Pantami, a strong advocate of digital skills over paper qualifications, was delighted with the performances of the secondary students who keenly contest in the competition as stated by Professor Adesina Sodiya and Dr. (Mrs.) Florence Babalola; President and Chairperson, Education and Manpower Development Committee of NCS, respectively.

They said that the students demonstrated good understanding of the quiz coverage area drawn from computer Studies curriculum as approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria and emerging trend in technology.

The National IT Whizkids Competition is to stimulate the interest and passion of young minds in Information Technology.

The competition is organized by Nigeria Computer Society and other partners for Secondary school students.

Entrants are usually expected to participate in the competition which is fully on IT related subject matter; moving from State to Zonal and National levels.  

At the end of 2022 National IT Whizkids Competition, Valerie Zara Ezenwoko, SS1 student of Deeper Life High School, Uyo Akwa-Ibom State took the first position, followed by Orebiyi Emmanuel Oluwatimileyin of African Church Grammar School, Ogun state.​​

The third position went to Victor Uma Okpe of Grundtvig international Secondary School, Anambra state and Abdulyassar Yahaya Musa, a student of Day Science College Kano, Kano state, occupies the fourth position.

NCS presented laptop and cash prizes (amount undisclosed) to the students.

However, the climax of the occasion was when Prof. Pantami stepped in to express Federal Government’s delight with the students’ performances.

He pledged cash gifts worth N1,000,000 (first – N500,000; Second – N300,000; third and fourth – N100,000 each) to the students.

Furthermore, the Minister said that agencies under the Ministry will take up the duty of construction of special ICT projects in the schools represented by the students.

The announcement was greeted by cheers from the College of Fellows, the National Executive Council (NEC) and hundreds of NCS members present at the conference – S3N2022.

He didn’t stop there. Pantami said that the Ministry will partner with NCS during subsequent editions of the the competition to provide improved prizes to the winners as means encourage STEM – (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education in Nigeria.

The NCS International Conference dubbed S3N2022 commenced today at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta and will run till Thursday August 4, 2022 under the theme: ‘Smart, Secure and Sustainable Nation’.

The Governor said the conference theme couldn’t have come at a better time as recent events point to the need for critical review of governance and government process for better management of scarce resource.

Speaking through Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, the State Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, the Governor said that his administration has been intentional with governance especially in developing initiatives Ogun State Digital Economy Infrastructure Project (OGDEIP), which no doubt leads a path to success to the burgeoning economy of the Gateway state and the country at large.

Governor Abiodun said Ogun has taken hold of the future to make digital access available to all the citizens and businesses and it is the most far-sighted action any government can take in the present time.

He said the benefits of the digital economy infrastructure to Ogun State are numerous, pointing out that at the climax of COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, the State was credited as the first to launch ‘DigiClass’ to facilitate e-learning for the students.

He said that the other projects such as Ogun Tech Hub, Ogun Job Portal and others geared towards great economic development; access to youths and to attract more investments to drive end results, among others.

The Governor expressed delight with NCS’ executives for choosing Ogun State as the host State of the largest gathering of IT professionals in the country.

Nodding in agreement, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, and chairman of NCS International Conference 2022, said the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives and its application in all sectors of the state economy, cannot be overemphasized.

he said that these form the nucleus of the Ministry’s Digital Economy agenda and policy directions.

Pantami, also the chair for WSIS 2022, has this to say about the NCS conference theme:

“The theme for this year’s conference is very apt; three topics merged to one: ‘Smart nation, Secured nation and Sustainable nation’. This theme is dear to my heart because it is part of the area I have been working on, particularly, in the academic: ‘Datafication of Society to Foster an Internet Economy’ and ‘Cybersecurity Initiatives for Securing a Country’ and the President of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) is among the reviewers. To cap it all, we must keep emphasizing on skills rather than paper degrees (certificates); this is about a sustainable nation. Without skills we cannot sustain our nation.

“Before you convince people to embrace smart nation initiatives, you need to convince them of the concept with emphasis on the benefits.

“Smart nation is basically about the deployment of digital technology to support and enable operational efficiencies. It saves time, energy and brings peace of mind as well as excitement. As it is in Nigeria today, we do not really have fully developed smart States, but some are work-in-progress. There are four States that are picking up like Ogun State where we are today. However, we have some smart estates which are signs that we are developing Internet of Things (IoT) devices installed in these estates”.

The Minister tasked IT professionals not to rest on their oars as global economic outlooks point to a need for a smart, secure and sustainable nation and even development.

Engineer Aliyu Aziz, the Director General/CEO, National Identity Management Agency (NIMC), delivering the keynote address (virtually) at S3N2022, reiterated that different economies now depend on smart technologies for survival hence emphasis on Smart Agriculture, e-learning, Internet of Things and security, respectively.

He said, “As to we all are aware, one of the most significant drivers of innovation and competitiveness is information and communication technology. ICT plays a key role in assisting both developed and developing countries. In moving towards sustainable growth, then emphasis on smart nation which implies people and businesses are empowered to increase access to data, more participatory through the contribution of innovative ideas or solutions.

“Today, one half of the world’s population lives in cities. It is estimated that by 2050 seven out of 10 people are likely to live in urban areas”.

The keynote speaker, therefore, called for increased use of smart technologies to tackle perennial issues faced by the citizens.

He highlighted that for this to become possible, the Commission through the support of stakeholders have fully registered 87 million Nigerians to the NIMC database.

This, he said, will help the government with insights for decision-making to tackle challenges associated with public transportation or basic services, housing, air pollution disaster management and importantly, deployment of high quality infrastructure.

Earlier in his welcome address, Professor Adesina Sodiya, President of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), said the whole world is currently introducing and implementing smart technologies for sustainable national development.

