It should be recalled that the book was unveiled on Thursday, 24th of November, 2022 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

Mr. Brad Smith, the President of Microsoft Corporation, wrote the Foreword to the book. Skills Rather than Just Degrees focused on the importance of skills and its potential impact in addressing the problems of unemployability, unemployment and underemployment. 

The book is a research and productive work implementing the paradigm shift advocated by Professor Pantami and is in alignment with the approach being adopted in leading educational and technological countries like the United States of America, Finland and India, amongst other countries.

The book was endorsed and unveiled by the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed. 

Professor Idris Muhammad Bugaje, Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) was one of the personalities that endorsed the book. A number of Vice Chancellors also endorsed and reviewed the book, including Professor M.A. Abdulazeez, Vice Chancellor of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Professor Owunari Abraham Georgewill, Vice Chancellor of the University of Port-Harcourt and Prof. Sagir Adamu Abbas, Vice Chancellor of Bayero University Kano.

In a bid to boost skilling in Nigeria, Professor Babagana Zulum obtained 10,000 copies of the book for distribution in schools and other institutions in Borno State. 

Senator Hadi Sirika also obtained 2,000 copies for distribution in institutions across the country. 

Dr Femi Adeluyi, Senior Technical Assistant (R&D) to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, said that both high profile personalities were motivated to do this after reading the book and acknowledging the high quality of the content and its capacity to inspire Nigerians to embrace skills as a catalyst for national transformation. 

“They also encouraged well-meaning Nigerians and institutions for follow their example. It is hoped that other stakeholders will try and circulate the book in their communities.

“The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, under Professor Pantami’s leadership, remains committed to implementing the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) in order to ensure that Nigeria’s digital economy remains a leading light and support the country to become the talent capital of the continent and also the world,” Dr. Adeluyi said.

Prof. Pantami who was represented by the Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, stated this at the Cyber Secure Conference 2022 organized by Nigeria Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria, (CSEAN) with the theme: Cyber Security an Imperative for Tackling Security Challenges in Nigeria.

He noted that the Computer is gradually integrating into peoples’ lives and society, and the world is changing in a way humanity never imagined, everything becoming quantifiable in processing and storage.

He added that the Government depends largely on systems for its operations and services and cyber security is synonymous with the security of the nation, unsecured cyberspace can be used to gather intelligence reports, hence working to curb and combat is imperative for a country like Nigeria facing security challenges.

“When a person has control of your cyberspace, automatically he controls your economy, thinking, and everything around you, thereby determining your next action”, the Minister said.

This, he said is what prompted the Federal Government to formulate National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), which has Service Infrastructure and Cybersecurity as, to secure the nation’s cyberspace to move the economy, businesses and processes online.

“The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have established the Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) to mitigate and combat cybercrime, thereby creating a conducive environment for operations. The essence of this center is to build the confidence of citizens and create awareness and proactively monitor the activities of cyberspace, and issue advisory notices for MDAs to restore services,” he asserted.

Prof. Pantami further commended the Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN) for its contribution toward awareness campaigns to make people conscious of cyber activities.

“More than 90% of cyber breaches are a result of human error, social engineering, or other errors. The more cyber-conscious we are; the fewer damages will occur.”

“The government is building more proactive systems and awareness in terms of engaging organizations like yours, partnering with other communities, visiting schools, and MDAS to enlighten citizens about being cyber-conscious whenever they go online for their activities or operations.

“Cybersecurity, in general, has become a phenomenal proportion in terms of the way we build the digital economy. We are working with stakeholders to build CERRT centers to monitor the operations and activities of the Cyberspace and collaborate with experts in case of an attack to help restore services. We are also collaborating with international organizations and training citizens due to the ambitious target of achieving 95% digital literacy by the year 2030 which will increase the consumption of digital services,” the Minister emphasized.

Major General Samad Akesode, representing the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno while delivering the welcome address commended CSEAN for organizing such conference, stating that the conference is coming at the right time which will proffer solutions that will mitigate or curb the menace of cybercrime activities bedeviling the country.

Monguno solicited the Association not to relent in their efforts towards cyber awareness, putting in place the necessary measures that will protect the cyberspace and also create an environment for the development of the nation.  

Delivering his address, the President of CSEAN, Mr. Remi Afon said the conference seeks to open a discussion on how cyber security can be used as a supplementary tool to address the nation’s challenges and also encourage the sharing of intelligence on potential threats and collaboration to find lasting solutions.