Press Releases 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Internet For All. Part II Released on 16 Jun 2010 Nicholas complained about the frustration of getting access to the Internet, but having gone through all that, he said the experience was fascinating. In his words; ‘I am seeing so many things I didn't know about. I have seen pictures from other countries! I saw the White House internet site and I was able to send an e-mail for the first time. I was even able to read news about things happening in Nigeria and other parts of the world.’ An enthusiastic Moses talked about visiting a number of health websites and learning about disease prevention. With a smile on his face he said, ‘In fact I feel like I am part of the rest of the world when I am on the Internet.’ But the joys of the internet age are clearly overshadowed by the problems of access - ‘How can a poor man like me pay three US dollars every day for recharge?’ Nicholas asked. ‘I have to buy basic things for my family. Even though I like the Internet, the government must find a way to make it affordable for people like me.’ This is a thought that was echoed by a family in South Korea of how disconnected they felt when their Internet connection was switched off for a week in another social experiment conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation during their ‘SuperPower’ season; ‘It felt horrible. There was this gap between us and the rest of the world and as each day passed, the gap got wider.’ However, the gap Moses speaks of is not just the connection gap - which divides the world into  the Internet haves and have nots - but the economic gaps which raises the barriers in developing countries. Nigeria is one of the better connected African countries with hundreds of thousands in this West African powerhouse regularly accessing the Internet. The online community in cities like Lagos are as savvy and as sophisticated as any in the world. But the minute you leave the urban centres, the stories of Moses and Nicholas are commonplace. However, the desire to be part of the online world has not been dampened by the difficulties. We asked Moses if, in light of the costs and the frustrations, he could survive without Internet access. His colourful response reminds one of the old adage of ‘drink deep or taste not’. He said; ‘I can survive without the Internet but knowing what I know now, I cannot live without it. Now that I know what it can do for me and for people in Gitata, I will always want to have this kind of access. If I do not have it, life will be empty - there will always be a sense of something missing.’ Back