Digital skills, Nigeria’s next export product under Tinubu’s leadership – Minister

By Ukpono Ukpong

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof. Nentawe Gashwer, has declared that digital skills will become Nigeria’s next major export under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He made this assertion on Abuja, during the graduation ceremony of 35 Nigerian youths who completed a digital skills training programme jointly organized by the Ministry and the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI).

According to the Minister, the Tinubu-led administration is laying a solid foundation for a future where Nigerian youths are no longer consumers of technology but its creators and exporters.

“This programme, under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was not designed to hand out aid but to hand over agency. The future we envision is not one where people wait to be rescued, but where they rise to become solution creators, job makers, and wealth builders.

“You are not just graduates; you are the vanguard of a new Nigeria a Nigeria where young people do not flee from poverty but defeat it with knowledge; a Nigeria where digital skills are exported like oil; a Nigeria where we are no longer consumers of technology, but creators of it.”

The Minister emphasized that the global economy is rapidly shifting, with code, data, and creativity driving development. He said Nigeria must keep pace by empowering its youth with digital skills to build wealth and reduce poverty sustainably.

He added that the government plans to establish community tech hubs and create online platforms to connect skilled Nigerians with both local and global opportunities. Funding pathways are also being developed to help innovative ideas transition from notebooks to real-world solutions.

“If we want to reduce poverty sustainably, we must make wealth inclusive, digital, and locally driven,” he added.

President and CEO of DBI, David Daser, also addressed the gathering, emphasizing the importance of investing in youth through skill acquisition.

While noting that this year’s theme, ‘Skills for Empowerment,’ speaks to the urgent need for economic self-reliance, he said Nigeria can not achieve meaningful development without a digitally skilled population.

“These are not just technical skills,” he said. “They are tools of transformation, pathways to independence, creativity, and sustainable livelihood.”

READ ALSO: ICPC hosts South-South Regional Conference of Attorneys-General to deepen anti-corruption strategies

He urged the graduates not to see their certificates as an end, but as the beginning of a journey filled with innovation, contribution, and value creation.

He revealed that the initiative was not restricted to Abuja but also held at DBI’s campuses in Enugu, Lagos, Yola, and Kano. This, he said, was in line with DBI’s mission of bridging the digital divide across Nigeria.

Graduates were trained in high-impact areas such as Web Application Design, Graphic Design, and Image Editing.

Daser urged them to view their certificates not as the end, but as the beginning of a journey into innovation, independence, and value creation.

“I encourage you to see yourselves not just as job seekers, but as job creators as catalysts of hope and change,” Daser told the graduates.