The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has urged youths in Nigeria to contribute their quota in the country’s pursuit of the digital economy.
Abdullahi, who spoke today in Abuja at the official Closing Ceremony of Photography and Cinematography Skill Training organised by Abuja Enterprise Agency (AEA), also enjoined the youths to consider themselves as critical stakeholders and major players in Nigeria’s drive towards diversification of the economy from a natural resources economy to a digital or knowledge-based economy.
“Our greatest resource is not natural resources rather the human resource; that is where our strength lies; what we know and the knowledge we have. Our people, not oil and gas is our strength.” With this kind of capacity building, the government is laying emphasis on skills and less attention is being given to certificates,” he said.
He explained that the youthful population the nation is endowed with provides her with a competitive advantage to be a key player in the global digital economy.
He believes the training on Photography and cinematography can sprout youths in Nigeria to be employers of labour, which is going digital as people leverage on Information Technology (IT) to market. “You can use the power of pictures to dramatize your content which can be communicated to the world online,” he suggested.
Sharing how lucrative photography and cinematography skills have become in Nigeria today, the DG said that to get a photographer to cover an event in Abuja today cost N150,000 to N400,000 and getting like four events in a month can earn them almost N450,000 which is difficult to get as salary if you are a fresh graduate in government employment.
“The future is great with this kind of skill acquisition because everything is becoming electronic and the market is becoming promising. I challenge you to grab this opportunity to become job creators. The labour market is stifling because of the number of graduates we churn out every year. With this kind of training, you can also become a unicorn business.
The Abuja Enterprise Agency’s Managing Director, Arabi Muhammad Tukur, in his remarks, thanked the NITDA boss for identifying with the event. He urged the participants to heed to the advice of the DG because “they are words full of wisdom.”
He said the government is ready to support good business ideas and has created a platform for easy registration of businesses.
Earlier in his goodwill message, President Muhammadu Buhari’s official photographer, Mr. Bayo Omoboriowo expressed his gratitude to NITDA for what the Agency is doing for the younger generation. “We want to build a creative industry and we are happy NITDA is supporting us because the Agency believes in what we set out to achieve. The Agency has supported us with 35 computers and we are grateful for this gesture,” he added.