A Future-Ready Society
Being the Text of a Speech by Governor Alex C. Otti, OFR, on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, During the Visit of the British High Commissioner/Close-Out Ceremony of the 5-Day Digital Training Workshop for Abia Civil Servants Sponsored by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Protocols,
- I am very delighted to welcome the British High Commissioner, His Excellency, Dr Richard Montgomery and his entourage to Abia, God’s Own State. This very visit by the High Commissioner and his team highlights in a very special way, his genuine commitment to the development of Nigeria, and its subnational units.
- We are very happy to play host to Dr Montgomery who is continuing a longstanding tradition of friendship between his country and our people. This special inter-cultural relationship has culminated in several successful marriages, business partnerships, educational and health support, and extensive development initiatives through training and capacity building programmes and exchanges, and several other forms of humanitarian aids to our communities.
- For thousands of Ndi Abia, Britain has become a second home. Even those who have not stepped their feet in the British territory have a special affinity with Britain and the English culture which had been picked over the decades through literature, and media channels. It is gratifying to note that our special guest today is also very mindful of the need to continue to strengthen this age-old bond of friendship that exists between his nation, and our dear State.
- Let me also welcome and congratulate the 280 Abia civil servants who are here with us after successfully completing the State Level Inclusive Digital Transformation Project sponsored by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom Government. I am glad that you were able to make the necessary sacrifices to benefit from the programme. Your success in the exercise, which I am told was very demanding, proves clearly that age and social status are no barriers to learning. I am optimistic that the civil service in particular, and our State in general, will benefit greatly from the new skills you have just acquired.
- Let me specially thank the FCDO, and the technical partners for the programme, the Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative (Tech4Dev) for their active support and commitment to the success of the exercise. Through the development of a suitable programme curriculum, effective teaching and exposition, and objective evaluation of each participant, you have laid a very important foundation that will form the bulwark of our digital transformation agenda in the civil service.
- As a government, we are focused on the holistic development of the entire State. Clearly, we understand that the success and sustainability of our agenda is largely dependent on a robust civil service structure, one that is responsive, dynamic and committed to driving the development programmes of the administration.
- This training exercise could not have come at a better time and I am happy to know that within the civil service today, we can find 280 persons who have successfully scaled through the test of basic digital literacy and can effectively leverage technology to improve their day-to-day output.
- I had announced earlier in the year that we shall set up a structured template for migrating the State civil service to the e-governance architecture, creating a new system that functions on a round-the-clock basis and can respond to the realities of the time as Abia continues to attract the attention of international investors, and multilateral development partners. Our vision is to build a civil service that is efficiency-driven, one that can leverage technological systems and channels to offer seamless support to individuals and organisations across geographical boundaries.
- The success of this training exercise has provided very important insights that will form the building blocks for what comes next. It is great to have started with 280 individuals but we are looking at the over 60, 000 persons working for the State Government across different establishments and institutions. We shall do everything possible to offer different degrees of relevant training on digital literacy to as many employees of the State Government as are willing to go through the rigour of learning and re-learning.
- We shall not just stop at offering training programmes relevant to the different employee cadres, we shall also invest in the acquisition of digital work tools such as desktop and laptop computers and other hand-held devices, and data support systems that will be deployed to facilitate the migration to the digital operational ecosystem.
We are already looking at what we can do between now and the end of the year in this regard, starting with the Permanent Secretaries and Directors. - Let me mention that we are mindful of the risks that may arise as we migrate to the digital space, especially data theft and abuses. These challenges have been well considered in advance. May I assure you that adequate care shall be taken to protect confidential government data.
- To our friends, let me quickly alert you that Abia is a land of multiple opportunities. We shall continue to count on your consistent support as we work to effectively harness the abundant human and material resources in our land. We are investing massively in infrastructure restoration and expansion projects to expand the frontiers of opportunities for our people, and very importantly, open every part of the State for profitable investments.
- I will encourage you to use the opportunity of this visit to go round the State, interact with our people and identify areas of mutually-beneficial partnerships. Our agriculture and ICT sectors are amongst the most promising in the light of our comparative advantages in those areas. New investments in these sectors will help to stimulate the economy further, create jobs for our teeming youth population and reduce the menace of poverty, especially in the rural communities.
- Education remains our most important industry and we are open to partnerships and collaborations to enable us increase access, especially for the underprivileged children and young adults. We are currently doing so much in terms of capacity building, infrastructure development and restoration of school boundaries to improve the learning environment. I am aware that the State has partnered with the UK Government before now in the education sector and we shall be happy to revive and expand the frontiers of such relationships as we open a new epoch in our history.
- Abia is open, and ready for accelerated development and as I said to our other foreign development partners who have been here before now, this is the best place to be because of the unique set of advantages we offer. Our doors will always remain open to receive anyone who is interested in supporting our modest efforts at building a society that truly works for the present, and future generations as captured in the Sustainable Development Goals framework.
- Thank you for listening, and may God bless you all.
Dr Alex C. Otti, OFR,
20/08/2024
