•IT Expert, TIM AKANO Reveals Them
Tim Akano is a respected entrepreneur, author, mentor, and founder of New Horizons Nigeria. At an event hosted by the Rotary Club of Ikeja South recently, he shared some important insights about the future of business and how young people can tap into it.
Akano, whose company trains over 100,000 young Nigerians yearly—including university students, NYSC corps members, and even the military—spoke on the topic “Empowering the Next Generation: A Path to Youth Success.”
According to him, there are 4 major skills currently reshaping the world and they are; Remote Jobs, The Platform Economy, Technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Tim Akano shared how the future belongs to the skilled, the Tech-savvy, and the ready. Whether it’s software development, agriculture, entertainment, or data science—the opportunities are endless.
“My company trains over 100,000 youths every year. We are the largest training organization in Africa. We train in universities, schools, the military, and similar institutions.
Personally, we award about 20,000 scholarships to NYSC members and others.
But 5 years ago, I decided to run an experiment, which is what I’ll briefly share with you. I wanted to test the truth about the state of helplessness or unemployment in Nigeria.
I decided that every year, I would mentor 10 NYSC members—just 10 corps members yearly—and guide them for that one year. In the last 5 years, every set of 10 that I’ve taken on, not a single one has been unemployed after their NYSC year.
And that’s the first point I want to leave with us today: it’s not entirely correct to say we have an Unemployment problem. What we have is a skill problem.
The Holy Book says that “my people perish for lack of information”. But those who understand the signs of the times will prosper.
The last 10 corps members I mentored graduated just about 2 months ago. None of them got a job paying less than $500, which is about ¦ 850,000 per month. These are young people—just 21 or 22 years old—starting life on that salary scale.
How many companies in Nigeria pay that much? How many lecturers even earn that monthly?
That’s the power of information.
Let me briefly share 4 things shaping the world today.
First, we have what is called the remote job. This is one of the reasons why we haven’t had a revolution in Nigeria. You may not realize it, but hundreds of Nigerian youths are working remote jobs today. They work flexibly from home. All they need is the internet, a laptop, and food.
They work for companies in Malaysia, Canada, the UK, and the US. They earn per day, depending on their skill level and experience.
The UNILAG boys I mentor, some earn as much as $10 per hour. So, working 4 hours a day, they earn $40. Some are no longer financially dependent on their parents. After a year or two, some even earn up to $12,000 per month—and these are young, unmarried guys.
So, remote jobs are one of the biggest drivers of today’s economy.
Second is what we call the platform economy. This is going to replace many things we’re used to. Nowadays, when you want to buy something, you go to Alibaba, Temu, or Amazon. So, if you have younger ones—your children or even your spouse—encourage them to think “platform economy” in whatever they want to do.
For instance, if a youth builds a platform that brings together all the lawyers in Ikeja district, anyone needing legal services can easily find one on that platform. Same for plumbers or mechanics.
Right now, if you need a plumber, you’ll probably ask around. But imagine if a youth creates a platform that lists all artisans in Ikeja—plumbers, mechanics, etc.—that platform would eventually become like Amazon.
Amazon started as a simple bookstore. Jeff Bezos was just selling old books. Today, he’s one of the richest men in the world. That’s the power of the platform economy.
Third is Technology. No matter your field—law, architecture, engineering, even fashion—try to integrate Technology.
The world has permanently moved away from analog, and we’re not going back. There’s nothing you add technology to that will remain the same.
Let me explain how the world got here.
Every civilization has had its defining movement. In the 17th century, it was the agrarian revolution. Farmers were the richest people. The more farmland you had, the richer you were.
In the 18th century, it was the industrial revolution. The richest people were industrialists—Unilever, Dunlop, Coca-Cola.
To succeed in that era, you had to join or start an industry.
But today, I’m here to tell you that the world has changed completely—360 degrees.
What’s driving the world now is Artificial Intelligence.
Our forefathers lost out during the agrarian revolution, the industrial revolution, and even the information revolution—when people like Bill Gates created Microsoft, Oracle created Oracle, and HP launched their technologies.
We missed all of that.
But the last chance we have—as a race, as Africans, as Nigerians—is not to miss the AI train.
If we miss this one, our species—people who look like us—are vulnerable to being replaced by Artificial Intelligence.
AI already exists that can do almost everything we do—but it’s not fully released yet. It’s being released in bits.
There’s AI that can Cook as well as our women. There’s a robo-lawyer that can argue cases in court. There’s a robo-architect that can design beyond human imagination. There’s even an AI TV broadcaster in China. There are AI musicians too.
That’s why we need to be conscious of what’s happening. We can’t stop it—just like you didn’t ask for the iPhone or iPad, but now you use them.
AI will enter our lives whether we invite it or not—and without asking your permission.
That’s why, whenever I’m asked to speak—especially in the last 2–3 years—I keep emphasizing the need for Nigerians and Africans not to miss this Fourth Industrial Revolution.
We’ve already lost the first three. This fourth one is decisive.
There are even spiritual AI systems in some places—like in Japan—where people ask questions and it predicts the future. This exists right now.
That’s why all of us must be conscious of where the world is going so we can guide our children properly. We must be part of this revolution.
