Akwa Ibom puts hope on IT

Nigeria’s south eastern state of Akwa Ibom is
searching for its destiny in IT.

The oil rich state with more than five million people
has launched its IT Policy and an IT resource centre
to begin a new thrust at exploring IT as an added
window for knowledge acquisition and wealth creation.

Already about 200 indigenes of the state are
undergoing different levels of IT trainings abroad
funded by the state. They would form the first set of
‘digital army’ the state plans to use to spearhead its
new campaign on knowledge wealth creation.

Akwa Ibom main economic stay is crude oil. Years of
oil exploration has degraded the environment wiping
out traditional occupations such as subsistent farming
and fishing. High employment rate among its teeming
graduates offers bright prospects to build a
formidable team of young experts for the young state.

The new centre christened Victor Attah Digital
Opportunities Centre (VADOC) after the state governor
Obong Victor Attah was declared open by Nigerian
Minister of Science and Technology Prof Isoun Turner
at a ceremony that attracted a large audience from the
private and public sector.

VADOC is the first in the plan by the government to
launch series of IT related projects this year. The IT
Park is expected to be completed within two months.

“This centre affirms our faith in IT as the new wealth
and determination to build a state whose future is not
tied to oil but to IT. Oil will one day dry up not
knowledge,” said Attah while leading the Prof Isoun
through a guided tour of the facilities at the new
centre.

The new centre would provide training facilities in
different modules of IT. Discussions are already in
top gear with leading companies such as Cisco and
Oracle to provide trainings. There are also plans for
a Linux academy to operate at the centre which
features facilities for Video Conferencing.

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