By Our Correspondent
Lagos, Nov. 13, ’25 (TNZ) Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Dr Tunji Olowolafe, has called for a stronger partnerships across government, industry and academia to realise Nigeria’s ambition to build a trillion-dollar digital economy by 2030.
TheNewsZenith reports that Olowolafe, made the call at the opening of the 2025 Digital Nigeria International Conference, recently in Abuja.
He stressed that digital transformation must move beyond rhetoric to become a shared national project anchored on collaboration and execution.
Olowolafe emphasised that “digital transformation is not a goal in itself, but the pathway to prosperity.”
The theme of the conference is: “Discover, Connect, Transform.” It convened policymakers, innovators, investors, and technology leaders to discuss strategies for harnessing digital technology to power inclusive growth across Africa.
Mr Olajide Aboderin, Director of GOMTECH ICT Centre, an initiative under the Tunji Olowolafe Foundation represented him at the conference.
He noted that the ICT sector, which contributed over 11 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP in Q2 2025, has proven its potential as a driver of non-oil growth.
He urged both public and private sectors to “close the execution gap” by turning strategic plans into tangible outcomes.
Quoting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Olowolafe reiterated that “data is our new gold”. He citing Nigeria’s rapidly expanding $47 billion digital economy, powered by over 200 million mobile subscriptions and almost 50 per cent internet penetration.
He drew parallels with India’s digital infrastructure model, which is projected to add $1 trillion to India’s GDP by 2030.
He emphasized that Nigeria could replicate similar results through integrated ID systems, e-government platforms, and widespread broadband connectivity.
Challenging the notion that Africa is merely a consumer of foreign technology, Olowolafe reminded participants of the continent’s deep-rooted tradition of innovation.
“Our tribal marks were early biometric identifiers, and the talking drum was a form of analogue communication that transmitted complex messages across distances. Innovation has always been our heritage,” he said.
He called on Nigerian innovators to harness this same ingenuity to build technology “by African minds, for African needs.”
Dr. Olowolafe applauded the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, led by Dr. Bosun Tijani, for its five-year blueprint targeting the training of three million tech professionals by 2027 and raising digital literacy to 95 per cent by 2030.
He also commended institutions such as National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) for creating the policy and regulatory foundation necessary to sustain digital growth and safeguard trust.
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The NDPC, under Dr Vincent Olatunji, he noted, now oversees over 33,000 registered data controllers, strengthening Nigeria’s digital rights and compliance ecosystem.
Announcing a key initiative by the Foundation, Olowolafe unveiled a blockchain-based tokenised credentials pilot aimed at tackling certificate fraud in the education sector.
“This project leverages blockchain’s immutability to secure student records and ensure compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023,” he explained.
He described it as a model for data integrity and transparency in academic verification.
Olowolafe highlighted success stories across multiple sectors like Health, Agriculture, Finance, and Education.
He noted that Nigeria’s $1.5 billion digital health market is expanding through innovations like Care365 Health Hub, which uses AI-powered kiosks and telemedicine to improve healthcare access nationwide.
On agriculture, he noted that digital platforms like ThriveAgric have boosted farmer yields by 40 per cent and incomes by 30 per cent through data-driven solutions.
He highlighted giant strides in fintech where four unicorns — Interswitch, Flutterwave, OPay, and Moniepoint demonstrate Nigeria, being Africa’s fintech powerhouse.
Dr Olowolafe urged further efforts to include the 30 per cent of Nigerians still excluded from financial systems.
On education, he noted that through institutions such as MiVA University, EKSU, and the Gbemi Olowolafe Memorial ICT Centre (GOMTECH), Nigeria is nurturing digital talent and democratising knowledge from rural to urban communities.
Olowolafe cited GOMTECH and the Gbemisola Olowolafe Memorial Community Secondary School (GOMCSS) in Are-Ekiti as a blueprint for sustainable, community-led digital inclusion.
Developed in partnership with the Are-Ekiti Progressive Union (APU), the twin institutions offer solar-powered learning, 24-hour satellite internet, and training in AI automation, blockchain, and cloud computing.
“GOMTECH is proof that technology need not be centralised.
“We aim to replicate this model nationwide. This is to ensure access to digital opportunity becomes every Nigerian child’s right,” TheNewsZenith quotes him saying. (TNZ)
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