Vice President Yemi Osinbajo of Nigeria claims that his nation is well-positioned to take the lead globally in the digital economy. But for that to happen, Nigeria must make the right decision and put more effort into improving its digital literacy.

 

Nigeria Better Equipped Than 3 Decades Ago

Yemi Osinbajo, the vice president of Nigeria, recently asserted that his nation possesses sufficient human capital to make it a global leader in the digital economy. However, the vice president argued that for this to happen, Nigeria must adopt the proper strategy and policies.

Osinbajo reportedly made the comments while speaking to attendees of the Nigeria Digital Economy Summit (NDES), which was held in Abuja. The Nigerian president also discussed why his nation is better off today than it was more than three decades ago, at the time the first iteration of the internet was created, in the same speech.

In contrast to Web 1 and 2, where we were comparatively disadvantageous, a brand-new world is emerging right before our eyes. Since we lacked mobile phones in 1989, we were unable to benefit from the depth and reach that mobile telecom provided for financial inclusion and digital innovation. We are now better positioned to make a big impact on Web 3.

The vice president continued, citing the “6 unicorns [we have] and many more on the way” as evidence that Nigeria has “already shown” it is capable of achieving this objective. Nigeria must, however, “spend time on the development of digital skills,” according to Osinbajo.