In 2016, Professor Umar Garba Danbata, vice-chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, said 8 million Nigerians are technically unemployed, while 14.4 are underemployed in Nigeria with an estimated population of 230million people. digital poverty alleviation
This, according to him, represents 14% in global unemployment raking. He delivered these bunchy statements while delivering a lecture at the Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in Jos, Plateau State.
But, the NCC boss however assured that” the gospel of poverty alleviation through digital routes should be preached and practiced across the urban and rural areas in the country”.
His words as published in the April-June 2026 edition of The Communicator, the official magazine of NCC, stated that online, ICT and digital platforms, have the potential to create jobs, wealth and ultimately eradicate poverty in the self-acclaimed giant of Africa.
With the emerging e-businesses at the local, state, national and international levels, millionaires in local and foreign currencies are emerging daily. This is a more positive outlook for the country, as our world has gone online.
But investigations conducted by our contributor in Lagos and Ogun State revealed that people knowledgeable in internet, ICT and online business are using their android, smart phones, laptops, palm tops, etc, to make money through offering services or selling their products.
It is noted that internet penetration density seems to be very high in urban cities like Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Jos, and so on.
For instance, Archbishop Ochei, Innocent, 67, is a journalist, writer, cleric, management consultant and an entrepreneur. Call him a rolling that has sure gathered some moist and may be right.
He is making money, despite the sometime unreliable services of power supply and telecommunication providers.
Ochei, an indigene of Delta State has written over 800 e-books that is published on amazon kindle books, from the comfort of his home, located at Abule Egba are of Lagos, using his android phone.
He is also writing e-courses manuals for pastors, running conferences, workshops, seminars and off-course empowering young and old people across the globe, while smiling to his bank.
Olabode Oruku is today, a PhD holder. Having marketed revive drugs for years, under Kedi medical platform as a consultant, Bode is also training interested persons on how best to make money with their skills, knowledge, talent and experience, from his office at Balogun Street in Ikeja, Lagos.
Joseph Babatunde Akeju, former Bursar of Yaba College of Technology, Yabatech is also running ICAN and ATS courses off and online from his office located at 12, Oweh Stret, in Fadeyi Lagos.
A one-man anti-corruption warrior, who rattled Olubunmi Owoso, while serving as Bursar of the college, Akeju told our contributor Thursday last week that since he retired from Yabatech, he has been busy training interested persons, regardless of their qualifications to become chartered accountants.
There are millions of people, groups, business concerns and corporate entities leveraging on internet, and online platforms to create, share wealth and empower people in both developing and developed countries.
Still on the gains of digital poverty alleviation dream for our country, most companies are presently online, running affiliates programmes for people to earn commissions through referrals. Google check will reveal some of the a-list companies that are making it big through referrals online.
In urban cities, there are millions of people with android or smart phone, either using it to create liabilities of assets for themselves, their families, friends and others.
There are also lots of people out there using their modern communication gadgets to carry criminal, fraudulent activities, post fake news, hate speech, gossip, post nude pictures and videos, etc in both urban and rural communities.
There are also small business concerns running courses online and offline like: website design, adverting, branding, google search, digital marketing, email marketing, and artificial intelligence, mostly in big cities.
But, in some rural and sleepy communities, the internet penetration seems to be quite low. This may be due to lack of enough masts or topography of some communities across the 774 local government areas of the country.
For instance, in at the premises of Ifo local government area of Ogun State, there is not functional internet centre, where people cold go and browse.
When our contributor visited that LGA Monday, it was observed that Quickwins Computer Training Institute, which was allegedly built and commissioned by Hon Ibrahim Isiaka, member of the federal house of assembly representing Ifo/Ewekoro constituency, was under lock and key.
Sources at the council said off record that the institute closed shop few years after its commissioning, in accordance with the millennium development goal of the then government.
The same institute located along Orile Ofi Street, near the resident of Hon Oluomo, speaker of Ogun state house of assembly is also under lock and key.
Investigations further revealed that apart from Feflo Business Centre, running a cybercafe with three laptops, near Mathew busstop, along Lagos-Abeokuta expressway in Ifo, Ogun state, there are presently no cybercafe along the expressway axis.
The business centre charges N500 per hour and there are always people with little knowledge of browsing, using their smart android phones waiting endlessly for their turn.
Also, when our contributor visited Pakato Senior Secondary School in Pakoto, Ifo, where NCC Digital station is located, a gentle said the principal was not around to attend to me.
However, busstop at Ifo, has closed shop and last week, one of the workers asked this contributor to pay N3000 per hour in other to browse.
At the cybercafe near the foot of Sango bridge, in Sango Ogun state, the attendance asked for N1500 per hour for browsing, even as he argued that the centre is used mostly to process online registrations for students, NYSC members, and people with little or no knowledge of browsing with their phones.
But, Pastor Ajayi, owner of 2-Brothers Digital and Skills Academy. Located at Oja Oba, in Ifelodun area of Orile Ifo in Ogun State, charges N5000 to train people on how to use their phones, to do graphics design, website design, facebook adverting, video editing, e-book publishing, and google training.
Dr Vincent Ukeje, a resident of the area said since the academy started, people have been going there in trickles for training. He said that few people go there because the academy is located in a rural community, not close to the expressway.
At Ifo post office on Awolowo Avenue, Ibogun in Ifo, Ogun State, one of the staff said that despite the coming into existence of computer and internet, some people still patronize the post office, though very few.
Additional Report by Emmanuel Udom
digital poverty alleviation
