Lagos to code one million residents by 2030

Lagos State Government on Tuesday said that it would have trained one million residents on coding by 2030 to make them to compete for employments globally.
The Special Adviser to the governor on Education, Obafela Bank-Olemoh, gave the assurance at the sixth edition of Social Media Week Lagos, with the theme: ‘Closer’.
He spoke on the topic: “Teaching One Million Lagosians to Code”.
Bank-Olemoh said that global competitiveness required critical thinking and problem-solving skills which could be acquired through coding.
Bank-Olemoh said that skills to be acquired during the training would also make beneficiaries to be entrepreneurs.
He said: “Lagos population is 65 per cent young; so, you have to give them skills that will make them to succeed.
“How do we ensure that the workforce in Lagos succeeds? Technology has to play a role.
“We want Lagos to continue to prosper and the average workforce able to deliver.
“We also want to ensure that the average Nigerian becomes relevant and able to compete globally.”
According to the official, skills acquired through coding stay with one for the rest of his life.
Bank-Olemoh said: “That alone is beneficial to the individual and encouraging to the government.”
He, however, said that such a project would not be successful without public/private partnership.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that four partners with the government in the project emphasised the importance of coding young people, saying that it would be instrumental to national growth.
The partners are Prize Water Corporation, Remitta, ARM and Oracle.
Pedro Omontuemehn, Country Partner, PWC, said that the organisation would support the government on projects that would educate the populace.
According to Omontuemehn, PWC sees code Lagos not just as teaching people but also as empowering and making them critical thinkers to be employable anywhere in the world.
Adebayo Sanni, Chief Executive Office, Oracle, described the project as moving away from an oil-led economy to a service-led one.
He said that the Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration was turning Lagos State to a service-led economy.
Sanni said: “It makes you logical think, problem solving and globally competitive.”
This is in line with the Oracle Academy flagship programme of teaching students with computers.