… Says Policy Will Drive Effectiveness In State’s Digital Economy, Create Digital Talents, Boost Productivity Among Youths, Residents
Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has launched the Edo State Digital Policy to regulate and drive effectiveness in the State’s digital economy.
The event thereafter saw the commissioning of the Edo State Data Centre, which is the only state-owned data centre in Nigeria, with a 1.5 pentabyte storage capacity.
During the Policy launch which held on Friday November 1, 2024, at the State Government House, in Benin City, Obaseki noted that the Digital Policy would create an enabling environment for young citizens and residents in the State to develop and nurture their talents in the digital space, provide the state with digital direction, and boost business productivity.
According to the Governor, “This event is particularly significant to me, because we started a revolution in Edo, a digital revolution in this State, and we are rounding it off by leaving a Policy; a Policy document that will guide this revolution into the future.
“You cannot live in this world today or tomorrow without the use of technology. And if you want to advance and want to develop rapidly, then you must begin to think of how to use technology to do all the things that you used to do manually.
“The pace at which technology is changing and improving in the world today is scary. So, you can imagine those people who have not started, who have not woken up yet; you wonder whether they can live in the future world or they will just become slaves to those who know.
“For us in Edo, we have always been ahead. All through our history, we have always been knowledgeable people; we have always been people who have interacted at the global level. 500 years ago, we were interacting with Europe on our own terms, and there is nothing in our history that says today we should feel less than our colleagues everywhere else in the world”.
Obaseki added: “But to catch up means that we have to do something different, something extra. And that is why from the beginning, it was very clear to us that we had to go digital and make sure that we begin to retrain our young ones, the youths, to own this digital world and be confident in it”.
Obaseki who commended key partners, particularly the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, for their immense contributions in attaining the feat, expressed confidence in the revolution kick-started by his administration in Edo’s digital space, with the launch of the Digital Policy, noting that it will birth major transformation in various sectors of the State’s economy.
He further harped on the peculiarity of the Policy document in sustaining ongoing reforms in the digital and public sector of the State.
“I am so glad today that we are doing something that will assist and enable the sustainability of the digitalization that we have started in Edo. We are not leaving it halfway. I want to thank you, welcome you, and now formally invite you to join me as we launch the Edo State Digital Policy,” Obaseki said.
Also addressing newsmen during the commissioning of the Edo State Data Centre, the Governor described the Centre as a sophisticated infrastructure, the first of its kind in Nigeria to store and manage information and data across all sectors of the State.
Highlighting other unique features of the data system, Obaseki said: “It also has the capacity to store data on connectivity; you know we have fibre optics laid across the state; across the 18 local government areas. From this centre, they can monitor the state of each connection, whether there is a cut, or when it is not optimized. At that point, we can send people there to rectify the situation.
“So, this is like a brain box where we can see everything that is going on, in our system”.
