By Mike Adeyemi
An Ilorin-based Information Technology Company, KidTech Africa has trained over 500 Kwara kids in various Information Technology, National Pilot learnt.
The IT exhibition which was held at the company’s head office, Ilorin, has in attendance parents and guidance who were at the kids exhibition to adjudge and assess wards IT knowledge.
Speaking with our reporter at the event, the strategy-led, KidTech Africa, Ishola Kayode charged parents and government to invest in technology as it is the only way to the global advancements.
According to him, “in the next 10 years, every job will be destructed hence the need to embrace technology.”
“We are really happy with the feed back from parents today and we hope to do more. It is imperative that as parent invests in their children’s education, the next big thing is to train them on Information Technology too.
“With the way things are going, in the next 10 years every job will be destructed. If we send out kids to school, we should also endeavour to invest in technology. Technology is the future and I have always love IT since I was young,” Kayode said.
He added that the project was inspired as a result of his early assess to computer as KidTech Africa spanned to about three states in Nigeria.
“I think the inspiration was borne to the fact that I had earlier asses to computer and it has been so encouraging since we started. Currently KidTech Africa is in two states as we are about to enter Lagos State. We are planning to have our branches soonest in two North West States as we get investors.
“We have an annual kids training projection. We want to train 500,000 kids in the next ten year as we want to operate on continental level.
“So far we have trained 500 kids cumulatively in Kwara. We started with secondary schools in Kwara. At the moment the awareness is going on in Kwara. What we are trying to do now is to partner with the parents without loosing the core objectives,” he stressed.
Also speaking at the exhibition, an assessor who also doubles as a parent of one of the graduating kids, Otukoko Ibrahim said the role of IT cannot be overemphasized as he charged government to invest more in the industry.
“I have come to assess the project exhibition on IT here today. So far the kids performance is impressive and with the assessment I have done, it is indeed a wonderful one.
“I have assessed someone that is working on text to audio and the kid is not more than 9 years. The boy has actually done wonderfully well. This is a wonderful program that needs to be encouraged. I will advise the government to invest more in ICT,” Otukoko advised.
In the same vein, the MD/Editor-in-Chief, National Pilot newspaper, Alhaji Billy Adedamola, who was represented by the medium Head of Production, Olatunde Rufai said he was overwhelmed with the IT skill displayed by the kids.
“Honestly, I don’t believe we have something like this in Ilorin, and from what I have seen today, the future is bright. I can’t imagine young chaps like this to be so vast in ICT. The maximum age here is 12 years and I was highly impressed,” Rufai said.
He however charged government on the need to rise to its duties by embracing the needful in the society and jettison spending on frivolities.
“For a sensible government, I think IT is the way. The problem today is that we tend to focus on less important things and major issues.
“Today we place much focus on oil, forgetting that it will dry up one day. Whereas, technology cannot dry up, it can only be improved on,” he said.
Anthony Daniel, an assessor at the event, described the initiative as timely amidst global changes in ICT development.
“I was invited by Diprom and I came to assess the children to know what they are doing. I have been able to assess two kids and I scored them 90 per cent.
