The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has hailed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for providing the policy direction and enabling environment needed to place technology and innovation at the heart of Nigeria’s economic transformation.
Inuwa made the commendation while speaking at GITEX Nigeria in Lagos, where he said the Tinubu administration had, from inception, recognised that Nigeria’s economic future could no longer depend solely on traditional sources of growth.
He said the administration had deliberately prioritised economic diversification, industrialisation, innovation and digitalisation under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to him, the President’s agenda provides a strategic framework for accelerating growth through industrialisation, digitisation, creative industries, manufacturing and innovation.
Inuwa stressed that the global economy was rapidly shifting towards one driven by human ingenuity, noting that a country’s greatest competitive advantage would increasingly depend on what its people could “think, imagine, learn, create and solve.”
He therefore described Nigeria’s human capital as its most valuable resource, insisting that talent development must remain at the centre of the country’s digital transformation drive.
The NITDA chief highlighted ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to integrate digital skills into formal education, as well as initiatives such as the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, aimed at equipping Nigerians, particularly young people, with skills needed to compete in a technology-driven global economy.
However, Inuwa said developing a skilled workforce alone would not be enough.
He explained that the government must also create an enabling ecosystem where Nigerians could convert their skills into businesses, innovations, products and practical solutions to the country’s challenges.
“With a young and talented population, a large market and significant development challenges requiring innovative solutions, Nigeria has the ingredients to become a creator and contributor in the global digital economy,” he said.
The NITDA Director-General maintained that the policy direction provided by President Tinubu presented Nigeria with a major opportunity to harness technology beyond digital transformation.
He said technology must become a powerful engine for boosting productivity, diversifying the economy, expanding inclusion and driving sustainable prosperity.
Inuwa’s remarks come amid growing efforts by the Federal Government to position Nigeria as a major player in Africa’s digital economy through investments in digital skills, emerging technologies, innovation and technology infrastructure.
