Engaging youth in ICT, key to economic growth – Inuwa

In line with the Agency’s mandate on Capacity building, Digital Literacy and Inclusion, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), supports the Coderina Coder in Africa at its First Lego league Robotics National Championship 2020 among private and public schools at the Baze University, Abuja.

The competition is a culmination of weeks and months of learning activities, researching and discovery in science and technology in a hands- on experiential form, putting theories into practice which has made the participatory students to find an intersection between theory and practice.

According to the organiser of the event,  it  is aimed at intensifying the penetration of Information Technology (IT) across the country, prepare youths adequately for the fourth (4th) industrial revolution and explore emerging technologies ranging from Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, Coding, Robotic and Bitcoin which is a requisite for the knowledge economy.

The Honorable Minister of State for Education represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Sonny Echono, while declaring the Championship open stated that through the intervention of Coderina, we have been able to bring on board 20 Federal Unity Colleges across the 6 geopolitical zones where over 1000 students and 50 teachers have been trained.

Corderina has also organised Africa Code Week coding training for 218 teachers in August 2019. Google (CSFirst) has also trained 2,300 youths on online safety courses in the following states; Kogi, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo, Rivers, Niger, Taraba, Lagos, Oyo, Ogun and FCT – Abuja respectively, he said.

Echono stated that this shows that the Ministry is heading towards the right direction and keeping pace with the changes and adjustments that required shaping the future of our youths and preparing them adequately for the knowledge, economy and the future of work, he added.

The Director General of NITDA, Mr Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE, represented by the Director of E-government Development and Regulation (eGDR) Dr Vincent Olatunji earlier while delivering the keynote address said that NITDA is saddled with the responsibility of developing and regulating the use of Information Technology in the country, which has contributed immensely to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He said, “Building creative young minds will bring out the potentials embedded in the teeming youths, making them to have the basic Information Technology foundation at an early stage”.

According to the Director General, “Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is one of the fundamental pillars and the next oil of the nation that will playing a pivotal role towards the growth of the economy”.

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought about the concept of smart things, digital platforms and digital economy, stating that the difference between third and fourth industrial revolutions is the disruptive nature of the emerging technologies,” he added.

“From what is being showcased here, I can see that we are going higher in Information Technology, I see the future of this country in IT advancement. There is need for the teeming youths to take full advantage of Information Technology, everything revolves around technology which makes life easier, paving way for revenue flow and Foreign Direct Investment Direct, (FDI) into the country,” he said.

Inuwa encouraged participants to put into practice what they have learnt from the competition noting that it would help to improve the economy by creating jobs which will serve as a revenue flow for you and the country. “See yourself as employers of labour, this will serve as an avenue for the swift growth and development of the economy.”