The famous University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has commissioned what can be described as Nigeria’s first indigenous (University) laptop assembly complex.
The complex, which was commissioned last week during the University’s Founders’ Day, has a capacity to produce 100,000 laptops a year was delivered by Crestsage Limited a Lagos-based indigenous Technology company under a management arrangement with BOC (Benefitting Our Community) Innovations Limited.
According to Charles Emembolu, the CEO of Crestsage, who is also an alumnus of the University, the Lion laptop project will deliver local content in the billion-naira industry by value substitution of components with locally available materials and labour.
He noted that the Lion laptops meets the needs of the Nigerian student matching quality with affordable cost and capacity to produce bespoke specification for different school and government initiative across the country.
He also confirmed that the complex will employ about 500 people when producing at full capacity, even as the complex offers an on-campus manufacturing and learning environment for the university community, students and researchers. “The ultra-modern complex will serve as an avenue to empower the youth with much needed applied technology skills to take a leadership role in Nigeria’s economic emancipation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of UNN, Prof Benjamin Chukwuma Ozumba, who initiated the one laptop per student initiative in 2015 his bid to ensure 21st century compliant learning for the university students, has called on the relevant government, private, technology and local content bodies to support the initiative in line with the need for industrialization and youth empowerment.
He argued that Nigeria’s youthful population is an asset that needs to be prepared for a prosperous future of Africa and the world, adding that the initiative is in line with the vision of the University’s founding fathers, “To restore the dignity of man”.