of this.
This is for the simple fact
that there seems to be direct link between a nation’s material prosperity and
that of her information-wealth; and vice versa. The reason for this assertion
cannot be far-fetched as the availability and free flow of information
represents a basic requirement for the emergence of a crop of well-informed and
participatory citizenry. This is because, a combination of experience and new
knowledge brings about information; a commodity quite vital to the healthy
development of both individual and society in general. This is to the extent
that development rests upon the dissemination and application of different
types of information (Issa, 1998)
that there seems to be direct link between a nation’s material prosperity and
that of her information-wealth; and vice versa. The reason for this assertion
cannot be far-fetched as the availability and free flow of information
represents a basic requirement for the emergence of a crop of well-informed and
participatory citizenry. This is because, a combination of experience and new
knowledge brings about information; a commodity quite vital to the healthy
development of both individual and society in general. This is to the extent
that development rests upon the dissemination and application of different
types of information (Issa, 1998)
In his own view, Muhammed
(1994) was explicit in asserting that information is the vital resource which
provides impetus for a nation’s social, cultural, spiritual, political,
economic, scientific and technological advancement; great socio-political
equality; and effective and efficient governance, power and followership”.
There is no doubt, therefore, that information “has always played a central
role in human life, hence a basic human need, which has an over-riding and
all-permeating significance to all and sundry” (Issa, 2002), indeed, many
believed , as Ojiambo (1992) that an awareness and appreciation of the importance
of information for socio- economic development and decision making could lead
to formulation of policies for the development of the information
infrastructure and the education of the human resources needed to manage
information services.
(1994) was explicit in asserting that information is the vital resource which
provides impetus for a nation’s social, cultural, spiritual, political,
economic, scientific and technological advancement; great socio-political
equality; and effective and efficient governance, power and followership”.
There is no doubt, therefore, that information “has always played a central
role in human life, hence a basic human need, which has an over-riding and
all-permeating significance to all and sundry” (Issa, 2002), indeed, many
believed , as Ojiambo (1992) that an awareness and appreciation of the importance
of information for socio- economic development and decision making could lead
to formulation of policies for the development of the information
infrastructure and the education of the human resources needed to manage
information services.
He further confirmed that the
one key resource sought by every human being is information. Whether for
problem solving, decision-making or both, information is sought by
everyone-young and old, educated or illiterate-regardless of their occupation
and where they live. It is important to know that information acquisition is
not only critical for individual job performance, but also important as a means
of influencing decision making positively for the good of all. Instances to
illustrate this abound. Managers, for example, who are in possession of
information critical for decision-making, have a greater capacity to influence
management decisions than those who do not possess information.
one key resource sought by every human being is information. Whether for
problem solving, decision-making or both, information is sought by
everyone-young and old, educated or illiterate-regardless of their occupation
and where they live. It is important to know that information acquisition is
not only critical for individual job performance, but also important as a means
of influencing decision making positively for the good of all. Instances to
illustrate this abound. Managers, for example, who are in possession of
information critical for decision-making, have a greater capacity to influence
management decisions than those who do not possess information.
Similarly nations, which
possess the capacity to gather and process information or have a monopoly of
information, can influence socio-economic and political decisions effectively
over others that are information poor. Thus, often times, information access
has become ready tool used as an economic weapon against hostile nations by an
information superior one; simply by disallowing the former all forms of access
to information databases under its control. This explains why there is now a
greater awareness and appreciation of the power of information as a key
resource for development in developing countries today than there was in the
1980s.
possess the capacity to gather and process information or have a monopoly of
information, can influence socio-economic and political decisions effectively
over others that are information poor. Thus, often times, information access
has become ready tool used as an economic weapon against hostile nations by an
information superior one; simply by disallowing the former all forms of access
to information databases under its control. This explains why there is now a
greater awareness and appreciation of the power of information as a key
resource for development in developing countries today than there was in the
1980s.
It is no longer news that the
world has moved from the industrial age into the information age; such that the
world now confidently boasts of an economy primarily based on information. This
is typified by what has come to be referred to as the “information explosion”
that “between 6,000 and 7,000 new scientific articles are now written each
day”. It was reported that John Naisbitt, in his 1982 bestseller Megatrends,
predicted that the total amount of scientific information available in the
world will double every twenty months.
world has moved from the industrial age into the information age; such that the
world now confidently boasts of an economy primarily based on information. This
is typified by what has come to be referred to as the “information explosion”
that “between 6,000 and 7,000 new scientific articles are now written each
day”. It was reported that John Naisbitt, in his 1982 bestseller Megatrends,
predicted that the total amount of scientific information available in the
world will double every twenty months.
By this prediction, it means
that we expect an addition of an amount of scientific information equal to all
that mankind has stored since the beginning of time at every one and half year
or so. But the trend is not limited to scientific information alone, as
“massive collections of information, known as data banks also store facts about
business, bank deposits, movies’ reviews, criminal, legal precedents, economic
statistics, and engineering data”. Not only are these data banks growing as
fast as the scientific information, new data banks which contained collections
of information never before accumulated are also being developed rapidly
(Brightman and Jeffrey, 1986).
that we expect an addition of an amount of scientific information equal to all
that mankind has stored since the beginning of time at every one and half year
or so. But the trend is not limited to scientific information alone, as
“massive collections of information, known as data banks also store facts about
business, bank deposits, movies’ reviews, criminal, legal precedents, economic
statistics, and engineering data”. Not only are these data banks growing as
fast as the scientific information, new data banks which contained collections
of information never before accumulated are also being developed rapidly
(Brightman and Jeffrey, 1986).