Sunday Okobi
A technology expert, Mr. Emmanuel Ogbewele, has embarked on training and retraining of many Nigerian youths in the knowledge and application of information communication technology (ICT).
Ogbewele, who has been at the forefront of training people, especially the youths, on various digital skills over the years, averred that the need for training and re-training cannot be over-emphasised.
The technology expert spoke to journalists on the sidelines of this year’s first quarter tech hub training at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Throne of Praise in FESTAC, Lagos recently.
Among other aspects of ICT, the focus of the training was on e-commerce and digital marketing.
On what inspires him to do what he is doing, he said: “Over a decade ago, I saw that there has to be a way that the youths can acquire digital technology skills across various areas if they are to be prepared for the future which is now here.
Many who needed these skills could not afford the costs, so I decided to organise various programmes yearly or bi-annually cutting across children, educators, teachers, youths and professionals for free.”
He explained that e-commerce encompasses online sales of goods and services while digital marketing helps to reach target customers/audience online.
Giving an insight into the just-concluded training programme, he disclosed that participants learnt how to source for products locally and internationally, create sales avenues and advertise these products on social media platforms using digital marketing techniques.
According to him, “My focus has been on children in both primary and secondary schools where I run summer coding programmes to teach coding, graphics, web development, animation and others. Tech-in-education focuses on teachers, where I take practical sessions on the use of digital tools to make learning interesting and more effective.
“I have another session coming up in the second quarter of 2023. Technology hub programmes cover youths trained on different skills such as e-commerce, and technology conferences for the public covering education, as well as for religious bodies. In fact, everyone needs some form of tech adaption or another in what they do and I’ve been doing my own bit and even more in the last one decade. I have all these details on www.emmanueltechdiary.com
Speaking on his 2020 invention-the internet-boosting application that was rated as one of the top five innovative products in the Lagos Shift Event for Innovative Awards-he said: “It is a special product that had the ability to remarkably boost internet speeds to double or more of your current speeds using any existing internet connection anywhere in the world.
“At that time, we successfully competed at that event to get to the top five with our prototype. We have been working assiduously on it since then though there are many challenges, and I’m pleased to announce that we are releasing a better version for client use this month. It has come a long way, and I’m really excited to see how this flies.”
The tech expert enjoined those who are yet to fully embrace technology, especially in this part of the world, to wake up as the future is already here.
“Do not be left behind. Do not wait to be told. You can achieve more, learn digital technology skills and make life better for yourself and others. Digital technology has taken over virtually all spheres of life, and most people are daily acquiring these skills to help them in their careers, businesses and life generally,” he added.
