In a bid to tackle the rising cases of cybercrimes and improve security in the Nigerian cyber space, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the National Information Technology development Agency (NITDA) are working to deepen digital literacy among Nigerians.
Director General of NOA, Dr. Garba Abari who disclosed this while receiving his NITDA counterpart, Mr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi in his office said improved digital literacy would ensure better protection of Nigerian communities, adding that for Nigeria to attain economic sustainability in the modern world, agriculture and other sectors of the economy have to be modernized and technologically driven.
He said NOA, as a citizens engagement agency, sees NITDA as a natural ally in harnessing the potentials of Nigeria’s vast youth population so that they serve as a resource for national development rather than a liability.
Abari also stated that NOA in 2020 plans to establish 1000 Integrity and Digital Literacy Clubs, otherwise called Webrangers in schools across Nigeria, noting that NITDA’s inputs into the project was essential to the success and future expansion of this initiative while pledging the commitment of NOA to revisiting and strengthening the partnership between the two agencies.
Speaking earlier, the NITDA Director General, Kashifu Abdullahi observed that Information Communication Technology (ICT) has for the past two years overtaken oil and gas in terms of contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with over 32 million Nigerians active on social media. He said this huge number of active citizens on the net need to be properly educated on how to protect their personal data to avoid falling victim to cybercriminals.
Abdullahi said NITDA is focusing on building Nigeria’s digital economy; hence the need to develop the digital skills of Nigerians to prepare them for decent work and the future of work which he says is digital. He said partnering with NOA can help re-rientate Nigerians to reposition them for relevance in the workspace in the years ahead and to move the nation’s economy forward.
NITDA, Abdullahi said, is committed to firming up the seven pillars of ICT development in Nigeria, including Regulation, Capacity Building, Local Content, Government Digital Services, Digital Job Creation, Digital Inclusion and Cyber Security.
Paul Odenyi
Assistant Director, Press
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