Education
Coding Skills Make Children Globally Relevant
The Olusegun Coding Class has said coding skills will make children to be globally competitive.
Co-Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, SR IPD Logistics Company, Mr Olusegun Idowu, said this during the graduation ceremony of 150 students who participated in the 10-day Olusegun Coding 2.0 robotics school held at Obalende Local Council Development Area in Lagos State.
The participants were school children trained in various computer skills, including web development, robotics, game development, graphics design, scratch programme, artificial intelligence, and computer coding.
The training was held in collaboration with Fosters Private Schools, Lagos.
Idowu encouraged the participants to be dedicated to the various skills they learned.
He said, “The coding initiative is a means of using education to reduce poverty, and unemployment because when the children have these skills, it will enable them to be competitive globally. They will have the skills to work remotely against crime and that’s the essence of Olusegun Coding Class.”
“In the first edition last year, we had about 120 children who participated and the impact was enormous. Today, the winner of last year’s edition was here and expressed himself confidently on his knowledge of website development, robotics, and AI.
“The government needs to introduce and start teaching coding in public schools. They also need to train public school teachers in Information Technology so that they will be able to teach their learners.”
Director, Fosters Private Schools, Lagos, Mr Patrick Foster, revealed that over 500 children applied for the training but 150 qualified for the entrance examination.
Deputy Governor of Lagos State Obafemi Hamzat, who was represented by Mr Wasiu Jimoh, added, “Technology is the future and the children are the future. This is an environment where the ‘future meets the future.’ Although two weeks cannot be enough to learn these skills, but it is more than enough to stimulate your interest in this very dynamic world that holds a lot of benefits.”
A professor of Highway Engineering at the Rivers State University (RSU), Prof. Emmanuel Osilemme Ekwulo, has identified poor designs, inadequate materials, insufficient testing, and lack of accountability as major obstacles to the success of highway construction projects in the country.
Ekwulo made this remark in Port Harcourt last Wednesday during the 128th inaugural lecture series of the university, where he presented a lecture titled “Removing Roadblocks: Rebuilding a Foundation for Reliable Highway Pavement Infrastructure.”
The university don lamented the consistent premature failures of road construction projects nationwide, despite huge investments by the government at all levels, attributing the problem to neglected basics and systemic principles in the industry.
According to him, rebuilding the foundation technically, institutionally, and ethically is crucial to building strong and lasting pavements.
Ekwulo emphasized the need for political will, professional integrity, and commitment to engineering excellence to overcome the challenges.
“The metaphoric roadblocks are those challenges causing premature failures,” Ekwulo said, adding that identifying and addressing these roadblocks is key to rebuilding the nation’s highways.
He recommended that institutions involved in road design and construction adopt a mechanistic-empirical design approach, and develop a comprehensive framework for implementing the Nigerian Imperial and Mechanistic Pavement Design System (NEMPADS) approach.
Ekwulo also advocated for mandatory traffic load analysis, strengthened university-industry collaboration, and funding for applied pavement research.
Corruption, he noted, is a major challenge in the profession, saying severe punitive measures are needed to curb shabby practices leading to premature road failures.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi, described Ekwulo’s lecture as interesting and intriguing, highlighting the importance of implementing solutions to Nigeria’s highway challenges.
The Vice Chancellor also described Ekwulo’s proposals as practical and applicable to government and industry stakeholders.
He said the university is committed to research aligned with national development goals, referencing its NDV-12 responsive consortium production framework.
Zeb-Obipi noted that Ekwulo’s recommendations are timely and solution-driven, and will contribute to addressing Nigeria’s highway challenges.
Akujobi Amadi
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