The federal government has expressed its commitment to building community tech hubs for the development of skills and innovations in the country.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Gashwer, stated this yesterday at the graduation ceremony for 35 Nigerian youths who participated in a digital skills training programme, jointly organised by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) in Abuja.
Gashwer stated that Nigeria is working to steadily build digital skills that can be exported like crude oil, and where Nigerians will no longer be mere consumers of technology but its innovators.
He noted that if the country wants to reduce poverty sustainably, the government must make wealth inclusive, digital, and locally driven.
The minister highlighted plans to develop online platforms to connect skilled Nigerians with local and global opportunities, and to establish funding pathways so that innovative ideas can transition from notebooks to the marketplace.
Gashwer noted that the global economy is being rewritten in code, driven by data, and powered by creativity. According to him, digital skills are now the foundation of economic power worldwide.
He said: “This programme, under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was not designed to hand out aid but to hand over agency. The future we envision is not one where people wait to be rescued, but where they rise to become solution creators, job makers, and wealth builders.
“You are not just graduates; you are the vanguard of a new Nigeria — a Nigeria where young people do not flee from poverty but defeat it with knowledge; a Nigeria where digital skills are exported like oil; a Nigeria where we are no longer consumers of technology, but creators of it.”
Also speaking, President/CEO of DBI, David Daser, emphasised the urgent need to equip Nigerian youths with income-generating skills, stressing that Nigeria cannot attain meaningful development without investing in youth training and up-skilling for wealth creation.
He noted that this year’s theme, “Skills for Empowerment,” directly addresses one of the most critical needs of the time — economic self-reliance through practical skill acquisition.
Daser thanked the Minister for his unwavering commitment to national development and his visible support for the programme, as evidenced by his presence at the graduation ceremony.
“As a nation striving toward sustainable development, the importance of equipping individuals with relevant, income-generating skills cannot be overstated,” Daser said.
He revealed that the initiative was not limited to DBI’s Abuja campus but extended to its other national campuses in Enugu, Lagos, Yola, and Kano, thereby bringing opportunities closer to diverse communities and advancing the institute’s mission of bridging the digital and development divide in Nigeria.
The DBI CEO stated that participants received hands-on training in Web Application Design, Graphic Design, and Image Editing, among other high-impact areas.
“These are not just technical skills,” he said. “They are tools of transformation, pathways to independence, creativity, and sustainable livelihood.”
Daser urged the graduates not to see their certificates as an end, but as the beginning of a journey filled with innovation, contribution, and value creation.
He reaffirmed DBI’s commitment to national development through technology, capacity building, and strategic partnerships that empower lives and reduce poverty across Nigeria.
