By Sonny Aragba-Akpore
For the first time in a long while… a really long while, Imo State was in the news for good reasons after the incessant fratricidal attacks on the state and other parts of the South East geopolitical zone by people believed to be unknown gun men (UGM).
Technology took its pride of place on September 27, 2023 when what was likened to the biblical mustard seed bore fruits: 15,000 young men and women graduated from what I have chosen to tag “ technology incubation” process.
After a lull in applause, there was jubilation in Imo state, the type the governor, Hope Uzodinma, didn’t get when he was named governor a few years ago. For the first time, too, in a long while, the governor was praised, not just for this maverick approach to engage the young people constructively in an attempt to make meaningful changes to their lives, but that his government, wait for it, will actualise their dreams by offering them 4,000 offshore jobs in Europe and Canada.
Was he grandstanding or trying to prove a point when he made the stupendous claim at a political rally? Well, December is at the corner and we will see if indeed the state government will purchase flight tickets for 4,000 youths to take up jobs with companies on the two continents, as he announced to, what many have described, as gullible youths
That applause at the rally had not died down before a European Union official allegedly spoke to discountenance this promise up of abundance for the Imo youth.
Strangely too, the EU man spoke through the voice of a politician, so, we should weigh the reality between Uzodinma who has promised life of abundance for his people and the opposition politician who said it was not true.
Like Bob Marley said in his hit song “Time Will Tell. “ Yes, time alone will tell and we wait.
In the viral video of the rally, Uzodinma said he will personally hand over employment letters to 4,000 young people in December, 2023. Was he making political statements in the light of pending election in November, 2023? Time, alone, will tell.
While Uzodinma’s promises may not ring a bell as Anita Ward, the US pop singer sang, we should grant him the benefit of doubt as he hopes to give hope to the youths who now see him replicating Imo state as paradise on earth. Yes,Time will tell.
I have no way of placing the governor and his government except through reputation, but I have encountered his Commissioner for Digital Economy, Chimezie Amadi, while he was on the staff of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), shortly before he joined Uzodinma in Owerri. And with the experience he got at the NCC, Amadi boasted the other day that he was going to Imo to make a difference.Time Will Tell as we await his victory.
The SkillUpImo, a pet programme initiated by Amadi, an idea he incubated and sold to Uzodinma, may make the difference as it is calculated to take many young people off the streets, off crime and criminal gangs. A programme that is expected to give meaning to the lives of 300,000 youths, in the first instance; and if the government survives the harsh economic realities, increase the number as it boasts of a win-win template. Time will tell.
One of the primary pillars of The Digital Imo Agenda, the SkillUpImo Project in three years, is ambitiously aimed at training and equipping 300,000 people with digital skills and knowledge, get them off the streets to be more useful to themselves and the society, a running document states.
“Such youths will be trained in the fields of Computer Appreciation, Data Analytics, UI/UX, Web Design, Digital Marketing, Content creation, Phone Repairs, Video Editing, Programming and a host of other fields of digital appreciation. The graduates of such training will not only be able to function within our borders but will be knowledgeable enough to work remotely in other parts of the word,” the document continues.
Some of the beneficiary students are being trained in Cohorts or tranches in staggered arrangements.
The first batch of 5,000 students graduated on February 22, 2023. And on September 27, 2023, the second batch or cohort graduated 15,000, bringing the total figures so far to 20, 000.
If the Imo state example is replicated across the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria will be on its way to becoming a major centre for outsourcing human capital.
And Nigeria may be playing in the big league with countries like India where Information and Communications Technology (ICT), human capital development and outsourcing is second to none. China which has become the last bus stop for low priced workforce in ICT, construction and industrial experts in the world and, of course, Cuba, which prides itself in medicine and ever-ready to export well trained medical personnel to parts of the globe on request.
The Imo example is calculated to cushion the pains of orphans and the less endowed young people, the poor, the underprivileged and the needy including those who have a strong appetite for knowledge .
Uzodima wants to clothe them with the garment of knowledge that is likely to transform them and translate them from their underprivileged background and provide them the process of joining the ruling class. But, time will tell, if this a castle in the air or reality.
There’s hope rising for these young people as they navigate this sure route to a future of promises of life abundance, not only for them, but also for their families and the society at large. Time will tell.
The state appears to have created a favourable and enabling environment for tech startups, accelerators and innovation hubs which have attracted talents and investors to the state.
“A resultant factor which has led to the forging of beneficial-partnerships between the public and private sector in the tech ecosystem of Imo State .
SkillupImo is in partnership with Tech companies like Cisco, Huawei, Microsoft, and their local partners.The National Examining Board for Technical Education (NABTEB) is in charge of certification and value optimisation of the programme,” a document for the scheme noted.
Four new Learning Centres: Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Imo Polytechnic Omuma, University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Umuagwo, and K. O Mbadiwe University, Ideato, are established to complement the existing centres at the Ministry of Digital Economy and E- Government headquarter office, Imo State University, Alvan Ikoku College of Education and Claretian University all geared towards enhancing access to digital skills learning for the youths.
The newly reconstructed 3R Digital Learning edifice at the Ministry of Digital Economy and E-Government now seats thousands of learners to ease the rush of-the present tech enthusiastic youths of Imo.
Imo under the SkillUpImo project has witnessed a surge intech-related initiatives and investments. Tech- driven solutions are now employed to address critical issues in healthcare, education, and infrastructure. The deployment of technology in the public service has enhanced efficiency, transparency and productivity. Initiatives like e-governance and digital record-keeping have streamlined administrative processes, making government services more accessible to Imolites.
The SkillupImo project is the premier human capacity development programme of Uzodinma’s administration designed to empower Imo youths with cutting-edge digital and employability skills in emerging and mainstream technology. This Agenda is in sync with the Federal Government’s National Digital Economy Policy & Strategy (NDEPS), 2020-2030
The SkillUpImo Project; rooted in the First Pillar of the IMO DIGITAL ECONOMY AGENDA (I.D.E.A) 2022-2026, as a humanitarian training and empowerment program, is aimed at training 300,000 three hundred thousand Imo youths and equipping them with fourth industrial revolution skill set within the next three years, connecting 60 percent of the graduands to job opportunities while empowering 40 percent to become tech-preneurs to align in a digitally evolving world.
Officials boast that SkillupImo has the triple objectives of positioning Imo state as the digital skills hub of Africa, tackling youth unemployment as well as insecurity and diversifying and building the state’s digital economy. Time, indeed, will tell if all these are flukes and manipulations of a desperate politician.
● Aragba-Akpore, an analyst on tech trends sent this via WhatsApp.