NITDA Provides Digital Literacy Training To Three Million Nigerians

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) says that through multi-sectoral capacity building activities, it has equipped nearly three million Nigerians with a variety of digital literacy and skills.

The agency's Head of Corporate Affairs and External Relations, Hadiza Umar, released a statement on Thursday in Abuja that its Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, quoted.

The trainings will help the agency achieve its goal of 95% digital literacy by 2030, according to Inuwa, who made this statement at the Council on Global Partner Summit in Florida, United States of America.

Through multi-sectoral capacity-building initiatives, NITDA has equipped 3.3 million Nigerians with a variety of digital literacy and skills.

“The programmes we engaged in included Stem Bootcamp for Kids, digital skills training for students, public servants, journalists, Digital Marketing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Programming, Digital Entrepreneurship and others” he said.

The head of NITDA announced that Nigeria would provide extensive instruction in digital literacy to its youth in order to establish the nation as a centre for information technology that might close the world's digital skills gap.

He claims that the nation is committed to creating laws, projects, and policies that will improve digital literacy and skills across the board.

He suggested that future iterations of Certiport's IC3 Global Digital Literacy Standard include Mobile Information Literacy.

According to Inuwa, it would make it possible to address the needs of the millions of Nigerians and Africans who depended on their mobile devices to connect to and engage in the digital economy.

“The three days event saw six Nigerian students participating at Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship (MOSWC), who were selected during the Nigerian National Championship.

“The Nigerian National Championship was organised by ReadManna Empowerment Initiative (REI) and was witnessed by global experts consisting of corporate executives, government officials, academicians, and industry influencers.”

Inuwa praised the Nigerian delegation for bringing honour to their nation and elevating it to the top of the world in terms of digital literacy and skills.

He characterised their success at the international competition as proof of Nigeria's tremendous human capital potential and a leader in the fight to become a digital nation.

The founder of MOSWC, Edna Agusto, who was represented by Efeoma Olotu, reiterated in her remarks that MOSWC was accessible to all enrolled students between the ages of 13 and 22.

She advised interested academic institutions to get in touch with ReadManna Empowerment Initiative if they wanted to partake in next MOSWC competitions.

“Nigeria is indeed blessed with enormous human capital that has continued to assert its position as a country to reckon with on the global stage, especially in the area of ICT.

“This is with continued talent nurturing, Nigerians’ indomitable spirit to attain success, government support, as well as the commitment of key stakeholders in the ICT sector.

“With all the support, Nigerians will continue to thrive and inadvertently propel the country’s standing as a leader in the digital sphere in this technology-driven era.”