Follow Us on Google
By Chukwudi Nweje
President, African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, has called on the 2021 graduating students of the Federal University of Technology, Minna to apply their certificates into transforming Nigeria in the new technology-driven era.
Adesina, who gave the charge, yesterday, in his acceptance speech at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, where he was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree, said technology will drive the future.
He said: “As graduating students at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, you are standing on the brink of opportunities. You have been prepared for success by a university focused on technology. Technology drives the world. I know the power of technology. Cognitive robots now power industrial manufacturing.
“In the very near future, due to machine learning and artificial intelligence, your colleagues in the office or industry will not be just Musa, Emeka, Yetunde or Ada, but Yekini Jones or Bobo – the robots. They will even wear caps or head ties. Through facial recognition, Yekini and Bobo the robots will greet you every morning, saying ‘Hello Musa, Emeka, Yetunde, and Ada. And you will say, ‘Hello Yekini, Hello Bobo. Let’s roll’.”
The former minister of Agriculture during the former president Goodluck Jonathan’s administration said he was ably to apply the use of technology to boost agricultural production as minister.
“Technology drives the world. I know the power of technology. As minister of agriculture, I turned to the power of technology, mobile phones, to provide 15 million farmers with access to improved seeds and fertilizers, and to end corruption in the sector. It was revolutionary – the first, not only in Africa but in the world. It helped Nigeria to produce a record additional 21 million metric tons of food. It boosted food security and expanded wealth for farmers.”
