Alaafin’s son empowers 110 youths in digital capacity building

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, has said with improvements in digital connectivity, digital skills, digital financial services and other core areas of digital development, Nigeria can fully unleash new economic opportunities, create jobs and transform people’s lives.
He added that as the biggest economy in Africa with one of the largest populations of young people in the world, Nigeria is well-positioned to develop a strong digital economy, which would have a transformational impact on the country.
Pantami made this known in a message at the flagging off of the e-learning programme and digital capacity building for 110 youths, held at the Federal College of Education [Special], Oyo.
The five-day programme facilitated by a member of the House of Representatives, representing Oyo Federal Constituency, which comprises Afijio, Atiba, Oyo East and Oyo West Local Governments, Akeem Adeniyi Adeyemi, was sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
 Represented by the Ministry Chief Technical Officer, Oluwole Majekodunmi, the Minister who commended the initiative of the Buhari-led administration for creating 100 million jobs, out of which 10 million would be handled by agencies of the Ministry for the youths, described it as desirable efforts to migrate the nation to a digital economy.
The Minister who urged the participants to maximize the opportunity given to them, pointed out that the implementation of the strategy had started.
He stressed that by the end of the decade, the Federal Government expects every Nigerian to have connected with and expressed the goal of digital Nigeria, by being computer literate, owning a digital device (which the agencies in the Ministry have been assisting to facilitate), having access to the Internet, owning a bank account that can be accessed and operated digitally and online. 

In his welcome address, Adeyemi, the son of Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, said the present administration recognises the role of youths as major drivers of the country’s economy and being pivotal to the nation’s future, hence the determination of the government to place the at the core of its agenda.
He observed that the global pandemic, COVID-19, which necessitated the need for digital transformation and alternative means of achieving the country’s objective, propelled him to facilitate the training programme, with the aims of maximizing fully potentials of the youths in Digital Marketing, Leadership Enhancement, Networking, Adapting and Leveraging on new technologies for effective e-commerce and e-marketing opportunities.
While admonishing the participants to pay rapt attention to the information and knowledge to be imparted on them, the Federal lawmaker announced the establishment of an ICT computer centre for the College.
Adeyemi also disclosed that the bill for the upgrade of the college, which is first of its kind, to a degree awarding one has reached the second reading at the National Assembly.
The representative of the Minister and the facilitator of the training programme had earlier paid a courtesy call on Oba Adeyemi.

In his address, the first class monarch urged the Federal Government to ensure that online communications and transactions focus on and encourage digital economy and ensure taxes and prices come down, because when prices come down, demand goes up and entrepreneurs make more profit by sheer increase in the volume of trade.
The paramount Ruler said, it is simple economics, pointing out that the second mainstay of the digital economy policy is Digital Literacy and Skills, as he emphasised the importance of this pillar, saying that digital economy is unrealisable without skills.
Appreciating the government on different sections of the population  targeted for training and retraining, which included, women, youths, journalists, civil servants and those who are certificated but unemployed, Alaafin said that he was optimistic that, at least, 90 percent of Nigerians will be digitally literate by the end of the decade .
This, he postulated, is because all agencies in the Ministry will be involved in series of training and retraining as much as the financial circumstances of the nation permit.
The Royal Father emphasised that digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship are particularly important in ensuring increase in Nigeria’s GDP.
  He, however, explained that Nigeria is so blessed and needs to leverage that potential to ensure her teaming youths acquire enduring “skills that will make them to be potential employers rather than potential employees”.
He was later presented with a brand new HP laptop and two Ipads.
Highlights of the training programme included presentation of certificates and brand new HP laptops to each of the participants.