The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, has expressed confidence in the ability of young Nigerian girls to lead innovation and provide solutions to national challenges.
Mr Tijani said this at the grand finale of the National Girls in ICT 2026 Competition, on Friday in Abuja which had as its theme: “Code, Create and Inspire”.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the event was sponsored by the Korea International Cooperation Agency, KOICA, National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, and the Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST.
The technology innovation competition for girls, where teams from across the six geopolitical zones, showcased technology-driven solutions to societal challenges.
Mr Tijani said the ministry had introduced technology clubs in schools to provide sustained support for students after their participation the programmes.
According to him, teachers play a critical role in mentoring and guiding students through the innovation process.
He expressed confidence in Nigeria’s future, particularly through programmes targeted at empowering young girls and other aspiring innovators.
“It is a daunting task for a secondary school student to build a technology product without adult support.
“We must commend the teachers behind these children who are exposing them to new technologies and helping them develop their ideas.
“We recognise that without the teachers many of these products may never reach the market. That is why we have provided clubs in schools to support the students,” he said.
He congratulated the winning teams and commended all participating teams for their creativity, resilience and commitment to innovation.
He also recognised Team Divas from Cross River, Elite from Osun, Tech Experts from the Federal Capital Territory, Resonance from Abia and Farm Shield 360 from Kano State.
The Country Director of KOICA, Kim Eunsub, urged young Nigerian girls to embrace technology, innovation and leadership roles as drivers of Africa’s digital transformation.
Mr Eunsub said KOICA was committed to sharing experience with developing countries through partnerships focused on capacity building, innovation and sustainable development.
He said that the agency’s collaboration with Nigeria was based on mutual respect and shared vision of empowering young people through education and technology.
“KOICA works hand in hand with developing nations, not as a distant donor but as a genuine partner committed to shared growth and development,” he said.
Earlier, the ministry’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Folashade Olojede, urged girls to embrace technology and innovation.
Olojede described the event as a celebration of creativity, technology excellence and the growing role of young women in shaping Nigeria’s digital future.
According to her, the competition demonstrates that Nigerian girls are prepared to take their place in the global digital economy as innovators, developers and technology leaders.
Aisha Bala, a student innovator at the Special Education Centre, Bauchi, said her school developed a mobile application “Hands That Speak” aimed at improving communication between deaf patients and healthcare providers.
Ms Bala, who spoke on behalf of the winning team said the invention aimed at reducing preventable deaths caused by communication barriers.
She said the idea was inspired by the challenges deaf persons face in explaining their medical conditions when seeking treatment at hospitals.
“Many deaf patients struggle to communicate effectively with doctors, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment.
“We live with deaf people in our communities, schools and everywhere.
“This is a challenge because when they go to the hospital, they cannot explain what they feel.
“Many deaf patients lose their lives because of a lack of communication between the doctor and the patient.
“So, we came up with the idea of creating an application to bridge the communication gap between a doctor and a deaf patient,” she said.
Out of the six schools that represented the six geopolitical zones in the competition, the Special Education Centre, Bauchi (North-East Zone) emerged tops
The Federal Government Girls’ College, Calabar, (South-South Zone), were runners up while Resonance Science School, Abia (South-East Zone) emerged third position winners.
NAN
