A declaration has been made by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, that Nigeria’s goal towards the attainment of 95 percent digital literacy in 2030, as stated in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), 2020-2030, seems more promising than before. Presiding over the graduation of participants of the two week Digital Job Creation Training organized for the North-East in Gombe and facilitated by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Pantami described digital skills as necessities of any business and not luxury, which explains the reason for the training.
Apart from being an independent sector, ICT enables every other sector by fostering opportunities in education, health, agriculture, defense, trade, industry, security, manufacturing and investment. The graduating participants were thus appealed to by the minister to embrace the adoption of innovation-driven enterprises so as to boost their personal economic status and promote Nigeria into being a better place through the utilization of the training and knowledge they have newly acquired, rather than just wasting time online.
NDEPS 2020-2030 will achieve FG’s digital economy agenda.
As a result of the increased contribution of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP), digital literacy, a pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (2020-2030) that will aid the further acceleration of economic growth through youths on the platform of diversification through increased support for the ICT sector, has been empowered. It employs the strength of youths and empowers them for self-employment, this explains the reason for the Digital Literacy Training Initiatives for youths.
The Federal Government has therefore focused on the promotion of digital economy across Nigeria, birthing the rename of the Ministry of Communications to the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. At the renaming of the ministry, Pantami reaffirmed the newly enforced digital Nigeria-oriented policies by the Federal Government to corroborate existing policies to achieve the delivery of reasonable benefits of digital economy to Nigerians. A major policy of the digital Nigeria-oriented policies is the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030, a ten-year eight-pillar blueprint for achieving the Federal Government’s digital economy agenda that was declared in November, 2019.
The Digital Job Creation Training has been held in FCT and nine states.
Digital literacy is the acquisition of skills that are required for sustenance in a society with increasing communication and access to information through digital technologies such as internet platforms, mobile devices, and social media. Some of the relevance of digital literacy is the improvement of communication in virtual environments; it promotes practical skills needed in using technology for the accessing and creating information in an ethical and sustainable way; it also enables easy interaction in the professional world.
The Digital Job Creation Training is a two-week program organized for the development and enhancement of the ICT skills of desirous youths in a bid to promote their growth in the untapped and commercially viable digital economy, not only locally, but globally also. The training, although it has been held in nine states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would be further conducted throughout the remaining geopolitical zones in the country. Upon conclusion of the training, participants are gifted starter packs which consist of a laptop with accessories, MiFi Modem with data subscription of three months and some money.
ICT surpasses 2021 record in contribution to the GDP.
According to the recent reports of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) concerning the performance of each sector of the Nigerian economy, as informed by the minister, there is an indication of an unprecedented 18.44 percent contribution of ICT to the economy, surpassing the record of 2021 at the second quarter of 2022 without the involvement of the digital services. The prospects of the industry meeting up with the expectations of the relevant policies exhibit accountability.
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