Kayode Shobajo, Chief Technopreneur/CEO, HiiT, synonymous with youth IT empowerment. He has undying passion for quality ICT education. Shobajo is a consummate technoprenuer, with panache and zeal to deliver world class and affordable training solutions particularly to youths in this technology-driven economy. Shobajo retired as a senior military officer in the Nigerian Air Force, over a decade ago, to start HiiT. He spoke with Emeka Okafor.

HiiT began operations twelve years ago with a mission to eradicate IT illiteracy by offering world class and affordable training/education in a customer-centric manner. Today, we are still in the pursuit of our mission. Since 1996, we have graduated twenty thousand students in our Kano and Lagos centres. It may interest you to know that HiiT has recorded matchless milestones. In 2007, it produced the first and only Java Master in Nigeria. In terms of quality training we have the facilities and the human capital. We have equally upgraded our IT Proficiency curriculum, amongst others, by fusing a marriage between International Computer Driving License (ICDL) and Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) syllabi. This enables Nigerians to kill two birds with one stone. So, for us at HiiT, rendering world-class affordable services is our brand essence.

HiiT is 100 percent Nigerian brand, so, we are stakeholders in the future of our country. In the last twelve years we have consistently delivered world-class affordable ICT training in all our centres. Empowering Nigerian youth goes beyond profit maximization. It is a call to serve, so that our nation can be liberated from both economic and digital poverty. In my perspective, I believe there should be a lot of platforms to train the youth in ICT apart from the typical Introduction to computers being taught in higher institutions. Our higher institutions are trying but ICT requires expertise and proficiency with management acumen for execution and sustained quality service delivery. We at HiiT see our role as that of intervention because ICT youth empowerment is the focal point of our development efforts. Our nation must challenge the youth with appropriate and adequate IT facilities and re-orientate them to reawake the e-spirit needed to produce IT proficient graduates, across board, as well as knowledgeable technopreneurs. This is why HiiT shall continue to render world-class affordable services to our target market.

In line with our strategic growth agenda, HiiT is investing at least N2 billion within the next one year, in at least six tertiary institutions that meet our requirements. This is only the first phase of our intervention. We aim to eventually partner with all willing universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and others. We also appeal to their visitors to help facilitate this intervention for them with good speed. Our ICT Empowerment methodology is not only revolutionary but sustainable. It is also a home-grown solution based on eight years of research. This intervention is designed to first, train all tertiary institution students to become IT proficient in the use of market-relevant computer applications taking into consideration our peculiarities in Nigeria. And second, to empower all computer science students and other students with flair for IT, with current solution development platforms and appropriate certification curricula under same roof with their academics. What is more, all these will cost the students very little. This will certainly augment government efforts in realizing its ICT empowerment component of Vision 2020.

As you also know, a purposeful and well articulated National IT policy document will form a good foundation for the Nation to leverage IT towards achieving the Government’s Vision 20: 2020. This is what most countries in our similar circumstances have done successfully. India and Malaysia are ready examples. In my opinion, the President’s 7-point agenda should be upgraded to an 8-point agenda; with the eighth point being IT. The National IT Policy Review efforts currently in progress under auspices of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), I wish, will be able to articulate something convincing enough to government in this respect. As an experienced and seasoned technopreneur, I have no doubt at all that this is our optimal path towards the actualization of Vision 20:2020

As you know, NACOSS stands for National Association of Computer Science Students. It has a local chapter in most tertiary institutions that offer computer science a course, HiiT and I have been supporting NACOSS both morally and financially for many years now. Our reasons for doing this are many. First, and as I have said earlier, our principal brand essence is IT Youth empowerment. Second, we are consciously investing in building a pool of competent IT talents/workforce of the future by discovering and nurturing them from this formative stage. You should also be aware that we are an IT solution company as well. We are a bit silent in this aspect for now because the existing pool of talents to utilize in this respect in our economy is still very shallow. So you can see the synergy. At HiiT, we are building a world-class and sustainable strategic IT concern, not a petty contracting one. That is why we have to deepen our roots for our superstructure to stand firmly in the future. In today’s e-economy, competition is global; therefore, human capital development is more critical to the survival of the private sector than the public sector. We are therefore not expecting government to do too much for us, hence our strategic relationship with NACOSS, in particular and tertiary students, in general. I am happy to report that the students themselves are not only happy but excited with both the relationship and our IT empowerment intervention concept. They have so far recognized our good efforts and contributions by NACOSS bestowing on HiiT Distinguished National Award of Excellence, on one hand, and making my good self a National Patron of NACOSS, on the other hand.

As you are also aware, NIG is an NGO that was founded/supported by some public sector institutions/agencies and the likes of Engr Olawale Ige (Former Minister of Communications), Engr. Iromantu (Former CEO, NCC) Mr. Jim Ovia (MD/CEO), Zenith Bank, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem (Incumbent President, ATCON), Engr Lanre Ajayi (Incumbent President of NIG) and Engr Ernest Ndukwe (Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, NCC) and others in the mid 1990s. The aim was to use the platform as an advocacy organ to encourage the military government of that era to see the imperative of the Internet as a tool for economic development and also, to make internet access available around the country. In 2008, internet access, to a large extent, is available nationwide. We may argue about affordability to most Nigerians at the moment, but access is no longer a serious issue. To this extent, NIG can be said to have achieved its goal of widespread internet access. What is therefore next for NIG, as the incumbent Vice President, it’s my pleasure to let you know that our focus now has shifted to content on the internet by Nigerians in Nigeria. Our current theme is Internet for Jobs, I4J, for short. Our vision in this respect is to use the internet as a platform for creating a critical mass of job opportunities for Nigerians and making Nigeria a positive contributor to the emergent knowledge economy, and to be a preferred destination for the global Internet related services including outsourcing Web Application Development, e-Commerce and Software development. We have organized two public seminars on this theme in the last one year; more activities in this respect should be expected soon. My parting words: its time for Nigerians to start uploading contents of global commerce seriously not just to continue to download alone because the future of the global economy will be determined by content competitiveness, as most other factors would soon become constant.

Nigeria Internet Group (NIG)

NACOSS and HiiT

National IT Policy Review

HiiT ICT Empowerment Galleria in Tertiary Institutions

Cost of ICT Training/Education

Quality IT Training/Education in Nigeria