When Dr. Mrs. Ibukun Odusote took the podium in Abuja this week, her words cut deeper than the usual keynote address. They carried the weight of lived experience, of someone who stood at the very birth of Nigeria’s digital journey.
It was a stark reminder. Nigeria has no shortage of bright minds or bold initiatives, broadband expansion plans, fintech creativity, data protection frameworks, and thriving professional societies.
But too often, these run like parallel tracks that never meet. The result? Duplication, wasted resources, and opportunities slipping through our fingers.
Odusote’s warning was clear: if Nigeria fails to weave these threads into a single tapestry, it risks becoming a “digital colony”—a nation consuming technology made elsewhere, while its own innovations gather dust.
Yet her keynote was not a lament, but a call to action. She envisioned a digital ecosystem where a farmer in Benue could benefit from research in Ibadan, fintech in Lagos, and policy in Abujaall tied together by broadband, digital ID, and shared standards.
She argued that technology is not only about GDP numbers, but about whether a trader in Onitsha can access government services without bribery, or if a young graduate in Maiduguri can find remote work in global markets.
For Odusote, the human angle of technology is what really matters. It is not about gadgets or apps, but about dignity: jobs for the youth, security for citizens, and transparency in governance.
As she wrapped up, her voice carried both urgency and hope: “The future will not wait for Nigeria. Nigeria cannot afford to wait. The time is now.”
That’s the weekend reflection for all of us. Will Nigeria shape its digital destiny, or will others shape it for us?
Weekend Digits. Read. Reflect. Decide.
Odusote’s warning was clear: if Nigeria fails to weave these threads into a single tapestry, it risks becoming a “digital colony”—a nation consuming technology made elsewhere, while its own innovations gather dust.
Yet her keynote was not a lament, but a call to action. She envisioned a digital ecosystem where a farmer in Benue could benefit from research in Ibadan, fintech in Lagos, and policy in Abujaall tied together by broadband, digital ID, and shared standards.
She argued that technology is not only about GDP numbers, but about whether a trader in Onitsha can access government services without bribery, or if a young graduate in Maiduguri can find remote work in global markets.
For Odusote, the human angle of technology is what really matters. It is not about gadgets or apps, but about dignity: jobs for the youth, security for citizens, and transparency in governance.
As she wrapped up, her voice carried both urgency and hope: “The future will not wait for Nigeria. Nigeria cannot afford to wait. The time is now.”
That’s the weekend reflection for all of us. Will Nigeria shape its digital destiny, or will others shape it for us?
Weekend Digits. Read. Reflect. Decide.
1 comment:
The pained truth. Now or never
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