Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, chairman of Teledom Group, has decried what he called ‘a serious disconnect between the IT industry and the government.
He made the remark at the Lagos Future Conference 2025 organised by DigiVation Networks at Oriental Hotel on Saturday, June 14, 2025, stressing that the disconnect must be bridged towards harnessing the talents across the country for improved youth contribution to the economy.
In his words: “I was Secretary to Government (of Akwa Ibom State) for about five years and four months, and I left the industry to assume that responsibility, and I have seen where disconnect exists; very serious disconnect between the IT industry and those in government. 67% of Nigeria population is considered youth. We keep saying they are the leaders of tomorrow. The question is: how are we grooming them?
Well, I feel encouraged by the DG of NITDA’s speech elaborating on how they are working to assist the young people. I also want to emphasize about the Nigeria Startup Act (NSA). The fact is what part of our GDP or what percentage of our accumulated revenue annually is allocated to finance the content of the startup act? That’s a very serious matter, because it cannot fire-up the startups where there are no resources for them to become entrepreneurs.
He also urged relevant industry agencies to work assiduously with 36 State Government and the 774 Local Government Areas to identify talented Nigerians who need support to bring their ideas to market.
In his words: “The presidency, will go through the governor, the governor to the ministries, but we as professional agencies and organizations and you as a regulatory agency, both NITDA and NCC and then the industry associations like NCS and NES, what are we doing in those 36 state council?”
“Across the 774 LGAs you will see creativity from young people, but they are not mentored. They are not exposed. Nobody has tutored them. They are underutilized. We must go to the grassroot to ensure we harness the talents and skills of our youth as national assets”, he said adding that young Nigerians’ ‘sweat equity’ must be honoured by the nation.
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