Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, has urged young innovators to harness opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies to address pressing societal challenges in health, education and agriculture.

Mr Mbah made the call on Tuesday during the opening ceremony of the second edition of the Enugu Tech Festival, held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu.

Describing the gathering as more than just a technology conference, the governor said it represented “a reinforcement of intent” for Enugu’s digital future.

He charged young people in the state to master AI, cybersecurity, semiconductor design and other emerging fields, while applying technology to transform traditional sectors.

“Tech revolution does not mean abandoning the old economy; it means transforming it. Agriculture needs precision farming and supply chain analytics.

“Healthcare needs telemedicine and data management. Manufacturing needs automation and smart logistics,” he said.

The governor stressed that the festival aimed not merely to produce coders but critical thinkers capable of building solutions that serve global markets from Enugu.

“In this room are people who will build the systems that define how we live, work, trade and learn. Let this generation be known not for what it extracts, but for what it designs,” he said.

Mr Mbah noted that the world was witnessing an economic renaissance powered by technology, stressing that innovation had moved from the margins to the mainstream of global development.

He pointed to global technology giants such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta as examples of how ideas, code and data now drive the global economy.

“The world economy is no longer driven by physical assets but by ideas. We are witnessing the acceleration of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and here in Enugu, we have made a deliberate decision not to be spectators but participants and producers,” he added.

Reflecting on Enugu’s history as a coal-producing hub during the colonial era, the governor said the state must transition from an extractive economy to one driven by innovation and ownership.

According to him, by the early 1960s, coal production in Enugu had peaked at nearly one million tonnes annually, and it fuelled railways and ports and created value, but the value accumulated somewhere else.

“Today, the resource is different. It is not buried beneath our feet; it is inside us. The question is whether we will export our raw potential or build systems that keep value here and send finished ideas to the world,” Mr Mbah said.

He emphasised that innovation begins with identifying and solving real problems, citing global examples of startups that grew from addressing everyday frustrations.

“These companies did not begin with the ambition to change the world; they began with a problem they refused to ignore. Let us not chase invention for its own sake. Let us find what is broken, understand it deeply and fix it properly,” Mr Mbah advised.

Earlier in his welcome address, the State Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Lawrence Eze, described the festival as a defining moment in Enugu’s digital journey.

According to him, the state has emerged as one of Nigeria’s leading tech ecosystems, with thousands of youths trained through various initiatives and several innovation hubs established since the inaugural festival.

Mr Eze outlined key objectives of the festival to include strengthening partnerships, launching pilot projects in agriculture, healthcare and green energy, promoting sustainable business practices, and expanding digital infrastructure.

The commissioner, however, called on investors, policymakers and young innovators to move beyond ideas and focus on execution.

“Let us build solutions that will inspire generations and position Enugu not merely as a consumer of technology, but as a creator and a beacon of digital leadership in Nigeria and beyond,” he said.

(NAN)