NITDA Plans Digital Literacy for 10 Million Nigerians

The National Information Technology Development Agency’s (NITDA) Director-General, Malam Kashifu Inuwa, states that the organisation intends to provide digital literacy training to over 10 million Nigerians annually.

Inuwa revealed this during a three-day training on digital literacy skills for Abuja’s public personnel on Wednesday.

NITDA Launches Comprehensive Digital Literacy Training for Federal Civil Servants

In a bid to empower federal government employees with essential IT knowledge and skills, and enhance public service delivery, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in… pic.twitter.com/tiosfjg4dW

— NITDA Nigeria (@NITDANigeria) January 13, 2025

The Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation in Abuja and NITDA collaborated to conduct the training program themed, “Digital Literacy For All (DL4ALL).”

Inuwa stated, “Every year, we want to train at least 10.3 million Nigerians on digital literacy and we are also looking at developing the readiness of our workforce.’’

He said that the agency’s strategy adhered to the World Bank’s prediction that between 35 and 45 percent of Nigerian jobs would require digital skills by 2030.

According to him, in order to improve their efficiency and production, civil officials must be equipped with the digital skills they need.

According to Inuwa, one of the training’s goals was to improve government employees’ abilities and competencies by making sure they learnt how to use digital tools and technology.

“This is particularly important as digital transformation is fundamentally about people, and having a workforce that is proficient in digital tools is crucial for driving economic growth and development.

“Digital transformation is a journey, not a destination, and it is fundamentally about people, not technology, to drive meaningful change.

“Technology makes our lives better, the government cannot accomplish that without you, as you are the one who creates the policies, designs the services and delivers them to citizens,’’ he said.

Inuwa went on to say that the organisation started the DL4ALL program to accomplish its lofty target of 70% digital literacy by 2027.

He claims that the goal of DL4ALL is to equip Nigerians with the fundamental digital skills they need to be digitally literate and adept at navigating the digital world.

According to him, the organisation first collaborated with the Ministry of Education to create a curriculum for digital literacy skills, which was accepted and put into action.

“We are working now on training all teachers and collaborating with the National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education, and National Commission for Colleges of Education, to infuse it in all tertiary institutions’ curricula.

“The second one is working with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to recruit 80 champions in each NYSC stream.”

The Federation’s Head of Service, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, represented by  Mrs. Fatima Mahmood, the Career Management Officer, highlighted in her remarks the significance of converting the civil service into a workforce that is dynamic, technologically advanced, and globally competitive.

The objective, according to Mahmood, was a component of the Federal Service Commission’s strategy and execution plan, which gave the transition to a digitally literate civil service system top priority.

She went on to say that the workshop was a crucial chance to influence the direction of Nigeria’s public service going forward, not just a training exercise.

“By acquiring cutting-edge tools and knowledge, participants will be empowered to deliver their mandate more effectively, driving meaningful change and progress in the country,’’ she said.

NAN