By Adeyinka Adeniran
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state and the Editor-in-Chief, Leadership Newspaper, Azubuike Ishiekwene, have sought for stakeholders’ collaboration towards providing necessary frameworks for continuous learning of information communication technology by the Nigerian youths.
Speaking at the 3rd graduation ceremony of the Yomi Denzel Foundation, Ibadan, the governor, called on the private and public sectors, philanthropist, and organisations to invest in the future of the youth through technology.
Represented by the state’s commissioner for youths and sports, Wasilat Adegoke, the governor noted that technology driven, education and skills development must be accessible to all.
According to him, technology, education and skill development remain a significant driver of economy transformation in this modern life.
The governor appreciated the vision, the passion and unveiling commitment of Mr Yomi Denzel Olaniyi, the founder of the foundation.
He said, “Your investment in young Nigerians through tech education is not only but deeply intact, you have become a brick between doings and opportunity for our youth, and we are grateful for your dedication.
“The real motivation of this foundation to empower Nigeria full youth, your programming skills in terms of gold chain, machine learning and data science, aligns perfectly with our commitment to you the government, innovation and job creation.
“As the world evolves, so must our strategy for empowering the next generation, technology the new front, and our youth must be decreed to learn in that space.”
Makinde, who emphasised the importance of building a knowledge based economy and others in the leadership, disclosed that the state had invested massively in education, digital infrastructure, and skill acquisition programmes.
“This administration believes that giving our youth the right tools is not just an act of governors, it is a moral obligation to the future.
“Today we celebrate not only the graduation, but 50 bright and determined young minds, but also the transformative power of vision driven initiative like the Yomi Denzel Foundation.
“We celebrate restlent innovation and hope to the graduating student, you are not just tech trained individuals, you are future distributors, entrepreneurs and solution providers. We are also proud that such an initiative is thoroughly here in ibadan, the intellectual capital of South West
“It is also that more collaborations between the government and private institution like yours will continue to spring up fostering innovation and reducing youth unemployment to the staff, trainers, and coordinators of the yomi denzel foundation:
“We say a very big thank you for your effort, your impact extend far beyond the word of your classrooms, you are shaping lives, building careers, and restoring hopes that is what you are doing.
“To our graduating students today, I want to also say congratulations, and I want to use this opportunity to urge you to use this opportunity wisely, do not wait for opportunities send by Mr Yomi Denzel, I want you to see to every others.
“Opportunities come to none, create them, build solution and solve problems, design platforms that will uplift others, and never stop learning. You have received the seed of greatness, it is now your time to nurture and grow them”.
The governor, who commended the foundation’s president, said “We are looking forward to partnering with likewise organisation to amplify our collective effort in youth empowerment, digital innovation, education and so on and so forth”.
The guest speaker, Ishiekwene, in his lecture titled; “Empowering Nigeria’s Tech Future, One Young Mind At A Time”, noted that Nigeria stood at the cusp of a digital transformation driven by its youth.
He said with over 63 percent of the population under 25 (and 70% under 30), the nation’s demographic dividend provides a vast reservoir of tech-savvy, ambitious young minds, adding that this generation had grown up mobile-first, spurring rapid digital adoption.
While noting that Nigeria boasts Africa’s largest tech hub ecosystem, home to around 90 active tech hubs, the most on the continent, he said “We must candidly address the challenges that threaten to hold back Nigeria’s youth-driven tech future.
According to him, these include infrastructural deficits, funding hurdles, educational and social gaps, access to funding, education and skill mismatch, gender disparity in tech, regional and economic inequality, brain drain and talent retention.
As a way to inspire the next generation, Ishiekwene recommended integration of digital skills in mainstream education, a practical step for the ministry of education to pilot a “Coding and Robotics” curriculum in a few states, working with partners like Coderina or private EdTech firms, and then scale up.
He further recommended creation of more youth innovation hubs and incubators (Unilag and Covenant Universities are good examples), mentorship and role model programmes, promote inclusive participation and diversity, leverage government policy and investment, encourage private sector and academic collaborations, cultivate entrepreneurial mindset and soft skills and provide frameworks for continuous learning.
He also called for the celebration and communicate success stories like the Yomi Denzel Foundation, to foster a mission to solve Nigeria’s tech problems to inspire the youth., adding,
Speaking with newsmen, Ishiekwene said “Clear from what we have seen this afternoon that the youth, young people from Yomi Denzel Foundation are already rising that future.
“Our role is to support you, to inspire you now I want to share with you some factors that are responsible for the kind of rapid change that we have seen among you all.”
Addressing the graduands, the foundation’s president, Yomi Denzel Olaniyi, noted that they had worked hard during this year, and this was the end of the year, adding “I want to stress that this is the beginning of your lives.
“This is not the end, this is the beginning, I know you are young, you are teenager and you are often when you are young that you just have to go through life, the responsibility is on our parents on the government.
“The responsibility for you life is in your hands,;this is very important, you will decide the direction of your life. It is like the rocket ship,if you start at the wrong side automatically you will end up somewhere else, so you need to be careful during the next few years.
“Which friends do you have, who do you hang out with, do you concentrate on school, on working, on doing something positive for your life in the future or do you choose the easy part, this will decide your whole life, and you need to take the choice of your life right now.
“We are urging you to do so but the only, the one and only person who can control your life and take it to success is yourself”, he added.
