The Nigerian Government says it will continue to harness the gains and opportunities inherent in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in developing all sectors of the country’s economy.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami made the pledge in Abuja, Nigeria, at the opening ceremony of a Ministerial Training Programme for the Board and Management Staff of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA.
The Training was themed: “Equipping NITDA for Growth and Resilience for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
He described as enormous, the opportunities and gains in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, saying
the Nigerian government would not allow its Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to be left behind.
Professor Pantami explained that based on the contents of the 8 Priority Areas handed to his Ministry by President Muhammadu Buhari during a Retreat organised by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, it was clear that government wanted the gains and opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution to be fully harnessed.
The Minister said he was happy that his Ministry came up with A+ in all the eight priority areas, stressing that job creation, increased revenue generation, digitalisation and partnership with the private sector, among others had changed the narratives of Nigeria digital economy positively.
According to Professor Pantami, it had become imperative to organise the training for the Board and Management Staff of all the Agencies and Parastatals under the Ministry for them to learn, unlearn and relearn.
“Under the Fourth Industrial Revolution, emphasis are on skills globally, and not necessarily certificates.The Illiterate of the 21st century will not be the one who cannot read or write but he who but he who fails to learn, unlearn and relearn,” Pantami said.
He said the training would focus on Skills, Successful Leadership and the Fourth Industrial Revolution to enable NITDA be at the forefront of driving the nation’s Digital revolution.
The Minister said the Board and Management Staff of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, and that of the Nigeria Communications Satellite (NigComSat) have had their trainings recently.
He added that besides NITDA, the Nigeria Postal Service, NIPOST, and the Nigerian Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) would soon have their own training programmes to achieve the same objectives.
Director General of NITDA, Mr. Kashifu Inuwa said the training had become necessary to enable the management staff fine tune their skills and updates their knowledge about the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
He commended the government for providing the necessary atmosphere and support for NITDA to execute its mandate.
The NITDA Boss assured the Minister that the Agency and its management and staff would work harder for the growth and development of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Digital Economy sector.
The Chairman Governing Board ,NITDA, Dr. Abubakar Sai’d urged the management and staff of NITDA to leverage on the gains of the training to impact knowledge on others which will inturn boost the quality performance in the agency.
