Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has announced a collaborative effort with the Nigerian Federal Government to create a unified technological platform aimed at integrating diverse sets of data.

Speaking at a meeting with President Bola Tinubu during the World Economic Forum Special Meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Gates revealed plans for what he termed a ‘one-identity’ platform.

The proposed platform, named MOSIP (Modular Open Source Identity Platform), is envisioned to streamline data management, enhance planning, bolster security measures, and improve tax efficiency.

Gates emphasized the pivotal role of data harmonization in ensuring equitable distribution of digital benefits to all Nigerians.

Acknowledging the fragmented nature of existing identification systems in Nigeria, Gates underscored the potential of MOSIP to revolutionize government payment programs, facilitate financial inclusion, and simplify tax collection processes.

He expressed Microsoft’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s digitization initiatives and highlighted the nation’s abundant pool of talented youth capable of managing sophisticated technological systems.

President Tinubu echoed Gates’ sentiments, emphasizing the transformative power of technology in combating corruption and enhancing public-sector performance. Drawing from his experience as the former governor of Lagos State, Tinubu emphasized the importance of leveraging technology to optimize revenue collection and ensure transparent governance.

Tinubu reiterated his administration’s dedication to implementing robust technological solutions that promote accountability and efficiency across various sectors.

He stressed the inevitability of initial resistance to technological reforms but emphasized the long-term benefits for the nation.

The collaboration between Bill Gates and the Nigerian government signals a significant step towards leveraging technology to address governance challenges and foster socio-economic development in the country.

As Nigeria embarks on its digitization journey, the partnership holds promise for driving inclusive growth and empowering citizens through enhanced access to digital services and benefits.

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The immediate-past Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has reiterated his commitment to mentoring the younger generation of Nigerians to achieve success in life.

Pantami made this known at the recent unveiling of his new book titled, “A Scholar’s Journey: Navigating the Academia”, in Abuja, on Wednesday.

According to him, mentors provide helpful guidance and support to their mentees.

Part of the reasons he wrote the book, the ex-Communications and Digital Economy Minister, said was to have a literary material that will serve as a mentorship guide for youngsters in the country, and also the next generation of scholars.

“I decided to put this book together in order to support in bridging the mentorship gap and provide a soft (non-physical) approach to mentorship for the future and upcoming generations.

“This is because writing tends to influence more people and to achieve this through this book, we can say that we have created a mentorship instrument that can outlive us. A mentor shares experience with mentees, while an author also shares experience with readers of their books,” he wrote in the maiden chapter of his book.

Pantami, while citing the story of Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, as an example of the power of mentorship, further wrote: “Gates was mentored by investor and philanthropist, Warren Buffett, who recommended the book “Business Adventures” to Gates.

“The book had a profound impact on Gates and helped shape his approach to business. You can see that in this case, the written information in the book helped Bill Gates succeed and also to become the richest man in the world for 19 years”.

Pantami’s 341-page book is based on the author’s own experience and insights, and aims to provide guidance for those looking to pursue a career in academia and other sectors.

Meanwhile, Pantami revealed what motivated him to take up a lecturing job after graduating from the university.

He said it was because of his passion for mentoring students.

In the book “A Scholar’s Journey: Navigating the Academia,” Pantami said he opted for the academia at a time most graduates preferred the new booming telecommunication industry that paid fatter salaries, the oil and gas industry or embassies of foreign countries, where they could be employed and paid better.

He observed that research ought to be the lifestyle and attitude of everyone in the academia for both personal and professional growth.

He urged younger generations to remain patient in their field of endeavours and remain proactive in searching for opportunities outside what their institutions offer, even at their own expense.

“I am apprehensive about the tendency for impatience among our youths, including those that have explored a career in academia.

‘There is a rush to rise in their careers without patiently going through the process. My advice to them is that opportunities will eventually come naturally to those who are patient.

“During my transfer to the academic cadre, we were advised by our senior academics both within and outside the university to improve or obtain writing skills to enable us attend conferences and workshops, which were important part of the academic process and progress.

“Additionally, any opportunity you get which would help build your career even if it is at personal level, use your personal resources to pursue it and you will not regret doing that. In the event that you get grants, do not allow the purpose of such research grant given to you to become futile.

“Any other benefits that you gain materially in the process that is legitimate, should always be secondary. In academia, we must make research to be our lifestyle and attitude,” he said.

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TECH DIGEST – Global tech icon, Bill Gates has enumerated the potentials of technology as a potent tool against hunger and other challenges globally, especially in Africa.

Helping smallholder farmers, especially in low-income countries, invest in results-oriented climate-resilient agriculture is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and avoiding a “catastrophic economic crash,” Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said in a special event during the 42nd Session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

“Smallholder farmers are accustomed to overcoming incredible adversity and are constantly innovating based on changing weather and market demands,” Gates said. “But they can’t solve this alone.”

Gates delivered the McDougall Memorial Lecture, which takes place every two years and honors the legacy of Frank Lidgett McDougall, an Australian agricultural expert who was instrumental in creating FAO.

The iconic technology entrepreneur who co-founded the Gates Foundation has a long-standing relationship with FAO. Last year, the Gates Foundation donated $10 million to the FAO-led fight against the Desert Locust upsurge in Africa. The two organizations also collaborate on a number of issues central to their missions.

“As partners, we share the belief in the power of science and technology as drivers for transitioning millions of people out of poverty, improving people’s health and well-being, and ensuring that all people have access to adequate and nutritious food,” said the FAO Director-General QU Dongyu, who introduced the lecture and commended Gates’ commitment to FAO and its noble mission.

In his lecture, Bill Gates warned that climate change has already reduced growth in agricultural productivity and is expected to cut harvest yields by as much as 30 percent, raising food prices and increasing farmers’ exposure to droughts and floods and plunging millions more people into hunger.

“It’s particularly unjust that the nations who have contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions – and who are now waiting the longest for COVID vaccines – are the ones most impacted by these challenges,” he said.

He emphasized that Sustainable Development Goal 2 calls for ending hunger by 2030 and also the sustainable doubling of the income and productivity of small-scale food producers.

To make such ambitious targets meaningful, better data is needed to measure progress towards them. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is supporting FAO’s statistical work to fill data gaps.

Bill Gates commended the “50 by 2030” initiative, co-led by FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Bank, which aims to help 50 low- and middle-income countries gather, analyze and use data to track progress and improve policy making.

He also praised the Ceres2030 project for using new advances in machine learning to build a database of knowledge on effective interventions for smallholder farmers, and the African Union’s work on an African Agricultural Transformation “scorecard” for monitoring trends.

Gates remarked further on the “good work taking place across Africa to help farmers adapt and create long-term solutions to the threats posed by climate change. For example, farmers in East Africa are using big data to develop an early warning system for wheat rust outbreaks,” whose costs run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, that has already prevented one epidemic. He also pointed to mobile platforms that allow smallholders to purchase inputs, obtain technical advice, apply for credit and crop insurance, and find buyers for their outputs.

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