Nigeria to Attain 95% Digital Literacy by 2030 – Pantami
By: Prudence Okonna
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has said that Nigeria’s match towards attaining 95 percent digital literacy in 2030 is achievable as enshrined in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), 2020 – 2030.
The Minister gave this assurance when he presided over the graduation of participants at a two-week Digital Job Creation Training for the North-East in Gombe, which was facilitated by the Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC).
Pantami said the purpose is to train citizens on digital skills, which are no longer considered luxuries but necessities in any modern business.
According to him, ICT is not just an independent sector but the key enabler of all other sectors today because It enables opportunities in education, health, agriculture, security, defense, manufacturing, trade, investment, and industry.
He, therefore, urged the participants to adopt innovation-driven enterprises by utilizing the training they have received to improve their economic status and make Nigeria a better place.
“We have to utilize ICT in order to make our country a better place. We must use ICT even for our personal economic benefits among others. Therefore, we want to encourage you not to waste your time online but rather to use the knowledge you have acquired to make Nigeria a better place and at the same time, derive many economic benefits from it,” he said.
The Minister highlighted that recent reports of the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, about the performance of each sector of the economy, which indicated an unprecedented ICT contribution of 18.44 percent to the economy, as very heart-warming about the prospects of the industry meeting with the expectations of the relevant policies.
Pantami reiterated that the training, which has taken place in nine other states, including the Federal Capital Territory, will be conducted throughout the remaining geopolitical zones.
The Digital Job Creation Training is a two-week program targeted at youth desirous of developing and enhancing their ICT skills in order to promote and enhance growth in the yet untapped and commercially viable digital economy both locally and globally. Each participant at the training received starter packs comprising a laptop with accessories, MiFi Modem with three months of data subscriptions, and some amount of money.
