The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has commended the proposal put forth by the Honorable Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, to enlist and train three million Nigerians over a four-year period.
This initiative aims to position Nigeria as a global exporter of digital skills.
Speaking at the City Business News Summit in Lagos, Maida expressed his approval of the program, which has already garnered an impressive 1 million applicants.
He believes that this ambitious endeavor has the potential to significantly increase Nigeria’s pool of technically-skilled individuals, making the country a sought-after destination for employers in the international digital and technical skills market.
Addressing the summit’s theme, ‘Repositioning Nigerian Economy through Telecommunications: 2023 and Beyond,’ Dr. Maida highlighted the rapid pace of technological advancement globally and emphasized Nigeria’s vision to embrace disruption and foster innovation for sustainable growth, economic diversification, and improved living standards.
Represented by the Commission’s Director of Research and Development, Ismail Adedigba, Dr. Maida stated, “the vision is, thus, to accelerate the growth of Nigeria as a global technical talent hub and a net exporter of talent; to deepen and accelerate our position in global research in key technology areas and raise the complexity and dynamics of our economy by significantly increasing the level of digital literacy across Nigeria. In this regard, the Honoruable Minister is looking to create a pipeline of three million technical talents.
“This programme, which has commenced already with over 1 million applications by potential trainees, is expected to increase the level of digital and technical skills among Nigerians, especially young and middle-level talents, to 70 per cent by the end of 2027. This will position Nigerians to productively contribute to the economy and place us in the top 25 percentile of research globally in the key areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), IoT, Robotics, Blockchain, and Additive Manufacturing in keeping with the strategic plan unveiled by the Honourable Minister,” he said.
This ambitious target aligns with the Strategic Vision Plan (2023 – 2025), driven by five pillars: policy; infrastructure; innovation, entrepreneurship, and capital; trade and knowledge.
Dr. Maida emphasized that these pillars are the foundation of the Ministry’s policy direction and will contribute to fostering economic growth and development.
The NCC remains committed to creating an enabling environment for critical infrastructure development, ensuring improved access to quality broadband connectivity, and efficiently managing the nation’s spectrum resources.
“As we work with our supervising Ministry – Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy – to take these steps to provide the enabling environment for repositioning the Nigerian Economy through telecommunications in 2023 and beyond, we call on Nigerians—and especially our compatriots in the media—to tap into the aspects of these interventions that are relevant to them. The ambitious plans we have set out may seem lofty and even incredible, but through strategic partnerships and collaborations with all stakeholders, we believe that they are achievable,” concluded the EVC.
