Nigeria's Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has unveiled a comprehensive strategy aimed at training 3 million technical talents over the next four years. Tijani shared his vision during a fireside chat at the Moonshot by TechCabal event on Wednesday, October 11, shedding light on the Ministry's approach to fulfilling this ambitious goal as outlined in its 31-page policy document.
His plan is like a staircase with three steps:
- Step 1: To begin, they will teach 30,000 people in the first three months. That's like the first small step on the staircase. They will start looking for people to teach this Friday. They want to make sure they pick people from all parts of Nigeria, depending on how many people live there and how much work they do.
- Step 2: Once they get this first group right, they will move to the next step, which is teaching more people, like a test run to make sure everything works well.
- Step 3: If this works, they will keep teaching even more people. If Nigeria can teach 300,000 technical talents, it can become a leading country in Africa for training people in technical skills.
This model isn't limited to talent training alone. The minister also revealed that it will be extended to fulfill the Ministry's objective of positioning Nigeria within the top 25% percentile globally in research across six pivotal Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technological domains. These domains encompass Artificial Intelligence (AI), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, blockchain, and additive manufacturing. Furthermore, the Ministry is actively working on a national AI strategy for Nigeria, underscoring its commitment to technology advancement.
Dr Bosun Tijani acknowledged a critical challenge in AI, which is its Western-centric nature. In response, the Ministry aims to address this issue by aligning AI development with Nigerian realities. This move will involve creating data and frameworks that better reflect the country's unique context in the field of artificial intelligence.
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