The digital future of South-West Nigeria received a major boost on Thursday as the Odu’a Investment Foundation (OIF), the social impact arm of Odu’a Investment Company Limited (OICL), held a showcase for its Byte Busters Coding Club, marking the second anniversary of its DEFINED (Digital Education for Innovation and Economic Development) project.
The event, held at Daylan Event Centre, Ibadan, featured public school students from across the six South-West states who demonstrated various digital projects, including games, chatbots, AI-powered item recognisers, currency converters, quizzes, and e-libraries, developed during their participation in the after-school coding initiative.
The Byte Busters Coding Club equips students from public secondary schools with practical digital skills, including basic computer use, web design, Generative AI, and coding in Scratch, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. The project, which directly addresses the digital education gap in public schools, currently has over 1,334 active students and has recorded more than 50 per cent female participation in several states.
In her address, Ambassador Dr. Olatokunbo Awolowo Dosumu, Chairperson of OIF and daughter of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, reaffirmed the Foundation’s vision of bridging the digital divide.
“Talent is universal, opportunity rarely is,” she said. “By situating learning within public schools and strengthening local capacity, we are ensuring that geography and income do not determine a child’s digital future.”
Representing OICL Group Chairman, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, Engineer Nureni Adisa, Chairman of WEMABOD, described the initiative as a continuation of the founding fathers’ vision of collective progress.
“This is the same spirit that built the Odu’a conglomerate, now being channelled into building human capital for the 21st century,” he said.
Mr. Abdulrahman Yinusa, Group Managing Director of OICL, represented by Mr. Yemi Ajao, Executive Director, Business Development and Investment, emphasised that digital literacy is essential for national development.
“Digital literacy is the new education. It is the key that unlocks innovation, drives economic development, and secures our future relevance on the global stage,” he noted.
Programme Director, Professor Seun Kolade, highlighted the transformation witnessed among participating students.
“We have seen pupils move from zero exposure to building apps and websites. Parents are beginning to see their children’s future not with fear of a changing world, but with faith that they can help change it,” he said, noting that students with special needs were also included through sign-language teaching methods.
The showcase featured students from nine public schools, including Government College, Ibadan; St. Bernadine’s Girls Grammar School, Oyo; Aje Comprehensive High School, Lagos; Aramoko District Commercial Secondary School, Ekiti; Ijanmodu High School, Ekiti; School of Science, Ile-Ife, Osun; Yewa College, Ilaro, Ogun; Abeokuta Grammar School, Ogun; and Gboluji Anglican Grammar School, Ondo.
The event culminated in an awards ceremony, with Government College, Ibadan, emerging as the overall winner and receiving ₦500,000. St. Bernadine’s Girls Grammar School took second place with ₦300,000, while School of Science, Ile-Ife, clinched third place and ₦200,000.
Outstanding male and female learners from each state also received recognition for exceptional performance.
Dignitaries, including education commissioners and ministry representatives, toured the exhibition stands and interacted with the young coders.
Archbishop Ayo Oladigbolu, retired Methodist Bishop of Ibadan, delivered a goodwill message, describing the Byte Busters initiative as a laudable continuation of Chief Awolowo’s educational legacy.
He urged Odu’a Investment Foundation to scale the project across all communities in the region, noting that just as Awolowo pioneered formal education in the South-West, OIF is now championing digital education to prepare the next generation of innovators.
