By Hosea Parah -Abuja

Former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Peter Okebukola, has described digital skill as one of the major key drivers of economic growth for any country.

He said this at a training programme organised for secondary school students in Ogun State by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) through its Institute for African Culture and International Understanding.

Okebukola who is the Director of the Institute was sad that many young people have limited access to the digital tools needed to navigate the digital environment.

He explained the importance of digital environment in any nation hence the need to equip the younger generation with the necessary skills needed to survive in the digital age.

Reeling out the rationale behind the programme, he explained that the major aim of the digital skill training was to bring together young Africans with a view to equipping them with the knowledge and skills they can use to promote and protect the diversity of their cultural expressions in the digital environment.

Said he, “It is common knowledge that technology is one of the major key drivers of economic growth of all countries and regions. It is also a truism that young people have limited access to the digital tools needed to navigate the digital environment.

“These tools are of grave importance to them as it is the only means through which they can have access to learn digital skills that will not only allow them to function in the digital environment but also last them a lifetime.”

In an interview with newsmen, on the sidelines of the programme, Oluwafeyikemi Osunfisan one of the organisers called on both the state and federal governments to provide the youth with the necessary skills needed to access the digital environment.

She noted, “this idea will help the Nigerian economy because it is an individual with access to all tools and skills available within the digital environment that can grow their earning capacity, can contribute to the growth and development of the nation through payment of taxes, payment of basic bills, generate foreign revenue, encourage foreign investment to the nation and so many more diverse opportunities.

“We are calling on the government to do the needful and ensure that there is provision for creatives to have digital tools, to afford them the opportunity to learn digital skills that will enable them to cope in the digital environment, promote their cultural goods and services, expand their knowledge base, generate more revenue and contribute to the overall growth of the country.”