The Nigerian Government says it is creating the enabling environment to unlock opportunities in the digital skills market in sub-Saharan Africa valued at $130 billion.
The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr.Kashifu Inuwa said this in Abuja, Nigeria at a Dialogue on the National Digital Literacy Framework (NDLF) organised by the GIZ/Digital Transformation Centre (DTC).
He said; “the market represents a huge investment opportunity, especially for the private sector.”
Inuwa while referring to the International Finance Corporation, said “28 million jobs in Nigeria and 230 jobs in Sub-saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030.”
He said the government’s focus is to empower Nigerians with digital literacy to be part of the digital economy and to close the digital literacy gap.
“We need to train and retrain 230 million people in Sub-saharan Africa, and to achieve that, we need to invest $130 billion. So, a lot needs to be done. A $130 billion market is not a small market, and the government cannot do it alone.
” The government is carrying the value but the private sector will be the one to capture the value. So, the government is creating an enabling environment for the private sector to create that value.
“The government has come up with the National Digital Literacy Framework, and to create an industry that will train people. Creating that industry will unlock the market. We are in the process of doing that”, Inuwa explained
According to the NITDA Boss, the process will be participatory and will involve the private sector, Civil Society Organisations, and international partners.
He also stated that “the digital literacy framework has set a target to empower 95 percent of Nigerians with digital skills by 2030 by improving access, skills development, ensuring inclusive participation, and workforce readiness.”
Inuwa emphasised the urgent need for a review of school curriculum at every level of learning saying “An illiterate is no longer a person who cannot read or write but anyone who cannot use digital devices.”
“This is a set stage for the education system to review curriculum from kindergarten to university so that everybody will be digitally literate in Nigeria,” the NITDA Boss added.
The Nigerian Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani identified digital Literacy as a catalyst for Digital Transformation and Inclusion in Nigeria.
He said this was key to the President BolaAhmed-ledd administration which emphasises that development must be inclusive which will in turn drive the country’s digital economy growth.
The Minister noted that the biggest challenge in Nigeria’s digital literacy target is not access but illiteracy.
According to Tijani “The access to technology that drives digital technology and its application is becoming cheaper and accessible. The biggest challenge is literacy. Before now, we used to talk about the gap that exists with access to the Internet, and mobile technology, but the price for this technology is dropping significantly which means a lot of our people have access. As they have access, the question would be whether they have the knowledge to use it.”
“For us to drive the prosperity that people want to see, it is important that people are digitally literate or participate in the global economy, ” he added.
In her remarks, Thuweba Diwani, the Head of the GIZ/DTC said that the roundtable aimed to raise awareness and promote an understanding of the framework and also inspire people to act towards the implementation and domestication of strategic initiatives within the framework.
Diwani further said that the GIZ/DTC Nigeria would provide support to NITDA through the development of participatory implementation frameworks at federal and state levels for the Nigerian Startup Act and NDLF; Harmonisation of Digital Literacy Standards; Monitoring and Capacity development.
The Senate House Committee Chairman on ICT Cybersecurity, Shuiab Salisu and House Committee Chairman on ICT and Cybersecurity, Dhikirulahi Odidiomo, the Chairman, Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity gave the assurance that the National Assembly would give legislative support to ensure Nigeria harnesses the potentials in the digital economy.
They also promised to create a law that would support funding of digital literacy projects and programmes to equip the citizenry.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
