Prof. Isa Pantami, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, has said that the Federal Government will continue its efforts to promote digital innovation and entrepreneurship among young Nigerians.
The minister gave the assurance on Tuesday by launching an Information Technology (IT) Innovation Center named after President Muhammadu Buhari in Katsina state.
He insisted that doing so would make young people become job providers and contribute to the growth of the nation’s economy.
Pantami said that the world economy had gone from being dominated by the oil and gas sector to that of Information and Communication Technologies.
According to him, the ambition of the Federal Government is to have individuals and institutions achieve greatness and wealth through IT.
“Nigeria needs to create an enabling environment and mentorship that encourages talented young people in the IT sector. This informed the federal government’s decision to build the IT center in Katsina state.
“Digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship are the prerequisites for the digital economy.
“The leading nations today in Europe, Switzerland, Asia, South Korea, and the United States that excel in digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship have strong economies.
“Nigeria cannot and must not be left behind.
“That’s why this kind of IT center was built where the IT needs of our youth would be monitored.
“We will continue to mentor them to end up being job providers and successful IT people like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates of this world.
“A center like this will help the federal and state governments discover our talented young people and guide them to become job providers and contribute to the nation’s economy,” he said.
Speaking at the event, Katsina State Governor Aminu Masari also assured that the state would continue to encourage young people to adopt IT.
The governor said the newly commissioned IT center will be put to good use under the state Institute of Science and Technology.
