csrreporters 
In a bold step toward transforming Nigeria into Africa’s digital innovation hub, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has unveiled a sweeping initiative to train 50 million Nigerians in digital skills by 2027—a core component of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Kashifu Inuwa, Director General and CEO of NITDA, announced the plan during a recent stakeholder engagement in Kaduna, emphasizing the central role of human capital development in driving Nigeria’s economic diversification and inclusion goals.
“In today’s digital economy, it’s not natural resources that define a nation’s wealth—it’s the knowledge and skills of its people,” Inuwa noted. “That’s why we’re ensuring no Nigerian is left behind in this transformation.”
NITDA’s strategy is anchored on a three-pronged digital literacy framework targeting:
- Formal education
- Civil service workforce
- The informal sector
As part of efforts in the education sector, the agency has already developed digital literacy curricula to be integrated into primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions. However, the DG acknowledged a key challenge: training enough teachers to deliver this content effectively.
Inuwa also revealed ongoing collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC) to make digital skills a general course requirement, much like English and Mathematics, across all tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
Within the public sector, NITDA is partnering with the Office of the Head of Civil Service to equip civil servants across ministries and agencies with digital competencies—ensuring government operations are future-ready and tech-enabled.
A particularly innovative leg of the strategy targets Nigeria’s informal economy, the country’s largest labor force segment. Through a partnership with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), NITDA is deploying thousands of “digital champions”—selected NYSC members trained to deliver grassroots digital literacy campaigns across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“Each NYSC digital champion is expected to train hundreds of people annually within their host communities,” said Inuwa. “This cascading, multiplier model will help us reach tens of millions over the next few years.”
He added that alongside these training programmes, investments in infrastructure and innovation hubs are being scaled to ensure digital inclusion is both practical and sustainable. The ultimate goal? To establish Nigeria as a key player in the global digital economy.
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