By Michael Oche
A Civil Society Organisation, Da Hausa literacy Initiative (DHI), has expressed concerns over the impact of unstable Internet connectivity on Nigerians working remotely.
Founder of DHI, Kaila Gumbi who spoke at the 2025 first Global Power Platform Boot Camp in Abuja, said Nigerians working remotely were losing jobs as a result of unstable internet connectivity.
Gumbi noted that with the growing rate at which Nigerians were embracing technology and innovation, there was a critical need to bridge the existing infrastructural gaps in the ICT sector.
According to her, the Boot Camp would expose participants to how they could explore Microsoft power platform applications such as Power BI, Copilot, power automate and power pages.
She said: “These are all Microsoft tools that help you to make your work better. These are the things that you use to enter your data and to use in the office.
“The world is all about data right now, it’s talking about how you can use the data that we are generating. So Power BI helps you to analyze this data and gives you visuals that you can use to report effectively and for power automation we are already at a stage where you don’t want to keep repeating processes that you can do easily. It helps you to automate the processes to save you time.
“Copilot helps you just like chat GPT, but it goes further because it is integrated with Excel, Word and stuff. So it’s all about making your work easier.
“There’s a lot of interest, it’s just that the infrastructure is not really there. When you talk about Power BI and stuff like that, there is already a huge population that is already involved in data analytics and is working remotely, but you see there is no data, and a lot of people end up losing their remote jobs because the data is not stable.
“When I say data, I mean internet connectivity, so there are some of these infrastructures that are not in place so it is not making it easy for Nigerians to just seamlessly adopt technology.”
Gumbi who said Nigeria must not always wait for the government to address the infrastructural deficits affecting innovations and technology added, “We have to push forward and see what we can do for ourselves then the government will see the direction that we’re going and support. Even in this challenge, some people are making it. Some people are surviving.”
Excited Nigeria was selected as one of the 100 cities worldwide to host the event, Gumbi noted that the Boot Camp would serve as a catalyst for innovation and collaboration, connecting local talent with international expertise and opening doors to global opportunities.
According to her, Da Hausa Initiative was committed to advancing data and financial literacy in Northern Nigeria, by “delivering vital educational content in Hausa the region’s dominant language, we ensure that the learning is both accessible and culturally relevant, empowering local communities, particularly youth and women, with the skills needed for informed decision-making and economic empowerment.
“Our work aligns with global sustainable development goals, emphasizing quality education and economic growth while addressing local challenges through innovative and inclusive strategies.”
Commenting on Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a necessary evil, Gumbi called for ethical use and proper control in order to ensure it is not used to propagate fake news or for nefarious reasons.
