As Alausa hails Gov Namadi for building digital workforce
By Lawal Jet Kaugama
The graduation of 928 digitally skilled youths in Jigawa State last week was a big statement at a time when many state governments still treat digital literacy as an afterthought.
Gov Umar Namadi think otherwise. He has placed knowledge economy at the very centre of his development agenda, and the results are now impossible to ignore.
The scale of this achievement was underscored by no less an authority than the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, who travelled to Dutse to personally preside over the graduation and, in the process, singled out Gov Namadi for commendation.
Describing the event as a clear evidence of what sustained investment in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVTET) can achieve, Dr. Alausa noted that the partnership between Jigawa State, the Federal Ministry of Education, the World Bank-assisted IDEAS Project and Baze University had produced graduates equipped with genuinely practical, market-ready competencies.
That such recognition came directly from the nation’s chief education officer speaks volumes about the credibility of what Jigawa has built in the sector.
It is worth pausing on what these 928 graduates actually represent. These are young Nigerians who have spent a full year acquiring practical skills in Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain Technology, Cybersecurity, Software Engineering and Data Analytics, all of which are disciplines that sit at the very frontier of the global economy.
This is not token training designed to generate a press release and disappear. It is a structured, one-year professional diploma programme with international academic backing, delivered in partnership with one of Nigeria’s most respected private universities.
For a state that, only a few years ago, was rarely mentioned in conversations about digital innovation, this represents a remarkable turnaround.
What distinguishes Gov Namadi’s approach is its seriousness of intent. Thirty outstanding graduands are to receive laptop computers from Jigawa State Government, a practical gesture that removes one of the most basic barriers to continued digital practice.
Four exceptional participants have already secured employment with Baze University itself, a proof that the programme is not merely certifying skills but converting them into livelihoods.
These are not the actions of a government seeking a photo opportunity; they are the actions of a leadership genuinely invested in outcomes.
The governor’s digital ambitions, moreover, extend well beyond this single cohort. His administration continues to deepen partnerships with organisations such as NITDA, GLUWA and KOICA to strengthen ICT infrastructure across the state, recognising that a digitally skilled workforce needs the underlying connectivity and systems to thrive.
The unveiling of the Jigawa State 12-Point Agenda Digital Portal, giving citizens across all 27 local government areas and 287 political wards real-time visibility into government programmes, further illustrates a governor who understands that digital transformation must run through governance itself, not only through youth training schemes.
Transparency of this kind, delivered through technology, is precisely the sort of accountability Nigerians increasingly demand of their leaders.
There is also a broader national significance to what is happening in Jigawa. Dr. Alausa used the Dutse graduation to unveil the Federal Government’s new National Digital Training Academy, a flagship initiative aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and delivered in partnership with the three Million Technical Talent programme.
That the Federal Government chose Jigawa as the stage for this national announcement is no accident. It reflects a recognition that Gov Namadi’s state has already demonstrated, in practice, the kind of model the Academy hopes to replicate nationwide: strong federal-state collaboration, credible academic partners and a governor willing to prioritise human capital over short-term political convenience.
Nigeria’s demographic reality is well known: a young, rapidly growing population that must either be equipped for the digital economy or risk being left behind by it.
Too often, this challenge is discussed in the abstract, in policy documents and communiqués that rarely translate into action on the ground.
Gov Namadi has chosen a different path, one measured not in promises but in graduates, laptops, jobs and infrastructure.
As Jigawa’s 928 new graduates step into the technology ecosystem, they carry with them more than certificates. They carry proof that a state government, working in genuine partnership with the Federal Ministry of Education and credible development partners, can build a pipeline of digital talent that competes on merit.
Gov Namadi deserves genuine commendation, not merely for what has been achieved so far, but for the clarity of vision that continues to drive Jigawa State’s digital transformation forward.
Lawal Jet Kaugama, a commentator on national issues, writes from Kano