In his words: “This year’s theme was strategically chosen to discuss the opportunities and challenges in the smooth implementation of smart and intelligent systems in Nigeria. There is a need to harness the opportunities in the evolution of smart technologies for rapid transformation of a nation’s economies.

“The current security challenges in Nigeria have become the major concern of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS). At this conference, we shall be having a strategic discussion on full adoption of smart systems in government, production, agriculture, business, science, economy, engineering, management, and national security.

This S3N2022 conference presents three engaging plenary sessions with specific topics relating to the theme.

Members of the Nigeria Computer Society are expected to develop a roadmap for speedy implementation and adoption of smart, secure and sustainable national development.

On his part, Mr. Ayodeji Rex Abitogun, Chairman, Conferences Committee, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), reiterated that building a sustainable nation requires state actors and stakeholders within the IT ecosystem to deviate from old ways of doing things and embrace new practices with new mindsets.

“To achieve the new mindsets, the Conference Committee, with the guidance from the National Executive Council (NEC) under the leadership of Pro. Adesina Sodiya, has put together S3N2022 as a platform for thought leaders, policymakers, professionals, and the academics to discuss and propose practical and effective solutions to these challenges”, Abitogun said.

With about sixty presentations, three plenaries and nine parallel sessions, the S3N2022 promises to be valuable and impactful. 

As a Fellow of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Pantami led the team to Ogun State Government House to officially notify the Governor about the upcoming NCS Conference scheduled to hold in the state, starting today August 2 to Thursday August 4, 2022.

Minister Pantami while making his remarks lauded the various digital economy initiatives of Ogun State that led to the State having the first Fibre Optic Factory in Nigeria.

Prof Pantami stated that wise investment in ICT brings about economic prosperity.

In his remarks, Gov Abiodun hailed Minister Pantami as the right Man to lead the Digital Economy Sector in Nigeria. “We are very proud of you”, the Governor said.

The NCS conference has as the theme ‘Smart, Secure and Sustainable Nation coined as S3N2022

According to the Professor Adesina Sodiya, President of NCS, the theme was carefully chosen to provide needed technological support for government drives and vision in this modern society.

In his words: “The emergence of connected cities and data-driven nations is making planning and decision-making easier at the global level. Different studies have ranked African low in adopting technology to build safe, secure, Sustainable economy (S3N2022).

“At the heart of the technology driving innovation is data and citizens engagement. In transforming our nation to meet future demand, we must use technology to create a more sustainable and livable present and secure future for our citizens.

S3N2022 holds at June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta

Theme: ‘Smart, Secure and Sustainable Nation (S3N 2022’).

According to the Professor Adesina Sodiya, President of NCS, the theme was carefully chosen to provide needed technological support for government drives and vision in this modern society.

In his words: “The emergence of connected cities and data-driven nations is making planning and decision-making easier at the global level. Different studies have ranked African low in adopting technology to build safe, secure, Sustainable economy.

“At the heart of the technology driving innovation is data and citizens engagement. In transforming our nation to meet future demand, we must use technology to create a more sustainable and livable present and secure future for our citizens.

“We must change our approach and challenge the status quo. Our quest for innovation leveraging research and development must increase. We must develop effective strategies to achieve Smart, Secure and Sustainable Nation”.

So, why should you attend the conference tagged S3N2022?

There are many reasons, but top on the list are;

1. S3N2022 will explore grounds for Value & Knowledge-Driven economy:

S3N2022 boasts of rich sub-themes ranging from will focus on important issues related to the theme and sub-themes such as; Intelligent Cities  – Design and regulatory framework | eGovernment and policy framework | eHealth and smart healthcare | Precision and intelligence agriculture | Regulation and digital consumer system | Smart security and Surveillance system | Application and tools | Big Data analytics and applications | Artificial intelligence and applications | Critical national infrastructure | Call tracking and counterterrorism | Cyber security | Computer forensic and information auditing | IT Governance and ethics | 5G Technology and industrial revolutions| Future of work: Ergronomics and Smart culture, amongst others.  

2. Stress-free:

‘S3N2022’ is hybrid, so you can have opportunity to participate from the comfort of your home or office.

3. Global influence:

Being an international conference gives you access to connect with both Foreign/Local Speakers and participants

4. Enhanced credit rating:

As an IT practitioner, attending NCS conference increases your professional and academic ratings. Your participation will earn you 3 units of professional development credit units.

5. Rich networking and enlargement feature to strengthen relationships.

With 20,000 members spread across all the states of the Federation, NCS remains the largest national IT Society with highly skilled and domain experts in various fields of information technology.

Confirmed speakers:

• Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), Minister of Communications and Digital Economy who has agreed to chair the event.
• Engineer Aliyu Aziz, Director General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to give keynote address
• Mr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA),
• Professor Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
• Professor Muhammad Bello Abubakar, Managing Director, Galaxy Backbone Limited
• Dr. Abimbola Alale, Managing Director, NIGCOMSAT Limited
• Mr. John Higgins, President, British Computer Society
• Bram Fudzulani, President ICT Association of Malawi
• Mr. Kola Okunola, Federal Inland Revenue Service
• Stacey Hines, President Jamaica Computer Society
• Dr. Waudo Siganga, President Computer Society  of Kenya
• Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria
• HRM, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, Alake of Egba Land
• Otunba Gbenga Daniel, former Governor of Ogun State
• Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President  of Nigeria
• Moira De Roche, President International Federation for information Processing (IFIP)
• Mr. dDayo Abiodun, Special Adviser on ICT Ogun State
• Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner/CEO, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB)
• Sebastine Nzeadibe, Country Manager West Africa, Cisco
• Dipo Faukner, Oracle Vice President (Technology Business)

Participation:

Check the link HERE to see how to register for participation.