Minister's Week In Review

This week’s (November 13 – November 17, 2023) recap of the activities of Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This was quite a special week as I was honoured to deliver 2 special lectures at the Federal University of Technology, Akure and the National Defence College, Abuja. We also kicked off our 3MTT programme with the first set of 30,000 fellows and got quite a lot done this week. Here’s a recap of my week.

Monday

I kicked off the week with a meeting with representatives of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation who visited to discuss and articulate areas of potential support from the Foundation.

Following that, I had a session at the Federal Ministry of Health with the Honourable Minister of Health & Social Welfare, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate. The meeting, which had in attendance critical stakeholders, focused on identifying areas of alignment between our Ministries and determining ways in which digital technology can be leveraged to transform Nigeria’s health sector.

Later in the afternoon, I paid a courtesy visit to the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, CFR. The Paramount Ruler of Warri Kingdom expressed delight at the Honourable Minister’s visit and affirmed his support for the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative. I was quite pleased to get his encouragement as we try to amplify the impact of our programmes.

Following this visit, I attended my team’s weekly meeting to track progress of work and outline action points for execution.

I ended the day with a meeting with Felix Obada, an Executive of the National e-Government Strategies Limited, to discuss diverse issues including asset tokenisation for liquidity and industrialisation.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, I travelled to Lagos to attend the Nordic-Nigeria Connect Business/Investor Conference & Press Conference. The event tagged, Innovation for a Greener Future, was organised to network and explore opportunities for collaboration between Nigeria and the Nordics especially in the fields of innovation and digital technology.

Following this I met with H.E. Per-Arne Hjelmborn, the Director-General for Trade at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs to further discuss potential areas of collaboration between Nigeria and Sweden.

While in Lagos, I also met with representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) led by Mohamed Yahya, to catalyse a sustainable partnership engagement. At the meeting, I was pleased to receive the UNDP’s commitment to pay for 3,000 internships as part of the Ministry’s plans to ensure that fellows in the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme get job placements.

Upon my return to Abuja,I had a virtual meeting with Prof. Johann Füeller of the University of Innsbruck Faculty of Business Administration. Prof. Füeller was the founding Chair for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the institution’s Department of Strategic Management, Marketing and Tourism.

Later that evening, I got updates from my team in a prep session towards the official kick-off of the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday

My first activity of the day was at the MTN Capital Markets Day 2023 where I delivered a keynote speech to attendees at the event. In my address, I spoke about the role of the capital market in boosting the economy for growth and development. The event was attended by notable personalities including HRH Khalifa Muhammad Sanusi II, the 14th Emir of Kano and other stakeholders.

Back at the office, I received the team from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) led by its Country Director, Sungil Son. KOICA’s key mandate is to contribute to our common prosperity through mutual development cooperation. The delegation solicited our support on their work in e-government with a view to delivering effective services to citizens.

I then met with a delegation from MTN Nigeria, including its Chief Operating Officer, Hassan Jaber; Chief Information Officer, Shoyinka Shodunke; and Chief Broadband Officer, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka. At the meeting, I reiterated the need to improve the quality of telecoms services to the people and discussed ways to ensure government’s support in actualising this objective.

In a significant milestone, I hosted a YouTube Live session to formally kick-off the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme ahead of the announcement of the first cohort of 30,000 fellows. The session, which attracted thousands of viewers locally and internationally, provided an opportunity for the team and I to explain key components of the programme and highlight its importance towards advancing the Knowledge Pillar of our Strategic Blueprint.

Following the session, I received a team from Meta to explore ways of collaboration with our Ministry in the area of infrastructure. The Meta delegation consisted of its Vice President of Public Policy for Africa, Kojo Boakye; Director, Anglophone West Africa, Adaora Ikenze; and Manager, Anglophone West Africa, Sade Dada.

Thursday

I travelled to Akure, Ondo State to attend the 33rd Convocation of the Federal University of Technology, Akure where I was scheduled to deliver the Convocation Lecture. In my speech, I acknowledged the role of academic institutions in promoting knowledge and research as catalysts for innovation, entrepreneurship and development.

Prior to the lecture, I visited two technology hubs – Innovation House and Akure Tech Hub – both of which are promoted by the government of the Sunshine State to contribute effectively to the quality of technical talent emanating from Nigeria.

Friday

My day started at the National Defence College (NDC) where I delivered a lecture to participants of the NDC Course 32. In my lecture, I highlighted the connection between digital technology and enhanced national security while stating the importance of providing the Nigerian military with access to cutting-edge, innovative solutions. Before the lecture, I was honoured to accept the invitation of the NDC Commandant to inspect the Quarter Guards in a colourful ceremony.

I later met with representatives of Andersen Nigeria/SAP Global and SAP Nigeria at my office. Discussions at the meeting centred on exploring areas of partnership to accelerate the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy. The delegation also expressed interest to work with our Ministry in establishing a framework for the e-government ICT council.

After this meeting, I hosted executives of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) in my office. The team highlighted their role in developing the digital technology sector in Nigeria while expressing willingness to partner with us in achieving our set goals.

My next engagement was a meeting with a delegation from Netflix. The team commended the strides made by the Honourable Minister and expressed their support for initiatives geared at promoting talent development and creative sector jobs while also spotlighting Nigeria’s culture and creativity on the global stage. I was quite impressed with the teams energy and I look forward to supporting them.

My final engagement for the week was a meeting with the team from the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). Our discussion focused on the policy and infrastructure pillars as outlined in our Strategic Blueprint.