The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy (HMCDE), Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim, is advocating for increased digital literacy and entrepreneurship in raising Nigeria’s GDP.
Speaking at a media parley which took place in Maitama, Abuja, over the weekend, the minister explained that intensive digital skills acquisition programme for youths will generate more innovation and raise more employers of labour among the teeming youth population.
Citing the case of China which is in the process of turning 600 universities into skills acquisition centres, Dr. Isa, said certification is not enough; passing across relevant skills must be prioritised.
He said efforts should be placed on broadening digital literacy by training and retraining youths, women, civil servants, journalists and those who are unemployed.
According to him, massive national digital education will ensure Nigeria is not caught napping as the World Economic Forum (WEF) is already projecting that 60% of global economic activities in 2022 will be done digitally.
The minister further underscored the importance of raising the level of service infrastructure and loosening of legislative and reduction of fees surrounding Right of Way (RoW) in deploying broadband facilities for impactful penetration. He said he has written to state governors to ensure bottlenecks are removed to aid telcos laying fibre optics underground cables across different parts of the country.
He explained that when broadband penetration increased, the GDP will feel the impact as it will facilitate digitalisation of different aspects of the economy thereby dragging down cost through automated transactions. The resulting cost reduction, he added, will automatically lead to lower prices of goods and services that will in turn lead to increased demand and profit for businesses.
