Girls can drive Nigeria’s innovation future — Communication minister

FILE: Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, has expressed confidence in the ability of young Nigerian girls to lead innovation and provide solutions to national challenges. Tijani said this at the grand finale of the National Girls in ICT 2026 Competition, on Friday in Abuja which had as its theme: “Code, Create and Inspire”. The News Agency of Nigeria (reports that the event was sponsored by the Korea International Cooperation Agency, National Information Technology Development Agency and the Nigerian Postal Service. The technology innovation competition for girls, where teams from across the six geopolitical zones, showcased technology-driven solutions to societal challenges. Tijani said the ministry had introduced technology clubs in schools to provide sustained support for students after their participation the programmes. According to him, teachers play a critical role in mentoring and guiding students through the innovation process. He expressed confidence in Nigeria’s future, particularly through programmes targeted at empowering young girls and other aspiring innovators. “It is a daunting task for a secondary school student to build a technology product without adult support. “We must commend the teachers behind these children who are exposing them to new technologies and helping them develop their ideas. “We recognise that without the teachers many of these products may never reach the market. That is why we have provided clubs in schools to support the students,” he said. He congratulated the winning teams and commended all participating teams for their creativity, resilience and commitment to innovation. He also recognised Team Divas from Cross River, Elite from Osun, Tech Experts from the Federal Capital Territory, Resonance from Abia and Farm Shield 360 from Kano State. The Country Director of KOICA, Mr Kim Eunsub, urged young Nigerian girls to embrace technology, innovation and leadership roles as drivers of Africa’s digital transformation. Eunsub said KOICA was committed to sharing experience with developing countries through partnerships focused on capacity building, innovation and sustainable development. He said that the agency’s collaboration with Nigeria was based on mutual respect and shared vision of empowering young people through education and technology. Related News Four in five Nigerians support social media regulation for children – FG NiRA convenes stakeholders to strengthen internet sovereignty BATN Foundatio