By Chimezie Godfrey
Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has been conferred with an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration (Leadership and Management) by California Metropolitan University (CMU) during the Leaders Without Borders Annual Business (LWD) Summit, in London.
LWD Annual Business Summit is a global event that brings together business leaders, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders from around the world. The summit is designed to promote collaboration and innovation in the business world.
The award was presented to Inuwa in recognition of his outstanding leadership and contributions to the development of the Nigerian information technology sector in Nigeria.
Inuwa, a highly respected figure in the Nigerian tech community, has been instrumental in driving the country’s digital transformation agenda. He is also one of the strong advocates of promoting the use of technology in education, healthcare, agriculture, and other sectors in the country.
He has also worked to build partnerships between the Nigerian government and the private sector to accelerate the development of the Nigerian tech industry.
Under his watch, the Agency has developed several regulatory frameworks for IT development, which most of them have been published both on soft copy and hard copy by the Agency.
The Agency embarked on the development of many regulatory frameworks for Information Technology development in government establishment. The projects are to give rise to digital skills in educational institutions and rural areas of the country, to ensure IT knowledge is integrated into the underserved areas and cities so as to develop human capital and provide universal access to digital services with the aim of creating a knowledge-based economy.
In addition to making an effort in IT development as well as enhancing the IT capacity of the citizenry, hundreds of IT Hubs, IT Parks, and Community ICT Centres were established, furnished and equipped with world class facilities across the states of the federation. The agency, through its strategic relations with techpreneurs, supported start-ups, IT hubs and ecosystems builders through Nigeria ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship Vision (NIIEV). In the process, NITDA’s programmes have created employment for Nigerians youths.
To ensure Nigeria’s pool of talents were not left behind, the Agency under his thoughtful leadership, established National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotic (NCAIR), to drive and support research, development, and adoption of Emerging Technologies in Nigeria.
The Honour from CMU is a significant recognition of Abdullahi’s contributions to the Nigerian information technology sector. It is a testament to his leadership, vision, and commitment to driving the country’s digital transformation agenda.
In his acceptance speech, Inuwa thanked CMU for the recognition and expressed his commitment to continue to work to promote the growth of the Nigerian tech industry. He said that he was honored to be recognised for his work and that he would continue to work tirelessly to ensure that Nigeria becomes a leading player in the global tech space.
“I extend my gratitude to the university, leaders without borders, and loved ones for their support. I am inspired to drive transformative change and make a positive impact in leadership and management,” he said.
