Three northern states governors have advocated for the consolidation of the gains of the immediate past administration in the areas of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and digital assets to address the challenges facing the country.
They are governor Babagana Zullum of Borno state, Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State and Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State.
Former Lagos State governor and immediate past Minister of Works Babatunde Fashola also joined them in their advocacy, saying Nigeria should keep an eye on Artificial Intelligence, especially.
They made the submission at the unveiling and public presentation of the book written by the immediate past Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami, at Fraser Suites and Hotels, Abuja.
The book which chronicled Prof Pantami journey in public Service and his scholarly contributions to ICT and digital economic growth in Nigeria was titled: “A Scholar’s Journey Navigating Academia.”
The event was attended by Former Ministers of Justice, Abubakar Malami, former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani Kayode, former Minister of state for budget and national planning, Clem Agba.
Others dignitaries at the event were the former Governor of Gombe State Senate Danjuma Governor, the Group Managing Director of NNPCL, Engr Mele Kyari, former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi and former Army Spokesman, Brig. Gen Sani Usman rtd.
Governor Babagana Zullum who chaired the event said the previous administration achieved a lot in the areas of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and deployment of digital assets to address contemporary challenges and urged the present administration to consolidate on the gains.
According to Zullum, the ICT sector witnessed unprecedented turn around and contributed significantly to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), asserting that it enabled government earned enormous revenues from the non oil sector.
Zullum praised Prof Pantami dedication to public service, saying some of the challenges facing the country especially in the areas of security and economic growth can be addressed with ICT and Digital assets already put in place.
The governor of Gombe State and Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Inuwa Yahaya who spoke in the same manner, said Prof Pantami name has become a household name in Gombe for the development he facilitated and the increase in digital literacy among the people.
The governor of Nasarawa State, Engr Sule congratulated Prof Pantami for putting the book together within the shortest period. He said he admired the former Minister’s advocacy for prioritising skills above certificates as solution to unemployment and poverty.
According to him, digital skills and knowledge especially amongst Nigeria youths would create job opportunities and wealth, while youth restiveness would decrease significantly.
Former Lagos governor Babatunde Fashola said Nigeria should keep an eye on usage of Artificial Intelligence as a dominant asset on digital technology, asserting that “we are experiencing new reality that’s changing understanding of environment and our roles as a people “.
Fashola urged Nigerians to read as many books as possible as Nigeria is rated as number 76 amongst countries with much book publications with over 300,000 titles in a year.
The book was reviewed by the Prof Abdulrasheed Abubakar, former Executive Secretary of the National University Commission, NUC, while the event was anchored by Malam Garba Shehu, former Special Assistant on Media to former President, Muhammadu Buhari.
