Soludo: Setting Anambra Up as Tech Hub of the South

David-Chyddy Eleke reports that Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state is turning the state to a technology hub that will service the southern part of the country and rival Lagos’ Computer Village.

Joe Ifeizu is a journalist in Anambra State, and Managing Editor of The Razor Newspaper, a publication that exclusively reports Anambra news, shared a recent challenge about running the company’s website. He said: “Our site engineer is a Lagos based web designer, sometimes, when we want a new software to develop our site and make it more user friendly, or even installing any application, we have to reach out to people in Lagos. I and my team usually wish that we have people around who can help us with such things, but truth is that Anambra and the South East, and by extension the entire Southern part of the country do not have a tech hub where you can find personalities that can be of help in matters like this.”

Ifeizu made the complaint, during a meeting of the leadership of the management of Anambra ICT Agency and some journalists in the state.

In reply, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Anambra State ICT Agency, Chukwuemeka Agbata replied: “I can feel your plight, but I can also tell you that soon, stories like this will be a thing of the past. Anambra State governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, is intentionally setting Anambra up as a tech hub in the South East. The nearest you can find a tech hub here is Asaba in Delta State, but what we are trying to do is something that will make not just Anambra State government a tech-driven state, but Anambra people too, civil servants, even you journalists working in this state will key into what we are creating. We want to digitize the state.”

Those may sound like promises from politicians, which never gets fulfilled, but Soludo has continued to ensure that the frontiers of ICT in the state are pushed.

Using the youthful Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Anambra ICT Agency, Mr Agbata, Soludo has brought lots of innovation in governance, including an e-ID card project that would stop impersonation, trainings and setting up youths in the state through his Solution Innovation District, digitizing motor registration and tax collection in the state, and distribution of laptops to head teachers and principals of public schools in the state, among others.

Soludo has also inaugurated the Solution Innovation District located in the Innovation district which is a one-stop shop for youths in the areas of services and innovation, was established to provide training, incubation, and access to internet for youths with steady power supply.

The Governor has also trained and empowered 20,000 Anambra youths for the acquisition of various digital skills online.

The training was done in collaboration with Microsoft and Wootlab Foundation, who partnered with the state government.

Soludo during the event was resolute about where he was driving Anambra to. He said: “The world may be going east or west, but Nigeria must go through necessary disruptive changes. The removal of subsidy and floating of exchange rate are just some of these changes. It is quite auspicious that we are opening this district at this critical time.

“Our greatest resource is our human capital, and we want to mine it to its infinite elasticity. Only those who can see tomorrow, only those who plan and work towards it, can control the future. I ask our youths to look up to opportunities in these ongoing disruptive changes.

“In a digital age, human capital appreciates with continuous usage. We must keep on innovating and acquiring multiple scalable skills to control the future.

“We want the youths and children of Ndi Anambra to be prepared for this future. Invention, innovation, and technology. We must focus on tomorrow. The old order is gone, so let’s not cry to bring it back.

We are empowering and training our youths to control the future and become champions of the world. Technology is our mantra.

We want to get technology to become our culture. Everything technology and technology everywhere! The criminals that cause nuisance in our society cannot define us. They are completely insignificant,” the Governor stressed.

Also, Soludo using the Anambra State ICT Agency had last year migrated from physical and identity card to an electronic ID card for civil servants, to curb impersonation.

During the launch, the State Head of Service, Mrs Theodora Igwegbe said: “This scheme can significantly enhance service delivery for Anambra State civil servants. By digitizing identification processes, civil servants can access government services more conveniently, reducing paperwork and minimizing the need for physical presence.

“This digital transformation empowers civil servants to engage in online training, access relevant resources, and collaborate remotely, thereby facilitating professional development and fostering knowledge-sharing within the civil service. Moreover, streamlined processes and faster turnaround times result in improved public service delivery, ultimately benefiting the citizens of Anambra State.”

Soludo is not relenting with ensuring that Anambra becomes the next technology hub in the country.

Recently as part of his administration’s agenda to engender effective service delivery and deepen the mantra of everything technology and technology everywhere, Anambra State government distributed 2,000 Laptops to Head Teachers, Principals of public schools and public/mission schools in the state for efficient service delivery.

Performing the function at the International Convention Center (ICC) Awka, Governor Soludo, highlighted the pivotal role and contributions of teachers in moulding the future of students in Anambra State.

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