Amidst Unending ASUU Strike, FG, Global Platform to Establish 300 ICT Academies in Nigeria
By Abbas Badmus
TECHDIGEST – The Federal Government has signed an agreement with tech giants, Huawei and CISCO, to establish a minimum of 300 academies in Nigeria and to train about of 30,000 citizens in advanced ICT.
This is even as the country pushes its digital economy through partnerships with various global tech companies.
Earlier this year, the government had also signed an agreement with Microsoft to train 5 million Nigerians, especially in the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, who disclosed this said all these are part of the government’s efforts towards achieving the target of attaining 95% digital literacy in the country by 2030.
While delivering a keynote address at the CISCO SAFARI International Conference 2022 organised by National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in collaboration with CISCO in Abuja, Pantami said: “Of recent, we have had an agreement with Huawei and CISCO to establish a minimum of 300 academies in Nigeria and to train a minimum of 30,000 citizens on advanced training. In addition to this, we have another agreement with Microsoft in which 5 million citizens are going to be trained on ICT, particularly in the area of Artificial Intelligence.”
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Speaking on the theme of the conference: ‘Digital Skills in the 4th Industrial Revolution, the Impact on National Development,’ Pantami said digital skills and the 4th Industrial Revolution have been highlighted in the country’s National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy as key pillars in diversify the economy.
“If you look at our National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a digital Nigeria 2020- 2030 which was unveiled by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, on the 28th of November 2019, you will discover that these two components of the theme have been effectively mentioned and captured in the policy under pillars number 2 and 7. Pillar number 2 is digital skills and literacy while pillar number 7 is digital society and emerging technologies”, he noted.
Arguing that the world is already in the 4th Industrial Revolution, Pantami averred that those emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Blockchain Technology among many others have replaced existing computers, worldwide webs and the internet which came around during the 3rd Industrial Revolution.
The conference is an annual event where experts converge on to discuss the progress and achievements of CISCO Academy in mentorship and career development programmes in the country and to strengthen the partnership it has enjoyed with the NITDA over the years.
ASUU on February 14, 2022 embarked on another strike action to force the government to address its demands which include the government’s investment in the nation’s university infrastructure and payment of members’ salaries through the recommended University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
