The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta has charged the Nigerian youths, who participated in the nationwide digital literacy training conducted by the Commission, to put the skills acquired as well as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools received during the exercise to appropriate and legitimate use.
Addressing the participants at the closing ceremony of the NCC’s Digital Literacy Training for the North-West held at the Kano Campus of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) recently, Danbatta particularly enjoined the youths who have had the privilege of participating in the training to apply the skills acquired in gainful activities in order for them to be self-employed.
“The training has provided for you, useful skills, which you have acquired to earn a living for yourself without necessarily relying on government to give you a job. It is our hope at NCC that you will apply the skills appropriately and impact on your friends and associates. I also urge you to resist the temptations to sell the laptops and other IT tools you are going to be provided with,” Danbatta told the participants.
Digital literacy which is acquisition of skills needed to live, learn, and work in a society where communication and access to information is increasingly through digital technologies like internet platforms, social media, and mobile devices. The skill is evaluated by an individual’s grammar, composition, typing skills and ability to produce text, images, audio and designs using technology.
Based on the increasing Information Technology Communication in the world and avalanche of untapped potentials in the sector in Nigeria, experts are of the opinion that such skill is not only required among the ever growing youth population in the country, but required for creation of opportunities for them to be self reliant and contribute to the economy.
Speaking further, the EVC commended President Muhamamdu Buhari, the supervising Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami and the Governing Board of the Commission for the implementation of the digital capacity-building initiative, describing the scheme as an important intervention approved by the Federal Government to make more Nigerian youths self-reliant.
Earlier, the President of DBI, Prof. Muhammad Ajiya, who praised Prof. Danbatta for his untiring efforts to ensure the implementation of the Federal Government’s policy, said the various modules of the digital, moral and leadership skills given to the youths during the course of the training will go a long way in making the beneficiaries earn a living and be self-reliant.
Participants also expressed appreciation to the Commission for the digital skills acquisition and empowerment programme.
The training, a brainchild of the Commission, which was aimed at implementing the Federal Government’s policy to lift Nigerians out of poverty, held for two weeks across each of the six geo-political zones of the country.
Across the zones, the youth were not only trained by subject-matter experts in ICT but were also given laptops, Internet Mi-Fi, financial support and certificates certifying the digital skills they have been equipped with.