•L-R: Dr Adeleye Fabusoro; Mr Delight Owoyemi; Baale of Ekotedo, Chief Taiye Ayorinde and Executive Assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde, Revd Idowu Ogedengbe at the unveiling of the Mega Trade Fair 2023 prospectus
For Nigeria’s economy to get a boost and grow, experts have stressed the need for nation to halt the mass exodus of youths from the nation by embracing technology.
The advice was given on Thursday, July 27, at the unveiling of the Mega Trade Fair 2023 prospectus and mini exhibition, held at the University of Ibadan I Hotels Conference Centre, Ibadan, Oyo State.
On the theme —“Digitalised Economy: A Smarter Market Place,” the keynote speaker and Head, West Africa of CNBC and Forbes, Dr Adeleye Fabusoro, said that the government should make the economy a digitised one if it is serious about ending emmigration from Nigeria, especially among the youths.
Fabusoro stated further that a digitalised economy would reduce waste, allow people to put their talents into good use and get commensurate reward for their ability.
He said: “Digital and tech savvy people don’t need to move around; they can stay here in Nigeria and they would be fine. More people need to be encouraged to embrace technology, digital knowledge and skills if Nigeria wants to keep her youths. We need to find a way to keep them here and make them useful.”
He added: “Instead of students’ loan alone, the government should also find a way to inject grants into technology so that people who are yearning for it can learn it. It is going to bring a lot of foreign exchange into the country, make people more sustainable and relaxed.”
Fabusoro stressed the importance of encouraging people to learn technology at a very young age, saying: “Let children interact with things that are digital in primary and elementary schools; coding for kids and so on. The government can encourage this type of things.
“It is easier to teach a kid these things than adults. Onboard a lot of kids to learn these skill sets and they can tranmit it as they go. They can even impact their areas of speciality.”
In his presentation, Prof Gbenga Okunlola, who is the Head of Geology Department, University of Ibadan, and Chairman, Mining Roadmap Implementation Strategy Team of the Federal Government, spoke on the availability of mineral resources that could be harnessed for the next digital economy and low carbon revolution.
Saying that Nigeria has mineral deposits to be explored, Prof. Okunlola advised the government to expand an enabling environment.
He advised that the institutions be strengthened within the mining system, stating: “The work of the government in mining is to regulate and organise, not to go into the investment. They should open it up for people who want to invest so that if people get licences and they are genuine, they can attract investment.
“The oil industry is well regulated, you don’t find this scavenger mining in the oil industry. Once you have real guys coming in and they see that there are studies that are done,they will bring their money. It is the same thing we should do in the mining industry.
“For businessmen, mining itself is knowledge-based. If we do things properly, we can attract funds into the mining industry.”
The Don however, noted that mineral deposits could get depleted, but if managed well, could fetch the country foreign exchange and create jobs for the citizens.
In his own submission, the Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) for Oyo, Ondo, Ogun and Ekiti States, Lanre Popoola, said that since the world has moved forward to economy digitalisation, the country has to be prepared.
Remarking that echnology has stepped up, with everything changed, Popoola said “in Africa, it is still very slow, but we are getting there.
“Our youths are doing excellently well and can compete anywhere in the world. The only thing lacking is the encouragement we are not giving them, and that’s why we have this issue of emmigration.
“What we really need is encouragement and level playing field.”
He said that government alone could not drive digital economy, adding: “what we need is to encourage private sector participation to drive it and we are doing it.”
The Executive Director, Mega Trade Fair Nigeria, Delight Owoyemi, while speaking said that the fair which started 10 years ago was borne out of helping brands to get their products to everyone in the country.
“We found out there was a whole lot of gap between production and sales. That is where Mega Trade Fair comes in, so that with those efforts you are making to produce, we can give you a soft landing to selling your products,” he said.
The 2023 trade fair, Owoyemi disclosed , would come up between December 1 and 10, 2023 in Ibadan.
“This is the first time we are having 30 exhibitions in one. It has never happened in the country before and we are having people from different sectors of the economy to exhibit their products.
“The fair is targeted at ensuring that more production is taking place in the country and we can begin to explore from here rather than being the one importing all the time,” he said.
He stressed the need for Nigeria to incorporate smart economy into what is being done, which he said brought the need to go digital.
He explained that Mega Trade Fair is ensuring that businesses are also taking the digital highway to sell their products.
The Mega Trade Fair 2023 prospectus was unveiled by the Baale of Ekotedo, Chief Taiye Ayorinde; Executive Assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde, Rev Idowu Ogedengbe and Fabusoro.
