The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that the State’s adoption of an e-government platform and investment in digital infrastructure would provide new opportunities for youths to innovate and create digital solutions for use by the government and the private sector.
The governor said this on Thursday during a Zoom call with participants in the MTN ICT and Business Skills Training Programme, in which youths from across the country participated in a four-week intensive training session.
The governor disclosed that the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) age provides youths with opportunities to build careers in the digital economy, applauding MTN for training youths in innovation and entrepreneurship.
According to him, “For many of you, this will be a redefining experience because you have acquired skills in business and ICT that could possibly redefine your life. It is important that as a country that is in a hurry to industrialise and increase productivity, we must begin to engage our young people, train and get them ready to take advantage of the opportunities that exist. For opportunities that do not exist, young people should be able to create these opportunities.”
Obaseki further noted that the world has gone digital, stressing that it was important that young people embrace technology.
He said, “For us in Edo, our entire government platform today runs on a digital platform. We don’t use paper. We recognise that as a government. And if we do, we know that many businesses that rely on us must also go in that direction.
“It is important that we support the entrepreneurship instinct in young people. By moving onto a digital platform in Edo State, what we have done is to create opportunities in over 50 ministries and agencies to interact digitally and come up with support solutions for citizens. It is not unique to Edo. The world has now become digital.
“The skills you have learnt in the last four weeks are applicable globally and therefore it is important that you continue to hone your skills, invest and improve on yourselves. What you have done is not an end in itself. If anything, it is just the beginning because upskilling is a life-long experience. You have gone through this exercise this year with MTN, but that shouldn’t be the end, you should continue to look for other opportunities to improve yourselves.”
