The Managing Director of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman; Deputy Managing Director Access Bank, Victor Etuokwu; Chairman, ChapelHillDenham Group, Olawale Edun; Senior Banking Advisor, Retail Banking, Access Bank, Robert Giles; Head Payment Systems, Access Bank, Kemi Okusanya and Chief Executive Officer, Alpha African Advisory, Sanyade Okoli were among corporate executives that visited the Senator Abiru Innovation Lab (SAIL), the first of its kind Innovation Lab in Lagos East Senatorial District recently.
The Senator representing Lagos East, Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru, in the company of his wife, Feyisola Abiru brought the top executives to SAIL to assess the quality of training, faculty and facility for possible partnership and employment opportunities for participants.
The accomplished individuals also addressed the Tech Talent Class numbering about 30 participants who have been learning software engineering – HTLM, CSS, JavaScript, React, Node JS, & Mondo DB free of charge for the past five months. These participants get free standard lunch and transportation allowance whenever they come to class.
The executives, who were impressed by the ideology of SAIL, especially the vigour and creative leadership style of Senator Abiru, pledged to support SAIL and to give employment opportunities to outstanding talents for tech related openings in their various corporations.
A former Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Olawale Edun alongside his wife, Adwoa Edun, also spoke on the need for participants to cherish relationships as they move up in life. He specifically commended young ladies who showed interest in technology. According to him, what the Senator has done is called “shared prosperity.”
Edun, an accomplished economist and international Finance expert, described Senator Abiru as “a gold standard for measuring qualitative legislative representation.”
Tayo Oyedeji, MD/CEO, Insight Redefini, in his remarks said Senator Abiru has made a huge impact in the lives of constituents, especially the youth. He said that the quality of faculty was world class.
Read also: Beneficiaries of Abiru’s STEM education initiative, others graduate
“What you are learning are globally relevant skills that can obviously meet your needs and the needs of people around you. Just take your time to learn and apply yourself and be rest assured the future is bright,” the brand communication expert said.
Kemi Okusanya, in her address to participants of Tech Talent, urged them to give their best to training, stressing that the Senator has provided a platform for them to succeed in life. “I make sure that I am best in what I do. I think that is what distinguishes you when you are out of here. If the guideline is to do 10, you should do 20. That distinguishes you and you start to make a mark for yourself,” Okusanya admonished.
Wife of the Senator, Feyisola Abiru, spoke about the passion of her husband to see young people succeed. She urged the participants to give the training all their best. “The only way you can pay him back is to succeed in life,” Abiru told SAIL participants.
The guests, including former APC Lagos East Vice Chairman, Asipa Kaoli Olusanya and Special Adviser to Senator Abiru on Constituency Matters, Saheed Ibikunle, also visited the permanent site of SAIL which is expected to be ready before the end of September, 2022.
The purposely built facility will cater for a minimum of 500 to 800 people every year with the complementary of online learning to several thousands also.
The facility also has a 30-man co-working space and will also support youths in the neighbourhood with free power, internet and other facilities as they create their own story within the tech ecosystem.
SAIL, an initiative of the Tokunbo Abiru Constituency Team (TACT) Foundation, is a dedicated innovation and tech lab that is providing relevant technology, business and digital skills to tech enthusiasts and young entrepreneurs across the Lagos East Senatorial District.
The Lab was set up in partnership with a renowned technology and Social Enterprise company, The Co-creation Hub (Cc-HUB). The Centre located in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Nigeria has trained hundreds of young people.
Participants who have successfully undergone the 5-pilot programmes (Cohort 1) of SAIL have since graduated.
