| Academicians and policy makers have always seen communication as a key ingredient in national development. They agree that a viable communication infrastructure, used in conjunction with other human and natural resources, can contribute to the development of Third world countries, especially those within the sub-Saharan region of Africa, which has remained underdeveloped.; In the past decade, technological innovations have improved the communication process. Cable and satellite television delivery, personal computers and facsimile have shrunk our world to the point where Marshall McLuhan's notion of a global village has become a virtual reality. Although communication technologies such as the fax machine, personal computers, cellular telephones, and the internet, a global network of computers, have become prevalent in the industrialized world, such technologies remain rare in developing nations.; This dissertation sought to discover the perceptions of select opinion leaders in Nigeria, a sub-Saharan African nation, on the availability and role of communication technologies as agents of national development. To achieve this goal, four groups were surveyed: (1) academicians, (2) journalists, (3) business leaders and (4) government officials to determine: (a) the role these technologies will play in the development of Nigeria; (b) how accessible the new communication technologies are, specifically, how these technologies are used; (c) who is considered responsible for introducing and promoting these technologies; and (d) what role the government, business community and academic community was playing in the introduction and diffusion of these technologies.; Results showed that some of the older established communication technologies like the telephone, radio and television were used by more respondents than were newer communication technologies like fax machines, cellular phones and the internet. Cross tabulations indicated that business leaders had the highest use frequency for these technologies while government officials and academicians reported low usage. Finally, while respondents maintained that the government of Nigeria should bear full responsibility for the introduction and diffusion of new communication technologies, they also noted that the government was not doing all within its means to promote their adoption. |
