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Oki Samson’s Book, ‘The Iconic Bola Ahmed Tinubu: An Inspiration To African Youths’ Set For Launch 12th April
Oki Samson’s Book, ‘The Iconic Bola Ahmed Tinubu: An Inspiration To African Youths’ Set For Launch 12th April
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
This formed the crux of the World Press Conference heralding the book, ‘The Iconic Bola Ahmed Tinubu: An Inspiration to African Youths’ authored by multi-award winning Journalist and Publisher of Trek Africa Newspaper, Oki Olatunji Samson and co-authored by Abayomi Oyelami.
The mentorship book profiles the life of a living African icon and President-elect, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a reference of inspiration for African youths. The authors noted with chagrin ‘As Africans, we cannot continue to live without profiling great leadership, homegrown, here in Africa. It is common in Africa to let legends die before we acknowledge them for who they are. We choose not to allow that fate befall ASIWAJU, hence the painstaking efforts for almost eight (8) years at drawing parallels between his lifestyle and that of youths in the book.’
Therefore, the 26-chapter book slated for official launch on Wednesday 12th April 2023 at the prestigious Oriental hotel in Lagos ‘is about mentorship. It is not possible for everyone to meet the man, ASIWAJU BOLA AHMED TINUBU, albeit we can learn from him’, the authors informed. ‘Throughout the period of writing this book, the authors dedicated the years conducting one on one interviews, researching and studying The Iconic. However, by observing carefully, reading copiously, and listening intently, we began to glean valuable lessons which helped us to arrive at the contents of this book. This book is therefore mentoring youths from a distance. We plead with youths to read it with a learning posture rather than from a biased perspective.’
The coauthors, however, pleaded with the dramatis persona, the Jagaban of Borgu and Aare Ago of Yorubaland, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to bequeath the world with his express autobiography. They noted: ‘we also use this opportunity to join voices with one of Asiwaju’s biggest successes, the Minister of Works and Housing and former Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola SAN to humbly request that once ASIWAJU can get a time out of his very busy schedule, he should kindly bequeath our generation with his autobiography. It will be a classic!’
The World Press Conference had in attendance; Convener of Asiwaju Distinguished Ambassadors Movement (ADAM) and the Vice Chairman of Ikorodu LGA, Aarebinrin Hon. Folashade Olabanji-Oba; ECOWAS Youth Peace Ambassador, Amb. Tosin Sanusi and many grassroots leaders from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
On how the idea of the book was birthed, author Oki Samson recalled how he was standing very close to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the All Progressive Congress (APC) Presidential campaign in Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos in 2015 for President Buhari. ‘Asiwaju was at the forefront of the campaign. He came in with President Buhari, Aisha Buhari, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Chief John Oyegun, Babatunde Fashola, Sen. Solomon Adebola Olamilekan Yayi, Sen. Bukola Saraki, and others to the stage. He looked very engaging, someone came with 2 cans of drinks and he sipped it all at once, he needed energy. With his age, he was going about, he led that campaign for President Buhari, going to about 2 states per day, attending strategic meetings, and was all out to ensure that Muhammadu Buhari became President.
At that moment, it came to me that if an average Nigerian youth can put in energy like this, resilience into their life goal, they can get it. It was the close observation of 30th January 2015 that birthed this book.’
When asked by journalists if they got opportunity to meet Asiwaju before writing the book, Oki said: ‘We go to Bourdillon for special events, interviews, and programmes as journalists. We have had privilege to be with him. Thank God for Mama Senator Oluremi Tinubu OON. We call her our matron. She has done so much for youths; she remains a great ray of hope and inspiration to African women and the girl-child.
Further, author Abayomi Oyelami remarked: ‘Many of our youths today were still young when Asiwaju was Governor of Lagos state, many were not born when he was Senator. This is a proper book to introduce the man to them so that whatever misconceptions and misperceptions they may have about him can be corrected. Through our journalistic work we have being able to meet him, the amiable wife Senator Oluremi Tinubu OON, the people who have worked around him, even down to the wards. With these interactions and careful observations, we are able to muster enough capacity to write this book which is 380 pages.’
Speaking at the World Press Conference, the National Chairman of Association of Local Government Vice Chairmen (ALGOVC), Aarebinrin Hon. Folashade Olabanji-Oba said: ‘I want to celebrate today. It is awesome. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu does not need any introduction. As a mentee, I can proudly say that we are blessed to have him and talking about youths, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is somebody that is needed. When we talk about being prepared, in the past 3 decades, nobody else is prepared. He believes that youths are leaders of today and tomorrow and sees the need to get them prepared for a greater and better Nigeria.’
‘Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a detribalized Nigerian. In many African states, he has gotten leadership awards. Nigeria should be proud of the celebrated son of Africa. Sometimes we don’t appreciate what we have. Others are taking care of their turf and we are envying it. We owe it to mother earth to leave it better than we met it.’
‘Politics can be heated up but his antecedent as Governor of Lagos state prioritized the youths. The youths of 15 and 20 years ago are the major players today so in life we look for mentors who is a talk and do. I am a mother, I know that the greatest asset we have in this country is our youths. For human capacity development, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is directing programmes and policies towards the youths to the end that Nigeria will be the go-to place not just in Africa but in the world. The future is here. Look no further ‘The Iconic Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu: An Inspiration to African Youths is a book you must have once it is launched. You will never remain the same by the time you are done with this book.’
