By Olatunde Ajayi

The First Lady of Nigeria, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, says more Nigerian women and girls can break traditional barriers and access more opportunities via technology and the digital revolution.

The president’s wife said on Tuesday at the inauguration of a digital economy centre and e-learning facilities at Oladipo Alayande School of Science, Ibadan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project is a collaboration between the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the First Lady’s Renewed Hope Initiative.

Tinubu described the initiative as a strategic step toward setting the path for Nigerian youths, especially women and girls, to participate and thrive in the digital revolution.

According to her, ICT knowledge is a significant tool for empowering communities, especially women, thus enabling them to break traditional barriers and access new opportunities.

“Equipping women and girls with ICT skills can enhance their educational prospects; it will help them to participate in the global economy and support their families.

“Today’s commissioning presents us with another opportunity under the mandate of the Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy to further expand digital access to citizens by providing communities with the resources required to develop ICT skills.

“This is in line with the priority area of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu to accelerate economic diversification through industrialisation and digitalisation,” she said.

She noted that the collaboration of NITDA and the Renewed Hope Initiative had led to the construction of four community ICT centres.

“This ICT centre we are commissioning today is the third, while the fourth one, located in Benue State, will soon be ready for commissioning.

“An additional 10 digital economy centres, spread across the country, would also be ready for commissioning soon,” she said.

The Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, described the centre as a core foundational investment infrastructure toward a prosperous digital economy.

He charged young people, as direct beneficiaries of the investment, to take advantage of the centre to acquire the skills required to participate in the economy of today and the future.

“We are in a world where technology drives progress; this community ICT centre serves as a platform for young people to acquire globally relevant digital skills and create solutions for communities,” he said.

Similarly, the Director-General (DG) of NITDA, Kashifu Abdullahi, said the centre has been equipped with modern digital equipment to help the students shape their future positively.

He noted that the centre was also designed to serve youths in the neighbouring communities.

“The centre is designed to unlock opportunities and ignite the potential of youths and students in the state to participate actively in the digital economy.

“It is another commitment of President Tinubu to make Nigeria digitally inclusive,” he said.

Charging the community members to take full ownership of the centre, he said its success would depend on the active participation and utilisation of the resources at the centre.

Earlier in his goodwill message, Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State appreciated the First Lady for bringing the ICT centre to the state.

He assured her that the state would take full advantage of the facility.

Makinde, noting that natural resources alone could not bring about economic prosperity, underscored the importance of information technology and Artificial Intelligence as pathways to the future.

According to him, there must be entrepreneurship, education, human capacity development, and growth opportunities, all based on the global trends. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Moses Solanke