Whether for personal growth or societal advancement, performing certain tasks without the prerequisite information can prove challenging for individuals or groups responsible for these tasks. This analogy underscores the importance of having the right information on how to innovate and foster greater innovation. It serves as the cornerstone for ensuring a sustainable innovative society. In our experience, access to information, whether through media or non-media sources, plays a vital role in helping individuals take on innovation challenges and avoid what we refer to as the “information-deficient innovation trap” in nearly all sectors and industries in Nigeria. However, our analysis reveals that over the years, innovation-focused information on the Internet for the Nigerian market has been quite diverse and, in many cases, follows both backward and forward-looking trends.
Available Innovation Information
Utilizing the Google Search Engine, Nigeria’s and the world’s most widely used search platform, we discovered that there were 7.5 billion pieces of information related to innovation available for Nigeria between 2013 and 2022. Our analysis reveals that almost half (31.4%) of this information pertained to innovation within the field of law and government. Following closely at 25.3% of the total were arts and entertainment. Property accounted for 14.8%, and health comprised 10.5% of the information available. Jobs and education represented 7.9%, while science accounted for 4.8%, both totalling less than 10% of the overall information.
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Our year-by-year analysis indicates that the volume of information available to the Nigerian public varied significantly during this period. Information availability exceeded one billion between 2015 and 2017 [2015 (1.1 billion), 2016 (1.9 billion), 2017 (1.3 billion)], only to drop to 222 million in 2018. This decrease was followed by a return to previous levels, with results recorded in 2013 (194.4 million) and 2014 (199.8 million). Subsequently, there was a significant increase in 2019, surpassing one billion, before reverting to previous levels in 2020 (632.7 million), 2021 (648.9 million), and 2022 (179.8 million).
As depicted in the figure below, the law and government sector held a higher percentage of the total available information between 2019 and 2021. Arts and entertainment also demonstrated relatively consistent performance between 2015 and 2019. Surprisingly, the percentage of information available for business and industrial, health, science, jobs, and education exhibited irregular patterns, indicating lower contributions from stakeholders in these sectors and industries related to the information categories.
Source: Google Trends, 2023; Opolo Global Innovation, 2023
Innovation Information Seeking Behaviour
The Nigerian public consistently expresses a keen interest in the annual Global Innovation Index, prompting us to conduct an analysis of the country’s innovation scores from 2013 to 2022 along with their innovation information seeking behaviour. When it comes to seeking information on innovation, particularly with the goal of understanding innovation and potentially fostering innovative practices, the majority of inquiries were directed towards the business and industrial category throughout the entire analysis period with the different volume of searches [2013 (n=2679), 2014 (n=2416), 2015 (n=2621), 2016 (n=2494), 2017 (n=2366), 2018 (n=2119), 2019 (n=2645), 2020 (n=1833), 2021 (n=2280), and 2022 (n=2729)]. Following closely behind was the jobs and education category, which initially had a lower percentage of available information. Despite a substantial amount of information being accessible for arts and entertainment throughout the period, it emerged that people sought information in this category less frequently.
People in Nigeria have become increasingly curious about the meaning of innovation in the realm of arts and entertainment. They are eager to explore how innovation manifests in the arts and entertainment industry, including product innovation and the role of institutes like the Prime Innovation Institute of Technology. In the world of business and industry, innovation has become a buzzword. Nigerians have shown a keen interest in understanding what innovation means in a business context. Entrepreneurship, as a driving force behind innovation, has also garnered attention. People sought information about sources of innovation with the intention of grasping the concept of disruptive innovation. The dynamic nature of innovation and its relationship with change were the topics that piqued curiosity in this field. Within the realm of health, the focus was on the meaning of innovation. People were eager to understand how innovation can lead to advancements in healthcare, whether in medical treatments, technology, or healthcare delivery systems. In the fast-evolving domain of science and technology, innovation remains a central theme. Nigerians were interested in how innovation drives technological advancements. This interest related to emerging technologies, scientific discoveries, and their practical applications in various sectors.
In the context of law and government, innovation was a topic that captured attention. Citizens wanted to comprehend how innovation can be harnessed to improve governance, public services, and legal systems. Curriculum innovation was also a matter of interest, potentially indicating a desire for educational reform within this sector. When it comes to jobs and education, innovation was a recurring theme. People were keen to explore the meaning of innovation in the context of curriculum development and implementation. Institutions like the Innovation Institute of Technology in Akure may be contributing to this heightened interest. Additionally, agencies of curriculum planning and innovation are being sought after, suggesting a desire for educational reforms and advancements.
Throughout this decade, the search for the meaning of innovation was constant, reflecting a nation’s quest for progress and development. Whether in arts and entertainment, business and industry, health, science and technology, law and government, or jobs and education, Nigerians have shown a clear appetite for innovation and its transformative potential. The steady increase in information-seeking behaviour indicates a society eager to embrace change and stay at the forefront of innovation in the global landscape.
Source: Google Trends, 2023; Opolo Global Innovation, 2023
To increase our understanding of how the Nigerian public sought information between 2013 and 2022 in the context of the categories listed earlier, we further analysed the link between the availability of innovation information and innovation information-seeking behaviour. Our analysis reveals a -28% linkage. In this case, as the availability of innovation information increases, the level of innovation information-seeking behaviour decreases. On an individual level, this insight resonates with available innovation information and seeking behaviour from 2015 to 2021.
It’s possible that the available information does not always align with what individuals are seeking. Even though there might be a vast amount of information, its relevance and quality might not meet the needs of those seeking it, leading to a disconnect between availability and behaviour. For those involved in disseminating innovation-related information, this finding suggests the importance of understanding the ebbs and flows of public interest. It’s essential to tailor communication strategies to match the shifting dynamics of information-seeking behaviour. It also emphasizes the importance of adapting communication and information dissemination strategies to match the evolving interests and needs of the audience.
Source: Google Trends, 2023; Opolo Global Innovation, 2023
In speaking to this data, it is important to call the attention of government to the need for appropriate dissemination of innovation information to quench the thirst of Nigerians seeking to know more about the concept. In recent times, especially between 2015 to 2019, there is heightened discussion of innovation as a result of attention it is getting from the government in terms of policies and activities. However, as the new government is taking the focus higher and seeing how the digital economy could be harnessed for skills development and job creation, we advise that the information on innovation should be more contextualized. There should be a deliberate plan on communicating innovation in the local languages. It is established that information couched in indigenous languages not only pique the interest of the receiving audience but also boosts comprehension.
This also does not leave out the private sector as making people understand innovation in their local languages has the potential to birth more innovative solutions to local problems. The media should also play more prominent roles in democratizing and decolonizing the language of discussing innovation. The Nigerian media landscape is rich and robust enough to take care of this charge if the actors are ready.