Minister's Week in Review

This week’s (October 23 – October 27, 2023) recap of the activities of Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Monday

I started the day with a virtual call with the representative of the UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Rt. Hon. Michelle Donelan to discuss the upcoming AI Summit scheduled for November.

My next engagement was a meeting with a delegation from the French Government led by the country’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann. The meeting focused on issues around research funding, capacity building and infrastructure development in Nigeria.

Then I headed to the State House for the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Later on Monday, I released a whitepaper highlighting my thoughts on adopting a centralised approach to the development of Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). According to the document which is available for download, a centralised DPI will increase the possibility of delivering integrated public services and foster innovation in the public sector.

The day wrapped up with a visit by Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to uthe President on Media & Publicity. My team and I shared a progress report on some of the Ministry’s initiatives including the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme which had attracted over 450,000 applications from intending fellows across Nigeria.

Tuesday

I was the Session Chair at the 29th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES) Industry Breakfast Meeting at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. Discussions at the meeting centred on building a robust digital economy in Nigeria.

After this session, I gave the opening remark at the Digital Nigeria conference organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

In my address, I acknowledged the great strides achieved by the Nigerian technology ecosystem within a relatively short period, and urged Nigerians to focus on their role in boosting the nation’s economy using technology and innovation as a fulcrum.

Following this, I rejoined the sessions at the Nigerian Economic Summit where I participated in a fireside chat with H.E Godwin Obaseki, the Executive Governor of Edo State. Speaking on the theme, ‘Reinventing Government: Digitalisation of Public Institutions’, I elucidated on transformative leadership and the delicate interaction of culture and technology in delivering democratic dividends.

I then entered an extended plenary session where we were joined by Mrs. Folasade Yemi-Esan, Head of Civil Service of the Federation and Kyari Bukar, MD/CEO of Africa Operations, Inlaks Limited. We all took time to expatiate on the subject of digitalisation of public institutions and shared experiences as it relates to different level of government.

My final engagement at the Nigerian Economic Summit on Tuesday was to deliver an address to a Google-headlined event focused on the future of work. Discussions in this session centred on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), emerging technologies, cybersecurity and the importance of tech skills in shaping the future of work.

Wednesday

I started the day with a strategy meeting with the Director of ICT of the Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Samuel Okoye to brainstorm on how to add value to the ICT cadre of the civil service.

I later headed to the State House for a meeting to discuss modalities for the upcoming visit to Nigeria by the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

Back at the office, I hosted the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Job Creation and MSMEs, Temitola Johnson to discuss pathways to job creation inherent in the Minister’s Strategic Blueprint.

After that I received the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Annika Hahn-Englund in my office. We discussed ways in which Nigeria can collaborate with Swedish government to build an inclusive and interconnected future.

I then met with a delegation from Phase3 Telecom, an aerial fibre-optic network infrastructure provider. The team, led by its Executive Chairman, Stanley Jegede, explored issues around policy guidance, job creation and foreign direct investment.

I penultimate activity of the day was a meeting with Abdulsalam Badamasi, CEO Ideas & People. Tagged ‘Building Bridges to Digital Inclusivity’, the discussion centred on the importance of including physically challenged citizens in our Strategic Blueprint.

Thursday

I travelled to Calabar, Cross River State to meet with H.E Governor Bassey Otu. Our discussions centred on ways that the Ministry can collaborate with the State Government to grow the local ecosystem and boost Nigeria’s digital economy.

While in Calabar, I visited the Tinapa Business Resort to explore the potential of optimising the expansive space for the development of the local technology ecosystem.

Back in Abuja, I was the Chief Host at the Digital Nigeria Gala Dinner organised to mark the end of the Digital Nigeria Conference. The event saw several industry stakeholders and staff of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), organisers of the conference, receiving due recognition for outstanding performance.

Friday

I kicked-off the day with a planning meeting at the Federal Secretariat to finalise the Ministry’s budget for the upcoming year. Following that session, together with a number of Directors from the Ministry, I had an engaging meeting with the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu.

Later I met with senior executives from QED investors, a global fintech venture capital firm. The team which was led by Gbenga Ajayi spoke about their investments in Africa, then followed up with conversations around the intersection between financial technology and banking.

A delegation from Data Science Nigeria paid a visit to my office to discuss their efforts towards deepening the knowledge of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the grassroot level in Nigeria. They also delved into issues around the Knowledge and Policy Pillars of the Ministry’s Strategic Blueprint.

I hosted the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia in my office. There, my team and I intimated Senator Hadejia on the progress of some of our key initiatives including the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme which had by this time received over 500,000 applications from across Nigeria.

Following this, I went into an extensive meeting with Directors of my Ministry to discuss plans for the coming year and pathways towards achieving same for the benefit of all Nigerians.

I ended the week’s activities with a meeting at my office with a delegation from NigComSat who intimated me of their transformative plans and solicited my support towards actualising them. The NigComSat team was led by its MD/CEO, Jane Egerton-Idehen.