Telecommunications service provider, Airtel Nigeria, has officially handed over a newly constructed sustainability learning facility to Green Fingers Initiative, a beneficiary of the 7th season of the Airtel Touching Lives corporate philanthropy program.

The handover took place on Tuesday, 11th June 2024, at the Green Fingers Center in Lagos, as part of the World Environment Week activities organized by Airtel Nigeria across the business.

Following Green Fingers mission to promote awareness on sustainable practices, the sustainability facility constructed by Airtel Nigeria will serve as a hub for learning, enabling children to engage and understand the importance of recycling, waste management and the circular economy.

Speaking during the event, Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Carl Cruz, stated that the project embodies the telecom giant’s belief and commitment to sustainability practices, expressing confidence in the positive impact of the company’s support for Green Fingers Foundation on global environmental protection objectives.

“Airtel’s donation to the Green Fingers initiative is a demonstration of our dedication to nurturing youth, the young minds, and encouraging innovative solutions to environmental challenges. Through the sustainability facility, we hope to drive positive change and foster a sustainable future for all of us, most especially for the future of the world,” he said.

Mr Cruz also encouraged members and students of Green Fingers Conservation Learning Center to put the new facility into productive use.

He said, “We firmly believe that by equipping our youth with the knowledge and skills to manage waste effectively, we are investing in a brighter and cleaner future for Nigeria and the world at large, and we believe that the Green Fingers team and students benefitting from the project will put the facility to good use.”

Founder, Green Fingers Initiative, Chinedu Mogbo, expressed gratitude to Airtel, describing Airtel’s support as an advancement for the ongoing effort to educate youths on environmental issues.

“At Green Fingers Initiative, we teach youths about climate and our immediate environment. It’s been our tradition over the years to recycle plastic in creative ways, bringing it down to the level of young people working to be actively involved in raising their voices for a cleaner and safer environment.

Having this new learning facility, students can now effectively learn more about climate and other environmental issues that affect our everyday lives within a more comfortable space,” he said.

Recall that in celebration of this year’s World Environment Day, themed “Land Restoration Desertification and Drought Resilience”, Airtel Nigeria had earlier hosted an enlightening session for its employees, with a focus on strategies to combat plastic pollution.

Airtel remains unwavering in its dedication to environmental stewardship and reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG), and the handover to Green Fingers Initiative is a testament to this commitment.

In a bid to foster digital literacy and cultivate talent through collaboration, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has emphasised the urgent need to work together to review the existing school curriculum and develop a comprehensive one that incorporates digital skills at all educational levels.

According to him, this is in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to create millions of jobs by leveraging digital technologies and achieving a digital literacy rate of 70% by 2027.

Inuwa made these remarks during a meeting with the management team of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), led by its Executive Secretary, Professor Janaidu Ismail, at NITDA’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja.

He stated that digital technology has an important role to play in the design of the curriculum, content and processes due to evolution of technology. This disruptive technology has substituted the way of doing things worldwide of which Nigeria as a country is not to be left behind.

“We must lead in developing a competency-based, outcome-focused curriculum that addresses the demands of the 21st century. This will enable us to produce a skilled workforce capable of meeting the needs of the Nigerian market and attracting investment from other countries. Integrating digital skills into the curriculum is crucial for national development and economic growth,” Inuwa stated.

He further asserted that government policies and objectives especially that which relates to sustainable development, 21st century skills, digital economy, creative arts and digital technology will create a pathway for nation building.

Inuwa also explained that things have scaled up to meet up the new normal, like computer precision to digitalisation which is the central focus of the curriculum to provide citizens with the required knowledge and skills and digital technology for growth and development.

In his earlier remarks, the Executive Secretary of NERDC Prof. Ismail Janiadu stated that their institution is charged with the primary responsibility of curriculum development for the country at all levels and this cannot be done without the infusion of digital literacy as a critical area for the development of any country.

The ES noted that the visit was to scale up the existing relationship, partnership and engagement and to explore potential areas that both organisations will have a tie towards national development.

Janaidu added that the institution is also responsible for undertaking and promoting book development, and local authorship for quality assurance, conducting educational research for public policies formulation and implementation and developing Nigerian languages and promote other languages to enhance education delivery and for public use.

The Professor also commended NITDA for its significant contributions to advancing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) across Nigeria. He praised the Agency’s efforts, which span across almost all states, and highlighted the impact these initiatives have had on driving growth and development in the ICT sector.

Key stakeholders in the country’s digital economy sector are set to converge at the forthcoming Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo) to dissect and stimulate effective implementation of Nigeria’s renewed agenda for digital economy.

PIAFo, now in its sixth edition, is slated for Wednesday, July 10 at Radisson Blu Hotels, GRA Ikeja, Lagos, with a thematic focus of: “Accelerating Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency”.

According to the organisers, the strategic plan of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation Digital Economy (FMCIDE) released recently by the federal government is the anchor policy for the forum as the strategic plan embodies Nigeria’s digital aspirations.

They noted that the current digital economy footprint puts Nigeria on track to attain many targets in years to come; adding that since PIAFo is an initiative designed to drive policies to fruition, the forthcoming conference underscores the need to leverage effective dialogue among relevant stakeholders to achieve the targets.

As such, the Honourable Minister of FMCIDE, Dr. Bosun Tijani is billed to deliver the keynote address while the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida and the Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju would make paper presentations.

Various other captains of industry are also prepared to champion dialogue at the forum by speaking to different topics and participating in panel sessions, according to the organisers.

Speaking on the forthcoming event, the Lead Executive at PIAFo, Mr. Omobayo Azeez, emphasised the need to ensure that the targets spelt out in the various digital economy policy documents do not just remain on the pages of the papers.

According to him: “There are many targets before us and achieving them within the stipulated timelines is central to the aspiration of Nigeria to unleash a digital ecosystem essential for efficient modern economies, enhanced business operations, smart public services, and job creation.

“This is why we have devoted this year’s edition of PIAFo to this course to create a midpoint dialogue platform for digital economy policymakers, private sector players and relevant local and international bodies to cultivate coordinated efforts towards achieving the targets.”

Currently, Nigeria has standing targets of 70% broadband penetration rate by 2025; 80% population coverage by 2027; up to 500% increase in broadband investment by 2027; 22% increase in net GDP contribution; 100% surge in telecoms revenue to the coffers of the federal government by 2027; 50% improvement on Quality of Service by 2024 ending; and reduction in unserved population in rural areas to 20% by 2027.

Other targets include 100% increase in the number of startups that have access to incentives in Nigeria; 100% increase in the number of tech-enabled startups with access to procurement opportunities in Nigeria; ranking among top 50 countries in AI and creating over 50,000 jobs in Nigeria’s AI industry by 2030; attaining 70% digital literacy for youths and adults by 2027 and up to 40% women participation across all training initiatives; among others.

Powered by Business Metrics Limited, PIAFo has remained a platform that receives massive participation from players within the public and private sectors, international community, interest groups and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) at every edition dedicated to creating conducive policy environment in Nigeria.