Also lending his voice to the book, the Chairman of Coker-Aguda LCDA, Hon. Rasaq Ibrahim Olamilekan praised the idea and authorship of the book ‘The Iconic Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu: An Inspiration to African Youths’. He added: ‘Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a quintessential leader. He is a father. He has the capacity to unlock a lot of the challenges that we have. For me, Asiwaju is an answered prayer for youths.’
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Food Security: NITDA, USAID to Partner in Tackling Food Insecurity
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
With over 70 million arable land enough to feed not just Nigeria but Africa, the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said that the Agency is willing to partner with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and relevant stakeholders to tackle food insecurity in Nigeria.
The Director General made this known while receiving representatives from USAID led by Josh Woodard Senior Digital Advisor Bureau for Resilience, Environment, and Food Security, at the Agency’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja.
The purpose of the visit was to have a rapid landscape assessment of digital agriculture in Nigeria and partner with NITDA.
Inuwa said, “One of President Tinubu’s areas of focus is boosting agriculture to achieve food security, and at NITDA we were set up to develop the National IT Policy, and IT policy is not just about developing IT but developing IT to boost productivity across all critical sectors including agriculture.”
“That is why we do a lot of initiatives in trying to see how we can build an agriculture Strategy with IT in mind and make it a more attractive business to the younger generation,” he added.
Inuwa stated that NITDA has identified six emerging technologies, that will aid in achieving food security in Nigeria. He said “We have an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy co-creation workshop going on, which started on Monday, where we are working with the ecosystem to develop a strategy on how to use AI in agriculture, health, education, and so on.
“We are working on how to use the Internet of Things, (IoT) in agriculture for crop monitoring, soil monitoring, precision irrigation, climate monitoring livestock monitoring, and so on.”
“We are working using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, (UAVs) to facilitate pest detection, water control, yield assessment, and so on.”
We are working on using Blockchain for the traceability of farm produce from farm to store, record keeping, quality assurance, and so on.”
“We are working on using Robotics to enhance productivity in agriculture in terms of automation of physical farm processing like weeding, harvesting, tractors, and many more.”
“For additive manufacturing, we are working on using it to upscale our manufacturing industry in the Agricultural sector for the production of crop and soil monitoring devices, customised equipment, and many more.”
Speaking on NITDA’s commitment to ensuring that Nigeria develops its digital offering in-country, Inuwa noted that the Nigeria Startup Portal was launched during the week with over 12,000 startups registered so far. He said they would be labelled after which they could have access to incentives.
Earlier Josh Woodard, USAID said that the meeting was to enable USAID to have first-hand information on what Nigeria is doing in digital farming to see how to enhance the integration of digital technology in agriculture.
He revealed that USAID recently launched the Global Food Security Strategy for Nigeria (2024 -2029) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
He said, “We want to work with all stakeholders to ensure food security in Nigeria.”
The meeting discussed the National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) in relation to the success stories the initiative has recorded, the expansion strategy it is adopting and call on the USAID to be part of the initiatives.
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NITDA, NIMC TO PARTNER ON PKI, DPI
AJAGBE ADEYEMI TESLIM
SPONSORED BY: H&H
To further strengthen the Nigeria cyberspace and enhance the digital trust as enshrined in the National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan 2.0, the Agency has expressed its readiness to collaborate with the National Identity Management Commission, (NIMC) on National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) with the aim of enhancing digital identity, payment ecosystem and secure seamless exchange of data in the country.
The Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa with the DG of National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote during a working visit to her Commission in Abuja
NITDA Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, made this known during a working visit to his counterpart, the NIMC Director General, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote to discuss the various initiatives that centered around the building of DPI stacks for a secure and seamless data exchange and forming partnerships to transform the national identity system.
While emphasising that the collaboration will harness the potential of the technology innovation ecosystem, he maintained that the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) will also help to drive the Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
He used the opportunity to provide insights into NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan stating that NITDA is evolving and that has informed the decision of the Agency to keep re-imagining itself.
He noted that the Agency recently re-crafted its vision and mission to reflect the current realities in the industry.
Inuwa further explained that the NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2024-2027) 2.0 is anchored on eight pillars which include; Fostering Digital Literacy and Cultivating Talents, Building a Robust Technology Research Ecosystem, Strengthening Policy Implementation and Legal Frameworks, Promoting Inclusive Access to Digital Infrastructure and Services, Enhancing Cybersecurity and Digital Trust, Nurturing an Innovative and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Forging Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations, and Cultivating a Vibrant Organisational Culture with an Agile Workforce.
In her remarks, the NIMC’s Director General, expressed the enthusiasm of the Commission to collaborate with NITDA in advancing the digital economy sector stating that “no institutions can implement all its policies and programs in isolation, we need each other to achieve the set targets.”
Engr. Coker further informed the gathering that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed a circular on data integration and harmonisation of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and on PKI for growth and development of the country.
The highlight of the meeting was the inauguration of a 12-man committee that is saddled with the responsibility of kick-starting and harmonising the initiatives and the committee is expected to deliver a comprehensive implementation report in the coming weeks.
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