The Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Dr Tunji Olowolafe, has made a compelling case for strengthened collaboration between government, industry players and academic institutions to fast-track Nigeria's journey toward becoming a trillion-dollar digital economy by 2030.
Digital Transformation as Pathway to Prosperity
While delivering the keynote address at the Digital Nigeria International Conference 2025 in Abuja, Dr Olowolafe emphasized that digital transformation represents the pathway to national prosperity rather than being an end goal itself. The conference, themed "Discover. Connect. Transform," gathered policymakers, innovators, investors and technology leaders to strategize on leveraging digital technology for inclusive growth across Africa.
Represented by Mr Olajide Aboderin, Director of GOMTECH ICT Centre, Dr Olowolafe highlighted the ICT sector's impressive contribution of over 11% to Nigeria's GDP in the second quarter of 2025, demonstrating its potential as a key driver of non-oil economic growth. He urged both public and private sectors to bridge the "execution gap" by converting strategic plans into concrete results.
Quoting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's assertion that "data is our new gold," the chancellor pointed to Nigeria's rapidly expanding $47 billion digital economy, supported by more than 200 million mobile subscriptions and nearly 50% internet penetration rate.
Learning from Global Models and African Innovation Heritage
Dr Olowolafe drew parallels with India's digital infrastructure approach, projected to add approximately $1 trillion to that country's GDP by 2030. He expressed confidence that Nigeria could achieve similar outcomes through integrated identity systems, e-government platforms and comprehensive broadband connectivity.
Challenging the perception of Africa as merely consuming foreign technology, Dr Olowolafe emphasized the continent's rich innovation tradition. "Our tribal marks served as early biometric identifiers, and the talking drum functioned as analogue communication transmitting complex messages across distances. Innovation has always been our heritage," he stated.
He encouraged Nigerian innovators to harness this inherent creativity to develop technology "by African minds, for African needs."
Concrete Initiatives and Sectoral Success Stories
The chancellor praised the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy under Dr Bosun Tijani for its ambitious five-year plan targeting the training of three million tech professionals by 2027 and increasing digital literacy to 95% by 2030.
He also commended regulatory bodies including the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) for establishing the policy foundation necessary to sustain digital growth. The NDPC, led by Dr Vincent Olatunji, now supervises over 33,000 registered data controllers, strengthening Nigeria's digital rights and compliance framework.
Announcing a significant initiative from the Tunji Olowolafe Foundation, Dr Olowolafe revealed a blockchain-based tokenized credentials pilot project designed to combat certificate fraud in education. "This initiative utilizes blockchain's unchangeable nature to secure student records and ensure compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023," he explained, describing it as a model for data integrity in academic verification.
Dr Olowolafe highlighted remarkable success stories across multiple sectors:
- Healthcare: Nigeria's $1.5 billion digital health market is expanding through innovations like Care365 Health Hub, employing AI-powered kiosks and telemedicine to improve nationwide healthcare access
- Agriculture: Digital platforms such as ThriveAgric have increased farmer yields by 40% and incomes by 30% through data-driven solutions
- Fintech: Four unicorn companies - Interswitch, Flutterwave, OPay and Moniepoint - reinforce Nigeria's position as Africa's fintech leader
- Education: Institutions including MiVA University, EKSU and the Gbemi Olowolafe Memorial ICT Centre (GOMTECH) are nurturing digital talent and democratizing knowledge from rural to urban areas
The chancellor specifically highlighted the Gbemisola Olowolafe Memorial ICT Centre (GOMTECH) and Gbemisola Olowolafe Memorial Community Secondary School (GOMCSS) in Are-Ekiti as blueprints for sustainable, community-driven digital inclusion. Developed with the Are-Ekiti Progressive Union (APU), these twin institutions provide solar-powered learning, 24-hour satellite internet and training in AI automation, blockchain and cloud computing.
"GOMTECH demonstrates that technology doesn't need to be centralized. We plan to replicate this model nationwide, ensuring digital opportunity becomes every Nigerian child's right, not privilege," Dr Olowolafe affirmed.
In his concluding remarks, he issued a powerful "call to collaborative code," urging government to accelerate broadband access and integrate digital tools into key sectors, encouraging private sector to invest boldly in digital talent and infrastructure, and challenging academia and youth to innovate solutions that strengthen Nigeria's economy and self-reliance.
"When Nigerians invest in Nigeria—in data sovereignty, in daring partnerships—digital excellence will not be a conference topic; it will become our common inheritance," he declared.
