The Federal government says it has raised $17.5 million dollars to drive research financing in the six emerging technologies and ensuring Nigeria’s active participation in shaping the future of digital technology globally.
The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi dropped the hint on Wednesday at a media parley held in Abuja.
He noted that the agency has established a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for emerging technologies, adding that this will centralize efforts and fast-track Nigeria’s digitization efforts in key technological areas, saying that establishing a robust technology research ecosystem is critical in the quest to for sustainable economic growth in the country.
Kashifu, who spoke on the topic: Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan 2024-2027″, explained that 40 research papers had been published in reputable journals and 20% of research papers so far commercialised.
In addition, the NITDA DG further disclosed that about 6 emerging technology centres of excellence withing universities for the six emerging technologies would be created by 2025, making Nigeria a beacon of research and development in Africa and beyond.
” Investing in technology research eqips Nigeria with tools to navigate lead the Four Industrial Revolution. By focusing on strategic areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) ” Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Internet Of Things (IoT) Robotics Blockchain and Additive Manufacturing, Nigeria aims to position itself among the top 25 percent of nations globally in this fields “, he said.
Abdullahi stated that the agency is working to ensure that Nigeria uses technology to strengthen National security, boost agriculture and improve productivity, and the healthcare system among others.
He observed that Knowledge is the cornerstone on which countries build robust economy, pointing out that NITDA is working with the Federal Ministry of Education to review the education curriculum from nursery to tertiary levels in order to include digital literacy in the nation’s formal education and to enable Nigeria attain high level of digital literacy and digital sovereignty.
“So we are working with the Minister of Education to review the curriculum across our formal education, from nursery to universities, so that we can infuse digital literacy in our formal education. By doing that, we can empower Nigerians to have digital skills before graduating. We are also conceptualizing other initiatives, like we will unveil the Digital Literacy for All project very soon, which will promote all Nigerians, especially those outside the formal education, to have access to quality digital content, so that they have the knowledge to navigate around digital technology and digital economy.
On what the agency is doing, he said “NITDA has gone paperless and had trained 120 public instructions to deepen digital penetration.”
While underscoring the need for digitization, he noted that India has dominated the global technology ecosystem and Nigeria can overtake India if it continues in the trajectory of positioning itself to become global leader.
