ICT Firm Partners Ekiti to Rid State of Cyber crime, Unemployment

By Gbenga Sodeinde, Ado Ekiti

A computer based firm, Ocean Digits Technologies , has begun training for over 4,000 graduate youths in Ekiti State to combat the rising trends of unemployment and cybercrime .

The group said the Information Communications and Technology(ICT) training would expose the beneficiaries to how to create websites and other applications for commercial values and self employment, rather than the concept of cyber fraud some of the youths deployed ICT to achieve.

Speaking in Ado Ekiti on Monday during the commencement of the programme tagged : ‘Code Ekiti’, the Project Director , Mr. Adeyeye Obalola, said the ICT concept and understanding becomes imperative in view of the dearth of white collar jobs in the system.

He said the programme plans was designed to last for four years, adding that no fewer than 1,000 youths will be trained yearly on how to create website applications and software , so that the state can gain reckoning in digitalisation and ICT development.

“This is going to be a free training programme targeted at making our graduate youths to be self employed, because there are no more white and blue collar jobs anywhere.

” We are going to partner Ekiti state government , corporate organisations and donor agencies for the funding , so that the burden of payment won’t be there for anyone.

“Apart from generating employment, we are also trying to redirect the psyche of our youths and expose them to the positive commercial values of ICT to earn a living and wealth, so that the concept of cyber fraud can reduce in our nation “.

Obalola added that the programme also key into Governor Kayode Fayemi’s vision to drive Ekiti through knowledge economy.

” When you are exposed to this type of training, yahoo or yahoo plus will mean nothing to you, because those who invented softwares like WhatsApp, Google, Facebook and others are richer than people like Aliko Dangote.

“The two major scourges affecting Ekiti presently are youth unemployment and cybercrime, this human capital development training will help in checkmating these crime”.

Flagging off the programme, the Director General , Ekiti State’s Office of Transformation and Strategy, Prof Bolaji Aluko, said Fayemi’s government is prepared to work with like minded organisations to build the knowledge potentials of the youths, essentially in the area of ICT development and innovation.

” ICT has gained traction all over the world in solving the societally problems. Those who made breakthroughs through inventions in solving human problems began with a vision and you have to be visionary for this programme to be successful”.