The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Professor Nentawe Gashwer, stated that the President Bola Tinubu administration is steadily building a nation where digital skills are harnessed, and where citizens are no longer mere consumers of technology but its creators.
He said this while delivering a keynote address at the graduation ceremony of 35 Nigerian youths who participated in a digital skills training programme organized by Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) in collaboration with the ministry.
According to the Minister, digital skills are now the foundation of economic power worldwide.
“This programme, under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was not designed to hand out aid but to hand over agency.
“The future we envision is not one where people wait to be rescued, but where they rise to become solution creators, job makers, and wealth builders.
“You are not just graduates, you are the vanguard of a new Nigeria, a Nigeria where young people do not flee from poverty but defeat it with knowledge; a Nigeria where digital skills are exported like oil; a Nigeria where we are no longer consumers of technology, but creators of it,” he stated.
The Minister further noted that the government is committed to building community tech hubs where skills are nurtured and innovation is celebrated.
He highlighted plans to develop online platforms to connect skilled Nigerians with local and global opportunities, and to establish funding pathways so that innovative ideas can transition from notebooks to the marketplace.
“If we want to reduce poverty sustainably, we must make wealth inclusive, digital, and locally driven,” he added.
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The President and CEO of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), David Daser, in his remarks, emphasized the urgent need to equip Nigerian youths with income-generating skills.
He said Nigeria cannot attain meaningful development without investing in youth training and up-skilling for wealth creation.
The theme of the event was “Skills for Empowerment”, which the DBI President said directly addresses one of the most critical needs of the time: economic self-reliance through practical skill acquisition.
“As a nation striving toward sustainable development, the importance of equipping individuals with relevant, income-generating skills cannot be overstated,” Daser said.
He said that the initiative was not limited to DBI’s Abuja campus but extended to its other national campuses in Enugu, Lagos, Yola, and Kano, “thereby bringing opportunities closer to diverse communities and advancing the institute’s mission of bridging the digital and development divide in Nigeria.”
The DBI CEO stated that participants received hands-on training in Web Application Design, Graphic Design, and Image Editing, among other high-impact areas.
“These are not just technical skills, they are tools of transformation, pathways to independence, creativity, and sustainable livelihood,” he added.
Mr. Daser urged the graduates not to see their certificates as an end, but as the beginning of a journey filled with innovation, contribution, and value creation.
“I encourage you to see yourselves not just as job seekers, but as job creators, as catalysts of hope and change,” Daser said.