The federal government, through the Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, the Nigerian Army Resource Centre and Halogen Group have entered into partnership to train young Nigerians on cyber security.
The training, according to a statement by the Halogen Group, targets 40,000 youths. It is aimed at encouraging them to participate in addressing Nigeria’s many problems with cyber security.
The partnership with the Army, the statement explained, was to help boost capacity development amongst both the private and public sector security professionals in the country.
To achieve this goal, representatives of Halogen Group management led by the chief operating officer of the Academy Halogen, Wale Adeagbo, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the minister of youth and sports, Sunday Dare, who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Ismaila Abubakar.
Dare noted that the training programme was very significant and timely, especially with the country’s growing population of young ones who are ready to pool talents in information and communication technology (ICT) that can be trained to utilize, develop and drive technological advancement for a betterment society.
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He added that “the programme is coming at a time in our national life when government must provide the impetus towards empowering the Nigerian youth for self-reliance.”
According to him, “the World Economic Forum, Cybersecurity along with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Analytics now offer great career opportunities to professionals. More stringent regulation will see an increased demand for cybersecurity professionals in Nigeria.”
In his remarks, Adeagbo noted that the free training was the first phase of the partnership. “Halogen is excited again to be at the vanguard of a project that will change the narratives around youth development to a remarkable one.
“After the training, 25 per cent of the participants will undergo certification programmes that will also be co-sponsored by the ministry and Halogen. Internship opportunities will be made available to youths who participate in the certification programme,” he disclosed.
Adeagbo explained that the MoU Halogen signed with the Nigerian Army in Abuja was on capacity development for private security professionals in the country, noting that the agreement was a huge feat for them as it was the first time the resource centre would form a partnership with a private security organization on capacity development.
Other Halogen officials at both events included the Head of North Region, Kehinde Braimoh, and the Head of Marketing, North Region, Umar Abdullahi.
Adeagbo noted that these partnership agreements signalled the beginning of long-term cooperation with the youth’s ministry and the Nigeria Army.
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