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.

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.

Whenever I hear of EFCC on the news again for the wrong reasons I always quickly rush to the ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRIMES COMMISSION (ESTABLISHMENT) ACT 2004 which is their establishment act to check especially section 6 of the act that provides for their functions but as expected, all you need to know is that law enforcement agencies and their agents in Nigeria have a thing for acting beyond their power; ie acting ultra vires. 

We woke up yesterday to a famous Nigerian musician, Skales ranting and complaining bitterly about how the agents of the EFCC pulled up with sophisticated weapons to his home, forcefully broke into his apartment at 3 am-midnight, ransacked his home while pointing guns at him and his family members and that got his wife and six months old baby to traumatized. 

Be it as it may, by the provisions of section 148 of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, a search warrant may be issued and executed at any time on any day, including a Sunday or public holiday. This is to say that a search or an arrest warrant can be executed at midnight by a law enforcement agent, so the EFCC agents knocking on people’s doors at midnight and using force to gain entry if the owner of the house fails to open up is still within the bounds of the law so far as they have been issued with a search and arrest warrant on that particular person or on that particular house by a court of competent jurisdiction. This is the condition precedent; they must have obtained a search or arrest warrant for the particular assignment but the bitter pill to swallow is that they always do not approach people’s houses and break into peoples’ apartments with any valid search warrant against that house. 

Knocking on people’s doors or breaking into people’s houses while brandishing sophisticated weapons at midnight without any valid search warrant as a law enforcement agent especially on a mufti makes you an armed robber or a kidnapper and the house owner is legally allowed to use any force necessary to defend himself and to resist you to ensure you do not break into his apartment. This implies that if the house owner has a licensed firearm he can shoot you on the grounds of self-defense and he will be permitted by our laws. 

Interestingly, the men of the EFCC (just to let you know that they know what they are doing) only execute this kind of Gestapo style of midnight arrests in the houses of alleged young boys and petty internet fraudsters. They dare not try it in a house of politicians or someone who knows his rights and is ready to stand for it because they know that the person’s first point of action is to raise a preliminary objection against his mode of arrest and seek proper damages against the agency and the agents that executed it. 

In fact, a friend who is a senior officer at the EFCC told me that the only reason the EFCC agents prefer to go after the petty Yahoo boys and petty financial criminals instead of going after big-time corrupt politicians is because the Yahoo boys are so easy to prosecute. A politician is always ready to fight in court but an alleged Yahoo boy will always chicken out and beg for a plea deal and people do not know that just as bankers or salesmen have sales targets, EFCC agents or EFCC sessions are also given targets of number of prosecutions they must meet at a particular time hence they opt for the easier way of meeting the target by going after petty yahoo boys whom they know are easier to prosecute. 

There is no justification for crime, so this is not me justifying internet fraud or making a case for the internet fraudsters but this is me as a lawyer standing against breaking into people’s homes at midnight without search warrants or court order to that effect. I am talking from experience as a lawyer that 99% of those homes men of the EFCC break into at midnight they do so without a proper search and arrest warrant. Some agents are always quick to tell you when you ask them to show you their warrant that their Identity card is a valid search and arrest warrant but that is not what our law says; there is no law in Nigeria that says that an ID card of an operative of an EFCC is a search or an arrest warrant.

The EFCC totally needs overhauling. Touts are now joining the forces and making a mess of why the force was established in 2004. You don’t have to break the law to execute another law; when you break a law to execute another law you have also become a criminal. You can carry out an arrest and execute a search by going through the proper channels of the law. 

What happened in Skale’s apartment last night is totally uncalled for. Seeing the CCTV footage of operatives of the EFCC heavily armed breaking into his apartment will send chills to the shiver of everyone. You will be forced to think that the residents of the apartment are boko haram bandits hence why the agents are heavily armed like that to flush them out.