The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has entered into a partnership with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to increase awareness and adoption of emerging technologies in Nigeria.
The director-general of NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi announced the collaboration during a visit from the NYSC director-general, Brig Gen. Yushau Ahmed.
Abdullahi expressed NITDA’s readiness to collaborate with the corps and emphasised the agency’s role in scaling awareness and adoption of emerging technologies in Nigeria.
He noted that NITDA’s collaboration with NYSC is critical to positioning Nigeria as a global talent factory, considering that all graduates pass through the organisation. The DG further added that collaboration with NYSC will help to transform the lives of corps members and move the nation forward.
Abdullahi believes that the talent route is the shortcut to upping Nigeria’s industrialisation and development game, as over 55 per cent of the country’s GDP is based on services. He said that Nigeria needs to be creative in its industrialization quest and cannot rely on the traditional approach taken by Asian countries that took them over 50 years to attain their current status.
If Nigeria can train two million developers in two years and position itself as the talent hub of the world, it can earn about $40 billion from the pool of developers, which will also help address the agency’s remittance challenge.
NITDA has started implementing some initiatives to train one million developers in 2022, some of whom are NYSC members. The DG expressed optimism that collaborating with NYSC will not only bring young Nigerians together to be trained on how to build mobile applications and systems but will also connect them to opportunities.
NITDA has identified NYSC as a key partner to achieve its goal of positioning Nigeria as a global talent factory. The agency plans to train interested corps members to become advanced developers. About 124 youths are trained and graduated every month from the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), with other categories, including intermediate and advanced training. The director-general assured NYSC of NITDA’s commitment to going beyond granting their request by collaborating to ensure interested corps members are trained to become advanced developers.
The national director of NCAIR, Engr. Ya’u Garba took the NYSC team through the workings and prospects of the centre and highlighted different programmes intended to scale awareness and adoption of emerging technologies.
Ahmed thanked NITDA for their support over the years, which has been laudable, especially with the provision of digital economy centres at NYSC camps across some states. He solicited NITDA’s support in assisting NYSC with some information technology (IT) equipment for the smooth take-off of the newly constructed information and communication technology (ICT) centre in the national directorate headquarters.
“I want to use this opportunity to solicit NITDA’s support in assisting NYSC with some information technology (IT) equipment for the smooth take-off of our newly constructed information and communication technology (ICT) centre in our national directorate headquarters,” Ahmed said
The ICT Centre stands at 90 pr cent completion and has become necessary due to the increasing need for technological advancement and digital literacy. NYSC, as a scheme, will continue to support NITDA in achieving its target of 95 per cent digital literacy by 2030.
In conclusion, the collaboration between NITDA and NYSC is a commendable effort towards positioning Nigeria as a global talent factory. The partnership will provide young Nigerians with training on how to build mobile applications and systems, connect them to opportunities and transform their lives. With the increasing need for technological advancement and digital literacy, the collaboration is timely and a step in the right direction.
