Africa’s shift toward a digital economy faces a critical skills gap, largely due to insufficient training systems that fail to meet current demands. Addressing this challenge swiftly is essential to enable Africans to fully engage in the global economy and remain competitive.

Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK) has launched the Digital Learning for NSUK (DL4NSUK) initiative in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and US technology company Cisco. The event, held on 7 November 2024 at the School of Postgraduate Studies' SB Mohammed Auditorium, makes NSUK the first Nigerian university to participate in this digital literacy program.

In his speech, the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, stressed the importance of digital literacy, aligning the program with the Federal Government's National Digital Literacy Framework under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The government has set itself the ambition of achieving a digital literacy rate of 60% among young people and adults by 2025 and a national digital literacy rate of 95% by 2030, he said. He also stressed the need to prepare students with digital skills in view of the new know-how requirements of the job market between now and 2030. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi expressed NITDA's commitment to developing the digital skills of Nigerians through higher education, making NSUK an exemplary partner in this inaugural initiative.

These efforts are linked to the government's goal of developing the country's digital economy, which contributed 13.12% to total nominal GDP in the first quarter of 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Enhancing the digital skills of the population is essential to support this growth.

Professor Sa'adatu Hassan Liman, Vice-Chancellor of NSUK, emphasized that the aim of the program was to make the university a regional leader in ICT, artificial intelligence, and robotics. She stressed that integrating cutting-edge technologies into NSUK's curriculum would enable students to acquire essential skills, such as problem-solving and innovative thinking, that are vital in the digital age.

Hikmatu Bilali