As Nigeria’s push towards the digital economy gathers momentum, the Director General of the National Information Development Agency, NITDA, Kashifu Abdullahi has warned that the only setback on the journey will be for our institutions to be directed at their majority by analogue chief executives.
Abdullahi said that around the world, analog CEOs don’t thrive in a digital economy because you don’t give what you don’t have.
However, he said that since the country has made becoming a digital economy a priority, the CEOs of various government institutions must retrain and re-adapt themselves to be able to advocate for digital transformation in its various domains.
According to him, “this is the time to take the hard lessons so as not to be caught sleeping, because the digital economy will not sympathize with any CEO who does not comply digitally.”
Giving an example of how the agency is preparing for the digital future, Abdullahi revealed that NITDA is currently building the capacity of public servants in digital skills to help the government push its economic diversification agenda.
Capacity development involves training public servants in digital transformation skills at eGovernemt Training Center, Kubwa, Abuja.
The one-week event necessary to acquire the digital skills necessary to achieve the goals set by the government.
The first group of trainees recently graduated and Abdullahi, who was represented at the graduation ceremony by the Director of Electronic Administration, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, promised that NITDA would continue to push digital penetration in all public institutions, because public servants do not they have no alternative but to acquire digital skills to fit into the government’s transformation plans.
He said: “One of the most important things this government is doing is economic diversification and the digital economy sector has been identified as an important sector to drive the economic diversification plan.
“But how can you do this without having a proper policy? When you have policies and infrastructure, you need human capital to power whatever you are implementing.
“The training was to ensure that government agencies have the digitally qualified personnel required,” he said.
True talk