By Angela Nkwocha
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami has said digital skill, which includes digital entrepreneurship and digital innovation, is key to development of any nation.
Dr. Pantami while speaking in Abuja at the National ICT Girls Empowerment Competition and Final Evaluation and Prize Giving Ceremony stated that there should be inclusion of digital skills in digital economy which cannot operate in alone but need the support of all stakeholders to achieve a digital Nigeria.
According to Pantami, the successful effort that will ensure the success of a digital economy in any nation relies on indigenous innovation and digital entrepreneurship, thus, the need to identify our indigenous innovators, support them and make them successful.
“We want to ensure that we identify our young innovators, focusing on girls, identifying their ideas while supporting them and making sure that such ideas are developed and adopted where applicable”.
He added digital entrepreneurship is key by identifying various talents that has been identified therein.
Pantami maintained that digital entrepreneurship is not about producing potential employees but rather producing potential employers.
“Our challenge is that we focus more on producing potential employees and we have no vacancies to accommodate them, but when it comes about digital innovators and digital entrepreneurship, it is about focusing on producing digital employers that will employ others in the future, this is the only way that we can be successful as a nation, if we continue producing employees then we are in trouble.
“We are so much addicted to certificate than skills, certificate is only commendable, however, when it comes to digital skills, certificate without skill is misleading”. He added.
Pantami expressed dissatisfaction that women has been left behind in Nigeria when it comes to digital technology, stressing that the statistics is really alarming, with a huge gap. He however charged participants to discover their talents, partake in critical thinking and be consistent and passionate about their career.
