At the closing ceremony of the 2025 Women ICT Training Empowerment Programme, Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, charged women across the nation to embrace small beginnings in their digital empowerment journey. Speaking with conviction, she encouraged participants to overcome fear and hesitation by starting modestly but with determination.
The First Lady reflected on the growth of similar initiatives, saying, “Don’t be afraid to start small. Somebody, especially when you do it small and do it very well, somebody will take note.” She recounted the early days of the alternative high school programme—once a new and uncertain idea that now has over 40 thriving schools—as inspiration for women to patiently build their digital skills and careers without fear of initial limitations.
Illustrating her point with a personal anecdote, Mrs Tinubu shared how she remained steadfast despite early doubts. “When they talk about child education, I kept hammering that. Being an educator myself, I stayed with it.” She urged the women present to see their training as a stepping stone.
The First Lady praised the programme’s remarkable progress from training 35 women initially to now reaching over 320 women across diverse Nigerian states including Bauchi, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Oyo, and the Federal Capital Territory. “You all stand today as ambassadors of digital literacy,” she declared, emphasising that the newly acquired digital skills are not just personal assets but tools to uplift entire communities.
She also emphasised the importance of continuous learning and sharing knowledge, instructing, “Apply the skills you have learned. Pursue continuous growth in the digital space.” Mrs Tinubu aligned the programme with Nigeria’s broader vision for economic growth, digitalisation, and gender equity under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.
Using a memorable metaphor, she cautioned against missing opportunities by being distracted or unprepared and not behaving with poise, “We don’t want to be that person who, when invited to Buckingham Palace, chased a mouse instead of focusing on the occasion.”
Earlier, Director-General Kashifu Abdullahi emphasised the transformational power of empowering women in Nigeria through technological innovation and digital literacy. He highlighted a concerted effort to uplift women with the necessary digital tools and skills for economic empowerment.
Abdullahi explained that the federal government’s digital empowerment agenda is rooted in a clear vision shared by President Tinubu’s administration: “As a nation, we cannot achieve a one trillion U.S. Dollar economy if half of our population is left to die. Therefore, at NITDA, we have a clear vision to make Nigeria an empowered nation fostering inclusive economic growth through technological innovation.” He said this initiative targets human capital development especially for women, noting, “When our communities are empowered, we thrive.”
The DG underscored the role of technology in empowerment. He shared that in the agency’s strategic roadmap, human capital development with a focus on digital literacy is central. “We developed a national digital literacy platform with an ambitious target of achieving 95% digital literacy by 2030. Mr. President gave us a mid-term goal to achieve 30% by 2030,” Abdullahi stated. He added that digital literacy will soon be embedded in the formal education curriculum from kindergarten to tertiary levels, making digital skills a general standard alongside English and mathematics. “In the 21st century, the illiterate are those who cannot use digital devices. Therefore, we want to empower every Nigerian to develop digital fluency—not just to access the digital economy but to be an active part of it.”
Abdullahi gave extensive insight into the training programme, revealing that women participants have undergone intensive training in digital device operation, software use, information and data literacy, digital content creation, online marketing, safe online searching, and problem-solving using technology.
“You have been introduced to the deep economy because the future is deep economy. When you have the knowledge, you have the power,” he declared, emphasising the portability of digital empowerment—“You can be living in Aga, remotely in Lagos, Abuja, or even outside Nigeria.”
The NITDA described the training tools provided, particularly the laptops distributed to participants, as more than just devices: “This laptop we are putting in your hand is not just a device. This is your office. This is your shop. It is your attention because today, anything you want to learn is just a click away.”
Abdullahi further highlighted the ongoing success of such programmes under NITDA’s leadership, noting, “In 2023, under this administration, we trained 273,000 Nigerians; in 2024, we trained 350,773; this year so far, we’ve trained 519,936 Nigerians,” including thousands of civil servants and young students across Nigeria.
He concluded his remarks with a motivational charge to the women, saying, “You have been empowered with knowledge and skills; you have been empowered with the tools. Therefore, when you go back to your communities, use these tools to empower your families and communities.” He encouraged participants to share their knowledge widely, urging them to pass digital skills to “two, three women in your communities, to two girls in your communities,” emphasising that this grassroots sharing is key to building a prosperous nation.
Director-General Abdullahi praised the First Lady for her motherly care and leadership in championing this cause, leaving the participants inspired to leverage their training for personal and communal growth under the banner of national development.
