Tinubu building nation of tech creators, not just consumers - Minister
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Gashwer, on Monday said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is steadily transforming Nigeria into a nation that exports digital skills like crude oil, empowering citizens to become creators, not just consumers of technology.
Prof. Gashwer made the statement during the graduation ceremony of 35 Nigerian youths who completed a digital skills training programme co-organised by the Ministry and the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), held at DBI’s headquarters in Abuja.
In his remarks, DBI President and CEO, David Daser, underscored the urgent need to equip Nigerian youths with income-generating digital skills, warning that the country cannot achieve meaningful development without investing in youth training and up-skilling for wealth creation.
Delivering the keynote address at the event themed “Skills for Empowerment,” the Minister stressed that the global economy is increasingly driven by data, coded systems, and creativity, noting that digital skills now form the backbone 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.”
The Minister further noted that the government is committed to building community tech hubs where skills are nurtured, and innovation is celebrated. He 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.
“If we want to reduce poverty sustainably, we must make wealth inclusive, digital, and locally driven,” he added.
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.
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.
“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 boss 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.”
He 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.
“I encourage you to see yourselves not just as job seekers, but as job creators as catalysts of hope and change,” Daser said.
He reaffirmed DBI’s commitment to national development through technology, capacity building, and strategic partnerships that empower lives and reduce poverty across Nigeria.
