By Abayomi Elias
Princess Samiat during an interview session at the event.
At her first official outing in Ikosi-sheri after receiving her certificate of return from LASIEC, the Chairman of Ikosi-Isheri LCDA Princess Samiat Abolanle Bada (Mayoress) charged the 150 graduates of her free ICT empowerment program not to rest on their oars, but rather to make impact with the knowledge they have acquired in the last three months of training.
Newsconnect reports that Mayoress said this third edition of her intervention is not just another cycle of training, however, it is a transformational intervention that has already begun rewriting the stories of many lives in Ikosi-Isheri.
“To our graduands, I say this: what you hold today is bigger than a certificate—it is a key to new opportunities. Use it wisely, multiply your skills, and become an inspiration to others.
“You are now ambassadors of what is possible when government and community work together for progress.
“This administration remains fully committed to empowerment programs like this. By the grace of God, and with your continued support in this second term, we will scale up this initiative even further, introducing more advanced courses and creating wider access for our youths and residents.
“I thank our hardworking facilitators, the ICT team, and my ever-supportive people of Ikosi-Isheri LCDA. Your trust and encouragement inspire us to do more every day”. She said.
One of the graduands, Olojede Ifedayo who was trained in Data analysis expressed how she felt to journalists at the event and the action she would take going forward.
“I feel really good about it because normally this would have cost me so much, but the Chairman made it easy for us by providing us the laptops, the data that we use.
“It was so seamless and the program is designed in such a way that if you don’t have a laptop, if you don’t have internet and all that, you can still take the training, so it was really good. I hope to pass the knowledge to other people”. She said.
Another graduand Opeyemi David Agboola, a private school teacher who was trained in Full Stack well development talked about his challenge and his intention to cascade the training to his pupils so they can learn it at a tender age.
“The only challenge I have is on transporting myself to this place. I am a teacher by profession. I already told my pupils that I will be replicating everything I haven’t learnt from creating a website, app, creating google form and more with them.
“I want to appreciate the Chairman for giving us the privilege to learn ICT at no cost. I want to say a very big thank you to the entire team of ICT department, for making it possible to give us wifi, system to work properly. I also want to thank the teachers for teaching us well. I want to pray that her work will cotinue to go on to improve Lagos and Nigeria as a whole”. He said.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Lagos State on Sport Damilare Orimoloye said;
“Information technology is a key sector that we all need to look into, it is an area that we all need to embrace. Having a local government Chairman looking in this direction is a plus, that is why we are here to give her the necessary support and to give the graduands the necessary support that is needed.
“I urge the graduands not to sit back after getting the certificates, get something to do with it. Solve problems in our society. There are a lot of problem youths can solve. When you go to Somolu, they will say it is a home of Printing, let’s turn Ikosi-isheri to a home of ICT too.
“Let’s solve problem in our society. Let people come from different local government to Ikosi-Isheri, to find solutions to information, and technology”. He said.