Emma Okonji
Nigeria’s first indigenous university laptop assembly complex has been inaugurated at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) campus.
The complex was launched during the university’s recent Founders’ Day by the trio of Sultan of Sokoto, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and his Delta State counterpart, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.
The complex, which has the capacity to produce 100,000 laptops a year, was delivered by Crestsage Limited, a Lagos-based indigenous technology company under a management arrangement with Benefitting Our Community (BOC) Innovations Limited.
In 2015, the Vice Chancellor of UNN, Prof Benjamin Chukwuma Ozumba initiated the one laptop per student initiative in his bid to ensure 21st century compliant learning for the university students. The initiative was, however, threatened by the recent high foreign exchange rates hence the vision of the production project.
The CEO of Crestsage, Charles Emembolu, who is also an alumnus of the university, explained that the Lion laptop project would deliver local content in the billion-naira industry by value substitution of components with locally available materials and labour.
Emembolu and some other University Alumni delivered the Roar Nigeria business incubator and technology hub at University of Nigeria in December 2016.
The Lion laptops meet the needs of the Nigerian student matching quality with affordable cost and capacity to produce bespoke specification for different school and government initiative across the country.
Speaking at the event, Emembolu confirmed that the complex would employ about 500 people when producing at full capacity.
He also affirmed that the complex would offer an on-campus manufacturing and learning environment for the university community, students and researchers.
The ultra-modern complex will serve as an avenue to empower the youth with much needed applied technology skills to take leadership role in Nigeria’s economic emancipation.
The Vice Chancellor called on the relevant government, private, technology and local content bodies to support the initiative in line with the need for industrialisation and youth empowerment. He noted that Nigeria’s youthful population is an asset that needs to be prepared for a prosperous future of Africa and the world.
The university don also noted that the initiative was in line with the vision of the founding fathers, ‘to restore the dignity of man.’
