Lagos Plans to Convert Skills Acquisition centres to innovation hubs

Written by Yemisi Dada

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu says his administration is planning to convert 10 out of the 33 skills acquisition centres in the State to Eko Creation Innovators Hubs.

Governor Sanwo-Olu announced this in Ikorodu, during the inauguration of Sail Innovation Lab, an initiative of the Senator xurrenrly representing Lagos East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Adetokunbo Abiru.

The lab, which is designed in collaboration with Co-creation Hub, would serve as a training centre for youths, teenagers and teachers in and around Ikorodu free of charge.

Governor Sanwo-olu noted that the different programmes which would be run free of charge for youths in Lagos will reduce unemployment and arrest restiveness among youths.

While boasting that Lagos remains the best Technology hub in Africa surpassing Cape Town in South Africa and Nairobi, Kenya, with the Yaba Technology hub, Governor Sanwo-olu advised youths to make judicious use of the facility to be self reliant.

Sanwo-Olu said, “I have no doubt that the expectation of the people of Lagos East will be achieved, some of the things that we promised, we have been seeing them in Senator Abiru.

“We, as your Goverment, we are to give hope to the hopeless, to give people the opportunity to those who are depressed. I’m excited to see the impact of governance to people. In public service, we still have people who can do it without knowing them. When you do things selflessly, you won’t know when the reward will come.

“The issue is for us to replicate what Senator Abiru has done. Tech is what will leap-frog our youths. That we can see in Ikorodu and compete with anybody in any part of the world. Tech is that that will give us that advancement, creating global solutions.”

The Govenor expressed satisfaction with the partners such as Microsoft, Bank of Industries, afding that, “Lagos will continue to remain the tech hub in Africa”

Earlier, the initiator of the SAIL innovation hub, Senator Abiru, stated that the facility where over two thousand youths have already been trained both physically and virtually, was his family’s way of giving back to the society through various programs which include Tech talent development programme, STEM for secondary school students and Community events and Ecosystem engagement among others.

Senator Abiru said, “The New language of the world is tech. All around us, we see how tech is shaping social interactions, disrupting how we live, work and interact with others. Quantum computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and the internet of Things (IOTs) are now the buzzwords in a world that is changing faster than we can adapt to it. In the coming months and years, we will be offering a range of training programmes in areas such as digital product design, data science, metaverse, etc.”