Mr Ikenda Elechi, Chief Executive Officer of ICEtech Group, has said that the exposure of youths’ to Information Technology (IT) was very low in the Niger Delta.
Elechi, an ICT expert, made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
He said that there were enormous opportunities in IT sector that could engage youths to stay away from violence.
According to Elechi, there are so many secondary schools in the region that do not have computer laboratory, even the few schools that have it, do not do practical with the computer systems.
“What they do is just the theory aspect. Our students in the secondary schools and youths are not really exposed to the practical aspect of IT,” he said.
Elechi stated that there were enormous opportunities in IT and the sector had been playing a lot of role even in the public sector.
“Today, even the government cannot do without IT. The Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy implementation was been enabled by IT.
“As a matter of fact, the economic recession had made more youths to be involved in acquiring new skills in the IT sector to enable them put food on their table.
“In my office now, I have new students who want to major in graphics. These are people who ordinarily do not know anything about IT,” he said.
The entrepreneur said that much capital was not needed in the IT sector, especially for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
“In some cases, you don’t really need the capital. It is your creativity and knowledge. The sector is providing a lot of opportunities for the youths in the face of recession,” he said.
Elechi said that it was IT that had made it possible for people to do transactions online almost from the comfort of their bedrooms.
He called on government to partner with IT entrepreneurs and engage youths in the Niger Delta to take advantage of the huge opportunities in the sector. (NAN)
