Nigerian Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has restated the need to prepare Nigerian children for challenges and future global competition with the right modern tools.
The Speaker made this known during the closing ceremony via zoom on Friday, participating students made presentations about what they learnt at the coding camp to the excitement of guests
Gbajabiamila said the need to make Nigerian children globally competitive was responsible for his several interventions in the nation’s education sector through proactive laws and personal efforts.
One such effort among others was the Gbajabiamila Summer Coding Camp held across five secondary schools in Surulere 1 Federal Constituency, where children from all parts of Lagos State were taught about coding to introduce and enhance their computer literacy and artificial intelligence.
Recalled that Speaker Gbajabiamila launched the Gbaja Summer Coding Camp facilitated by Pearl Africa on August 16.
The participants presented ten projects in total with two projects from each centre and a panel of judges, Fent Hughes from Harvard Business Group, Adefunke Akinola, a computer engineer who scored the technology-driven solution presentations by the young participants, and Abisoye Ajayi-Akinfolarin, CEO of Pearls Africa Foundation.
At the Ajigbeda Centre, Life Comrades, a platform that helps people identify drugs using images, in addition to enlightening people more on drugs that can also help to identify drugs that look or sound alike was developed.
Iponri Centre where the tutor/facilitator, Juliana Chukwu taught the children how to deploy lessons learnt to create life-changing Applications (App), the children created an App about HIV/AIDS that creates awareness about the disease, where victims can also access counselling, link up with care groups and others.
The centre also created Techspace, another APP designed to ease the use of small or major electrical home appliances with the use of smart bracelets, among others, to solve the problems of charging cords, cables and wires. The APP also doubles as a marketplace for products and spare parts.
At the Ansar Ud Deen Centre, the children created Stop it, a platform for awareness about human trafficking, its dangers, effects on individuals and society, while the solution to the challenge was also proffered on the platform.
It was about the protection of and the solution to the challenges confronting the wildlife through the Wildlife Rescue Foundation and Operation Fuzzy for the children at the Muritala Animashaun Centre.
In a word of encouragement to the participants, an impressed Deputy Chief of Staff (DCoS) to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Olanrewaju Smart, said Speaker Gbajabiamila was impressed with the presentations of the students and said that the building block for advance computer literacy has been laid in them.
While urging them not to relent in seeking knowledge, Smart said, “Keep the fire burning, keep the spirit alive. Irrespective of your background, the knowledge you have gained here is priceless and will help launch you in any sphere of life you choose to take.
“Whatever you want to be, whether a medical doctor, engineer, lawyer, or teacher, with the knowledge you have gained here, it is indeed your world”
He further disclosed that the impressive outing of the children and the positive feedback from the Camp has compelled Speaker Gbajabiamila to promise a subsequent edition of the programme.
“The Speaker appreciates the instructors and is very happy and impressed with what you (participants) have put in place here while wishing you the best in your chosen careers. He also hopes that what you gained here will be put to best use as schools resume from the holidays”.
In her closing remarks, Pearl Africa’s CEO, Ajayi-Akinfolarin, also encouraged the participants to seize the opportunity provided by the Summer Camp, saying, “This platform has provided you with a tool, the world is yours to take”.