By Ubong Ukpong, Abuja

A House of Representatives Member, Rep Daniel Asama has said that poor Policy Implementation was hindering the nation from making the required progress in Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Asama, who represents Jos/ Bassa Federal Constituency of Plateau State, spoke during the Weekend, at the closing ceremony of a Summer Programme organised by Teen Ambassador Foundation (TAF), in collaboration with Net Access Communication, where over 40 Students received free training on Coding, robotics amongst other IT softwares.

Asama emphasized that legislation alone was incapable of addressing the issues, stressing the need for effective implementation and monitoring by relevant government agencies.

The lawmaker noted that implementation fatigue, infrastructural dilapidation, and corruption were widespread challenges in the country, affecting not only IT development but also other sectors.

However, he expressed optimism that efforts were being made to address these issues.

The lawmaker also highlighted the importance of introducing young people to computer science and technology, citing the potential for Nigeria to become a leader in the field.

He also emphasized the need to redirect the energy of young people, including those involved in online scams, towards positive uses of technology.

“Today AI has taken over everything. Literally, I will tell you that in the near future, computers and technology will take over the world. I have children, and I will only be fair to my kids if I introduce them to computers now.

“I have to introduce my kids to STEM. I have to introduce them to technology that has to do with programming, computing, and every other thing. I don’t care what my child is going to learn. If you want to be a doctor, if you want to be a lawyer, but I will have to give you a background, a deep, very solid background of computer sciences, before you can reach any other profession.

“All the Yahoo boys that you hear, all the scum that you hear, it’s technology. There isn’t technology to do it. If we can only redirect that technology and put it in the right place, then we are good.

“Inculcate this discipline. Let them learn the technology, but learn to apply it to the right places. My background is in computer science.

“I understand that I would have chosen to be a scammer, or be hacking people’s accounts, or hacking ATMs and trying to get money. Or I can develop softwares that will help and develop people. So today, the kids have an opportunity to learn how to develop their country.

“This technology thing, India, Israel, Kenya now, and some parts of Africa, around the world, are growing strong in technology. We have the capacity. We can match them and we can even do better than them. I like this and I think this is the way forward. What will help our economy today is to build industrialization internally.

“If we build up a technology today that the world is going to buy, then we are up already. So what happens to X? What happens to Facebook? What happens to Instagram? What is happening with all the platforms, Google, Yahoo, everything? We can do it here.

“Yahoo was started by seven young people. They were teenagers, seven of them, who started Yahoo and then it became what it became. We can do this here”, he stated.

The lawmaker stressed the need for a comprehensive approach to addressing Nigeria’s IT development challenges, including effective implementation, monitoring, and investment in youths’ education.

Director General of Teen Ambassador Foundation (TAF) Paul Adiwu called on the federal government to invest more on teenagers in the area of information Communication Technology ICT across the country.

According to Adiwu, the foundation was offering scholarships to support outstanding indigent students, who want to embark on further studies in softwares and computer engineering.

He said “we don’t just stop at this training that we’ve started. We are stepping up our game by giving them those that want to reach, that want to go further. We can give them scholarships.

“We can give them scholarships to study software engineering or computer engineering. It’s not just picking people randomly. Because when the time comes and after writing their YA, and you have the required grades to be admitted in school, and your parents cannot afford to pay for your education, I’m assuring you the foundation is willing to support such students.”

The event also featured the presentation of certificates to students who participated in a computer science training program.