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Senator opens tech hub, Lagos advocates youth empowerment

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There was excitement on Friday when youths from different parts of Ikorodu, Lagos State, gathered to witness the inauguration of an innovation lab designed for the acquisition of technological skills.

The facility, which was unveiled by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is expected to facilitate training programmes in digital skills such as product design, data science and metaverse.

It will also provide support for start-ups, community events and ecosystem engagement, which will foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic growth within Lagos East.

The lab, named Senator Abiru Innovation Lab (SAIL), is an initiative of the Senator representing Lagos East, Senator Tokunbo Abiru, with the support of the Bank of Industry and the Lagos State Government.

Sanwo-Olu and other attendants toured the facility, which was once the family home of the Abirus, but reconstructed and decorated with state-of-the-art equipment and furniture for a conducive learning experience.

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The governor, in his address, said the state was committed to attracting more investment as well as supporting technological hubs.

He said, “This is just the beginning of a lot of interventions that we will be seeing. Please make good use of this facility; take care of it as if it’s your own because this is your future; this is what will give you the empowerment, freedom, liberty, and scaling platform that you can use to compete with other players of the world.

“Africa missed the first industrial revolution, we missed the second, we started the third but it was far gone; the fourth and the fifth, we don’t have any excuse. Technology is what will help us wrap up. Technology is what will give us that leap from where we can sit in Ikorodu and compete with somebody in the United States.”

The governor disclosed that hectares of land had been acquired in the Yaba area of the state for the construction of a technology campus to further achieve his administration’s vision of promoting technology-driven innovations.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Innovation and Technology, Mr Olatubosun Alake, said the state government would partner the lab by absorbing it into the Lagos Innovate Partner Network in order to support trainees who would be using the facility.

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He said with the partnership, the trainees would get vouchers from Lagos State to use the facility with Internet access, electricity, “and all of the things required to be able to build their next billion dollar start-ups.”

“Today, the government has funded over 60 innovation companies, and he has also funded over 120 companies in Lagos’s innovative network, so today we are adopting SAIL as part of that network,” he stated.

The Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Mr Olukayode Pitan, advised youths engaged in cybercrimes to channel their intelligence into creating legal technological businesses.

 He said, “In Nigeria today, there are many graduates who have not got any job in the last five years. People who are doing Yahoo-Yahoo; the same sense you are using to do it, come here and create a business that is worth $200m, $300m and I pray we shall see it in the next few years.”

He called for support and partnership for innovation.

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Earlier in her welcome address, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, H&Y Furniture Manufacturers, who also doubles as co-founder of the SAIL, Mrs Feyisola Abiru, said the innovation was borne out of passion for the youth.

She said, “Today, we are not only witnessing the birth of a legacy, but this is also the fulfilment of a promise to make a difference as a representative of the people. SAIL is not just another community project, but a passion because he (Senator Abiru) believes in the youth and the power of the right education.”

The Chief Executive Officer, Co-creation Hub Nigeria, a technical partner of SAIL, Dr Olatunbosun Tijani, said, “Young people today are the engine that drives prosperity that helps leverage technology for society. And without leveraging technology, there is no society that can be prosperous. We can continue the old way but for any society to be prosperous, we have to empower and give opportunities to our young people.”

While expressing confidence that the newly commissioned lab would begin to produce tech experts, Tijani said there was the need for a vibrant enabling environment that would allow people to thrive.

The event was attended by traditional rulers, captains of industries, elder statesmen, National Assembly members, Lagos State House of Assembly members, members of the State Executive Council and local government chairmen, among others.

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Present at the programme were a former Deputy Governor, Mr Abiodun Ogunleye; a former Secretary to the State government, Mr Bashorun Olorunfumi; a former minister, Senator Muslim Obanikoro; a former Head of Service, Olusola Ogunlewe.

Traditional rulers in attendance included the Ayangburen of Ikorodu Kingdom, Oba Adewale Shotobi; the Alara of Ilara Kingdom, Oba Olufolarin Ogunsanwo; Sekumade of Ipakodo, Oba Aremu Shotonwa; Eweye of Isiwu, Oba Raji Balogun; Alagura of Agura, Oba Ahmed Olalekan; Onibeju of Ibeju, Oba Waliu Olasunkanmi; Oba Mudashiru Ajibade; Ranodu of Imota, Oba Ajibade Bakare-Agoro; Oba of Oworonshoki, Babatunde Saliu; as well as the Oloja of Epe, Oba Kamorudeen Ishola Animashaun.

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