The Director General of the Teen Ambassador Foundation (TAF), Mr. Paul Adiwu, has called on the federal government to invest more in teenagers in the area of information and communication technology (ICT) across the country.
He made the call at the closing ceremony of a Summer programme organised by the Teen Ambassador Foundation in collaboration with Net Access Communication Ltd. in Abuja.
The summer, which began on July 24 and ended on September 2, was targeted at training Teenagers and youth in science, technology, engineering, and Mathematics Education with Robotics.
Mr. Adiwu, said that the centre was not a training institute, but his passion to develop the potential of the kids in the country made him organise the training for kids.
He said his passion was to expose the kids to science, technology, engineering, math, and robotics by employing experts to engage them.
Several teenagers and youths were trained in robotics and were presented with certificates, while some of them demonstrated what they had learned in robotics.
Also speaking at the event, the Head of Legal Enforcement and Regulation at the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Mr. Babatunde Bamigboye, warned Nigerians, especially teenagers, against sharing personal information on the internet.
Mr. Bamigboye who represented, the Director General of the commission, Dr Vincent Olatunji said Nigerians should be wary of putting all their data on the internet so as to keep people off from knowing everything about them.
“At the commission, we protect data, and most of what you will need to develop apps depends on data.You must protect your information when you go online. It is important that this form part of our curriculum as teacher of children because they are now exposed to what adults are exposed to,” Mr. Bamigboye said.
He noted that he was hopeful that among the kids who attended the summer camp organised by Teen Ambassador, the country would have renowned innovators among them.
He commended TAF for organising such a programme to keep the children busy during the holiday while assuring the teenagers that in 20 years from now they would remember “today and thank the organiser.”
“The world of ICT, especially this robotic artificial intelligence, is the world of the new oil, which everyone is going towards. Now you have better opportunities than Bill Gate.”
A member representing Jos North, Bassa Federal Constituency of Plateau State, Hon. Avia Agah, commended the Director General of TAF, Mr. Paul Adiwu, saying that the gesture was laudable.
“I am overwhelmed and happy, You have chosen humanity at a time when the country is grappling with so many challenges, You have chosen to keep our children in this endeavour. “
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Net Access Communication Ltd., Mr. Victor Taiba, who trained the teenagers, said: “The only way to be a part of what is happening around the world is to train the kids.”
According to him, how can we keep up with what’s happening around the world? The way is to start with kids to give them a solid foundation in engineering and mathematics.
“A child should be able to build a system with this training in automobiles, robotics, and smart agriculture when they start early,” he said.
The children and young people expressed joy with the organisers of the training.
