Nigeria Will Become Exporter Of Technology Talents Like India – Minister, Bosun Tijani Declares

Nigeria has all it takes to soon become an exporter of technology talents like India, says the Minister of Communication, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani.

The Minister, who spoke during on Channels Television live programme on Monday, emphasized that one of the main goals of a key initiative under his ministry is to provide employment opportunities for the vast number of young Nigerians.

The initiative, he said, aims to train three million technical professionals within a span of four years, with the ultimate objective of positioning Nigeria as a leading exporter of technology expertise, similar to India.

“We want to make Nigeria a net exporter of technology talents, and by the net exporter, we don’t mean that people necessarily live abroad because, within the technology space, you can now work remotely,” Tijani said.

He added: “I have been part of the tech space for the last 15 years as well. The current development in the tech startup space is being driven by less than 10,000 technical talents. The almighty Andela, which is a well-known startup that does training, does not train up to 10,000 people in Nigeria, yet they have been quite successful in helping to strengthen that ecosystem.

“So, if where we are today is being built by less than 10,000, imagine when we train talents. Talent is the prerequisite for our digital economy. When we train people, they can build, and we can export. India did it, it is nothing new. India was the source of technology talents for many years, it is our time because we have everything it takes to be able to get there.”

The Minister stressed the importance of academic institutions engaging in research, highlighting the government’s substantial investment in this area.

Tijani mentioned that within the initial three months of taking office, the ministry introduced a research funding program that has supported 45 Artificial Intelligence projects.

He further emphasized that funding for AI projects is crucial due to the rapid advancement of this technology, warning that a government’s readiness will be questioned if not prepared within the next 12 to 15 months.