Specialist Advocates Funding for Rural Digital Growth

Mr Julius Ilori, a social impact specialist, has advocated for more funding for rural communities, specifically for digital skills and infrastructure.

The call was made in an interview conducted in Lagos on Sunday by Ilori, the founder of Learners Corner Education Tech-hub.

He claimed that although governments were working to build infrastructure, more work was still required to solve the problems that rural communities faced.

He claimed that to overcome the difficulties, local government representatives needed to be educated and made more aware of the need to make a positive difference in the minds of rural residents.

He asserts that collaborations with the business sector are essential for fostering innovation and offering long-term fixes.

‘’We are making progress, and with continued investment and partnership, we can drive sustainable development and improve the lives of rural communities, ” he said.

Ilori acknowledged the difficulties rural areas confront, such as insufficient electricity and internet access, but she was upbeat about the possibility of improvement.

According to him, the problem of epileptic electricity supply must be resolved if any society is to grow sustainably.

‘’This challenge is not just limited to Nigeria, it is there in most parts of the world; that is lack of constant internet and electricity supply.

“Also, the mindset of the people; people just want giveaways, they want to eat rice, when somebody’s come to share rice and all of that.

‘’At the end of the day, those things are just short-term interventions that will not stand the test of time,’’ he said.

Since local governments were closer to the people, he argued, they needed to be taught how to make an influence.

He claims that this will aid in emancipating the grassroots leaders’ thoughts.

He gave instances of effective interventions, such as a neighbourhood program that supported schooling in rural areas by distributing tablets.

“Like I mentioned earlier, we are engaged in Community Neighbourhood Programmes; we identify teachers in some local government area, for example in Ajegunle,” he said.

The expert’s comments are a part of continuous initiatives to encourage sustainable development and social impact innovation in rural areas.

NAN