President and CEO of the High-Tech Centre for Nigerian Women and Youth, Dr. Wunmi Hassan, has warned women to shun complacency in the pursuit of their goals, stressing that technology is the new oil and that the future belongs to the digitally skilled.
In an interview with Techpression Media, Dr. Hassan challenged women to stop second-guessing themselves, saying fear, age, and social conditioning are keeping too many on the sidelines of innovation.
In an interview with Techpression Media, Dr. Hassan lamented that many women are still on the sidelines of technology because of fear, social conditioning, or age-related excuses.“It’s time for women out there, ladies — let’s learn it, let’s know what we are doing,” she said. “Make up your mind and don’t say, ‘I’ve learned it, I’m too old’ — you’re not too old because you don’t know when you’ll be here and when you’ll be off, and you don’t know what you will need.”
Technology as the business of the future
Dr. Hassan said Nigeria’s economic future will be powered by technology and warned that anyone who fails to embrace it will miss out on jobs, relevance, and opportunities.
“Technology is here to stay and like they said, the business of the future is with technology,” she said. “So if there’s anything anybody wants to learn — man or woman — because everybody talks about women, but with us, no. We are dealing with men. We started the Tech Men recently and it’s very exciting.”
She said that the High-Tech Centre has opened several programmes across states in Nigeria, including the ICT Summer Academy, which is currently running in Abuja and other regions during the school holiday.
The importance of upskilling
Dr. Hassan said her organisation is focused on ensuring that young Nigerians — especially women — can access training in areas such as coding, data analysis, and digital entrepreneurship.
“We have different projects, different programmes… ICT Summer Academy is going on for this holiday across every state and in Abuja. If you want to work with us, partner with us, please reach out,” she said.
She warned that those who fail to skill up now may find themselves displaced, even in familiar territory. She gave examples of Nigerians who retired, relocated abroad, and discovered too late that the local economy they left behind was more favourable to learning and working.
“I see people who have retired in Nigeria and went abroad — japa — and they got there and realised that Nigeria was better because here, we need to work. And now they are going back to school,” she said.
Dr. Hassan also advised young women to find clarity about their personal goals, rather than waiting for opportunities to fall into their laps. “You need to identify your passion and run your passion,” she said. “Volunteering will give you another opportunity that you can’t even imagine.”
She explained that volunteering can provide visibility and networks that many formal structures may not offer — especially for women seeking a foot in the door in competitive sectors like tech.
Creating platforms for women in leadership
Beyond training, Dr. Hassan said she is working to connect women leaders in tech to support one another, share expertise, and drive visibility for those who often work behind the scenes.
She stressed that the High-Tech Centre is not just focused on technical skills but is actively building a community of Nigerian women who are equipped to lead in the digital economy.
Her central message to women and youth is to embrace technology, skill up, and stop waiting. “Skill up, skill up, skill up,” she repeated.