Shettima: Our country can be transformed when children get the power to imagine

 Vice-President Kashim Shettima has said Nigeria can be transformed when children get the power to imagine.

He said this when The ExxonMobil Foundation, in collaboration with PanAfricare and the TechWomen officially launched the INSPIRE Project to improve science and technology education in Nigeria.

The project was launched at the NAF Conference Centre in Abuja, on Wednesday.

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according to the organisers, the INSPIRE Project, short for Innovation, STEM, and Partnerships for Inclusive and Relevant Education, is set to be implemented in 14 underserved government secondary schools across six Nigerian states: Abia, Bauchi, Kaduna, Lagos, Rivers, and the Federal Capital Territory.

The initiative aims to transform STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning across the country.

Four secondary schools in the FCT; Government Girls Science Secondary School Kuje, Government Secondary School Kuje, Junior Secondary School Zuba, and Junior Secondary School Sangwari Dutse, received the first sets of INSPIRE Boxes during the launch.

Shettima, who was represented by the Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on special duties, Aliyu Umar Moddino, said the programme would make Nigerians scientist and engineers formidable players in the world.

He said, “This programme will take a step in ensuring that Nigerian future scientists, engineers and tech leaders are not just spectators in the global knowledge economy, but formidable players.

“The Inspire Project is a bold and deliberate effort to spark an enduring interest in science and technology, engineering, mathematics among our students.

“The vision aligns with the direction of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that investing in education is the most enduring means of nation building, because when we give our children the power to imagine, we give the country the power to transform.”

Speaking, United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard M. Mills, Jr, said in the next 15 years the programme would transform many Nigerian women in tech leaders in the world.

Richard said, “I am hoping that in the next fifteen years, many of the Faces I see here in the crowd will perhaps be part of TechWomen and my association with the United States embassy’s support. Tech Women is a US’s support programme of emerging women leaders in science, technology and engineering across Africa and other parts of the world. There is mentorship and collaboration and there is mutual understanding in this exchange programme.

“The programme also helps expand people’s professional skills and promote cultural understanding. It inspires new generations and innovators regardless of their genders.”