By Etta Michael Bisong
Abuja
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as part of its mandate to promote information and communications technology (ICT) development in Nigeria recently trained over 50 people living with various disabilities on IT essentials to empower and help improve their sources of livelihood.
Jointly organised in partnership with Global Hope and Justice for the Less Privileged in Abuja, the 5-day exercise is also aimed at increasing the numerous human capacity development initiatives introduced by the agency to reduce the gap in ICT knowledge across the country.
The director general of NITDA, Mr. Peter Jack, in his speech decried the deteriorating social condition of the physically challenged which he said the agency can address simply through various ICT development programmes.
‘’We believe in NITDA that they are Nigerians too and can empower them simply with ICT training so that they will not be idle in their lives,’’ Mr. Jack said. ‘ICT is one of the sectors of the economy that with one laptop each, you can be employer of labour.’’
The director-general hinted that with the successful conduct of the first phase and in line with President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda, the exercise would henceforth become an annual practice to help reduce the problems faced by the less privilege and physically challenged populace in society.
He lauded the participants, whom demonstrated commitment during the training despite their physical circumstances, and promise to continually encourage and initiate ICT oriented schemes to support the growth of disable persons in the country.
Earlier in his address, the president of Global Hope and Justice for the Less Privilege Incorporation, Paul Ihekwoaba, describe the training as one of its kind that would go a long way in addressing some of the issues surrounding youth with disabilities in the area of ICT to ensure an inclusive human development.
‘’It is meant to address the unemployment facing youth with disabilities and also to challenge them to discover the potentials in them so as to be self-reliant and less dependent,’’ he said.
The enthusiastic and physically challenged leader urged the beneficiaries’ whom received lap-tops at the end of the training to constantly explore and use the device to enhance personal productivity. This is so he added because ‘’your human capacity must have been enriched and empowered to the extent that, you can be economically independent at least to a reasonable extent.’’
