President/Chief Executive Officer of Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), Abuja, Prof. Mohammed Ajiya, has said the SkillupImo initiative will contribute more to the economy than crude oil.
The Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, initiated SkillupImo through the Ministry of Digital Economy and e-Governance, headed by Dr. Chimezie Amadi, a former Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) official.
In a chat with The Guardian, Ajiya explained that crude oil is contributing less than eight per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but digital economy, the rationale behind SkillupImo, contributes far more than that.
DBI, an international centre for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) studies, is the training arm of NCC.
It is the only International Telecommunication Union (ITU) centre of excellence in Nigeria, among six such centres in Africa.
“I commend Uzodimma for his foresight in making Imo the first state to create the Ministry of Digital Economy in Nigeria. This has gone a long way in positioning the state to harness the best potential inherent in the digital economy space.
“This is more than what crude oil is contributing. Oil is just contributing less than eight per cent to the GDP. So the future is really digital economy. This is where the world is going. In Nigeria, we should not be left behind. I hope other states will emulate Imo, and harness the potential in digital economy space.”
According to the DBI boss, a Northerner, the Imo governor has made a good choice in Amadi to head the first ever state-created ministry of digital economy.
The professor added: “This SkillupImo is an excellent initiative. In the near future, it will see indigenes of Imo becoming masters of the fourth industrial revolution, which is digital in nature. Uzodimma is targeting Imo youths to become next generation of billionaires by participating in this digital space. This means the future is being brought closer in Imo
“Before long, you discover that state’s economy will be shifted to the new space. I just read that there are over 80 per cent skill gap in Japan that can absorb skills, which would be thrown up by SkillupImo.”
