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By Oluwaseun Ajayi
The Code Plateau Campus Tech-Talk-Arena held recently in Jos as part of the state’s government’s efforts to expand its grassroots reach at grooming young people in the technology space.
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Hosted by the Director General of the Plateau State ICT Development Agency (PICTDA), Mr. Daser David, at the newly opened residential Code Plateau Campus, the Code Plateau Campus Tech-Talk-Arena is designed to raise awareness on technology and people and how stakeholders’ participation is critical to influencing policies and leveraging ICT for development across sectors.
“The Code Plateau Campus Tech-Talk-Arena is centred on having conversations about our vision for the technology ecosystem. The questions of Code Plateau and government’s solution to the human capital development gap,” said David.
He added: “We are building a generation of solution providers. Young people who will earnestly solve the enormous problems facing our development as a state. Thank you Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong for the enablement.”
L-R: SA to DG, PICTDA, Golepji David Wambutda, Alasa and David
Conceived to arm young people with the right skills, mindset and an understanding of what is expected of them in the fast changing technology driven global economy, the Director General-led team of Code Plateau hosted its first ever Tech Talk with the theme: ‘Technology and People’.
“Once, technology was deemed to be just a tool to enhance the quality of life. But it is merely not so again. Technology has become immersive and is everything that defines the 21st century human,” said guest speaker at the inaugural Code Plateau Campus Tech-Talk-Arena, CEO, Qitech Technologies Limited, Mr. Olusegun Oruame, who is also a technology journalist and a media entrepreneur.
“The Code Plateau Campus represents a vision and a goal. You have a group of policy drivers in government who believe that the future of Plateau state, and all of Nigeria, is youth and technology. These innovative policy drivers must contend with outmoded mindset that does not see the need to invest in tech-skill development for young Nigerians and cannot still envision the society and economy of the future.
“It is a challenge that young people in government like the director general of PICTDA must work round. They must face the reality that young people in Plateau state and elsewhere in Nigeria are ready for a digital future but leaders who occupy decisive positions in politics to move things ahead are lagging. A greater number of decision makers in government have not fully embraced the digital era,” said Oruame to an audience of mainly young people and some stakeholders from the public and private sectors.
Code Plateau Campus
“There is an interesting correlation between what is happening here on the Plateau with Code Plateau Campus and the story behind the emergence of Bangalore, India’s technology capital that is significantly contributing to India’s IT leadership in the world with “its robust heritage of premier R&D laboratories, academic institutions, and public sector focused firms.
“In the early 70s, Bangalore was just a flat out city with its own challenges. But soon local policy makers decided to gradually remodel the city to become a hub for industrial infrastructure, engineering education and industrial policy. Bangalore started investing heavily in skill building for thousands of young Indians and gradually became the go-to city for software engineering and IT innovations.
“Today, Bangalore is a hot destination with more than 1,500 multinational IT companies firmly established; and a highly educated pool of human resources. Bangalore is not New Delhi nor is it Kolkata just as Jos is not Lagos nor is it Abuja. But Bangalore accounts for 38% of India’s $22 billion IT and software exports. It is India’s high tech capital city and home to robust industries that include “aeronautics, automotive components, bio-technology, electronics machine tools, space research, science research, defence science research and silk industry.”
“Bangalore pioneered private participation in engineering education and encourage massive investment of non-government stakeholders in skill development and several engineering colleges. The story has long changed for Bangalore and it can change for Plateau state.”
Oruame further added: “Whatever is happening here is a testament that Bangalore can and should happen to Nigeria in Plateau state. Our prosperity or even the idea of shared-prosperity is hinged on our ability to fully leverage the vast, perpetually changing opportunities in technology.
“We cannot dread technology. We must fully embrace it. It’s a myth that technology is replacing jobs or making workers redundant. Technology is creating new opportunities for new skills and careers – millions of new jobs are being created as technology evolves to open up new vista of careers. All of these are demanding that we rework or remodel our education or learning system. It is time to foster critical thinking skills. Retool young people to develop these skills that will drive job creation and not dependency.
“For the team of Code Plateau, Fellows of Code Plateau, past and present and several others from varying tech niches in Plateau state, I say your future is just beginning. Your job task is only becoming more set for you as you join the economy of the future that is already here.”
Braimah Alasa, CEO/MD of Philip-Cosby Consulting Limited, also urged Nigerian youths to have a more progressively open attitude to new ideas. Alasa said the u;timate responsibility for a positove mental shift rests on each individual.
Also, according to David, “the Code Plateau Campus is meant to churn out talents that would be able to solve real life problems by providing amenities like electricity, water, internet and a dormitory. The PICTDA boss stated that the Tech Talk is to be a regular forum where like-minded people can share ideas and solutions to problems provided.”
Earlier, one of the Code Plateau fellows, Sandra Mahannan, gave testimonial comments on how she got involved in ICT to prepare her for a tech-career. Mahannan expressed gratitude to the government for the Code Plateau initiative, saying that it has expanded her chances in life and helped to prepare her for the exciting prospect of building smart solutions in her field.
