Barring official inconsistency and individualistic tendencies inherent amongst MDAs, a new synergy is emerging between three Nigerian ministries to begin harmonization of duties and responsibilities to drive digital economy and limit cases of wastages from roles duplications.
This is coming from a fresh move by the ministries of Labour and Employment, Communication and Digital Economy, Youths and Sports to close ranks in their operations after taking inspiration from a high-level mission of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), who were in Nigeria canvassing global framework for Digital Skills facilitation for Youths in Africa.
Leading the emerging ministerial partnership, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, said the ministers of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami, and his counterpart at Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare have agreed to drive the new synergy.
The trio also called on other ministries including that of the Women Affairs, and other relevant agencies to key into the emerging digital economy to maximise the abundant opportunities available to Nigerian youths.
Business Hilights Abuja Bureau chief reports that the ILO and ITU partners are in Nigeria to seek partnership for the creation of decent jobs and entrepreneurship through the global framework for Digital Skills facilitation for Youths in Africa.
Giving more insights on the planned new ministerial partnership on digital economy, Dr Ngige noted that aside the inspiration from the visiting ILO-ITU team, “The inter-ministerial and agency synergy had become imperative in line with recommendations of the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) to the President.”
“I think time was gone when ministries and even parastatals within ministries work in silos, and leave a huge gap in achieving set goals in youth employment.
“You see the ministries of Sports, Digital Economy, Technology, and even parastatals within some ministries duplicating efforts on different and at times contrasting programmes on skills and empowerment. We are now harmonising everything so as to work in synergy to achieve the desired goal,” Ngige noted.
Adding his voice to the emerging inter-ministerial synergy on digital economy, Dr Isa Pantami assured that “The preparedness of Nigeria to pull through from the traditional to the digital economy, utilising the partnership of the private sector to create jobs and lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years, is in line with the vision of the President.”
He averred that the strategic pillars of Nigeria’s digital economic vision are designed to leverage on the emerging digital capacities to create employers of labour through appropriate alignment of certificates with skills.
Corroborating Ngige and Pantami, Sports Minister, Mr Sunday Dare, a digital expert welcomed the initiative, saying Nigeria has had such opportunities in the past but young people after acquiring requisite skills unfortunately return to the job market without using the skills.
Welcoming the new ministerial partnership, team leader and ILO Regional Director for Africa, Cynthia Olajuwo, averred that “Africa’s growing youth population and the continent’s transition to digital economy represents a huge opportunity to bolster African economies while addressing important levels of unemployment and working poverty among young people.”
She recalled that the programme, Boosting Decent Jobs and Enhancing Digital Skills For Youths in Africa’s Digital Economy, is a contribution to the 2020 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and part of the Call for Action adopted by the 2012 International Labour Conference.
