The Nigerian youth have a great opportunity to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to prosper, a leading scientist and engineer has said.
Professor Bart Nnaji, former Minister of Science and Technology and also Minister of Power, told a technology festival in Enugu Wednesday, dominated by the youth, that technology has made it possible for young people to set up lucrative businesses without huge capital.
He cited the example of two young men, aged 21 and 22, who are building drones in Abuja and selling them to Nigerian firms and those in Ghana and Slovakia.
“Their case should tell you that there is nothing you set your mind to achieve that you can’t succeed in doing,” Nnaji, a former distinguished professor of robotics and artificial intelligence in top American universities before returning to Nigeria in 2004 to set up Geometric Power Ltd to develop electricity for the nation, declared to the 5,000 cheering crowd.
“Impressed by the work and enthusiasm of these young men, Geometric Power has decided to work with them in a close partnership.”
The Geometric Power chairman advised the youth to maintain absolute integrity in all their dealings because with trust, they would go far in life.
“If you a large stock of values like trust and integrity, coupled with job knowledge”, he continued, “and you are focused, not even the sky will be your limit.”
He shared the story of his rise as an internationaly acclaimed engineering researcher in the United States with the audience, including how he led a consortium of American universities to establish the United States National Science Foundation-funded e-Design Centre of Excellence which reduced drastically the time it took organizations like Boeing, the American Army, the Department of Defence, Ford and 23 others to test their new products.
He also disclosed how he led United States researchers to work with European scientists for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) “to inspire the young people to know that you can achieve a lot whether you are a Nigerian, African, White, or Asian, male or female.”
He said that he returned home 21 years ago to help solve a major infrastructural problem that has been paralysing Nigeria’s rapid development, expressing gratitude to the Federal Government that allowed him to build a power plant and a an electricity distribution company for nine of the 17 local government areas in Abia State even when the power generation, transmission and distribution were on the exclusive list, or a Federal Government monopoly.
“Ours is the only electricity distribution company in Nigeria with an embedded power generation firm,” he remarked.
He praised the Enugu State Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Prince Lawrence Ezeh, for organizing the annual festival and Governor Peter Mbah for giving him a free hand to run the ministry.
“Governor Mbah also deserves commendation for finishing spectacularly the 5,000-capacity Enugu State International Convention Centre” which was abandoned almost two decades ago, he added
Other dignitaries who attended the opening ceremony of the tech festival include Gov Mbah, who spoke on how the state has embraced technology to modernize its economy and administration.
Others include the Minister of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani who commended the state government for its visionary approach to governance, the Minister of Youth Development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, and leading serial digital entrepreneurs like Leo Stan Ekeh of Zinox Group and entertainment guru Obinna Iyiegbu, popularly known as Obi Cubana.
