By Emma Agu

In this piece, veteran journalist Emma Agu captures Nigeria’s emerging ‘Silicon Valley’, the Promise of a Great Future and the Passion that Grips the People of Enugu State.

Peter Mbah is a man of few words and gentle steps. While on a visit to the state as a member of a delegation, I asked him why he spoke very few words, to which he replied: “To work and deliver on our mandate requires a lot of energy; so, I conserve the energy for action by speaking very few words”.

Less than twenty four hours later, we got proof of the Governor’s claim. We were particularly keen on visiting the Owo campus of the Enugu Smart School System. Perhaps I should waste no time in stating that, going through some of Mbah’s signature projects was reassuring that, beyond the sound and din of publicists, the famed Enugu Smart School System for which the Mbah Administration has received effusive commendation, was more monumental than has ever been acknowledged.

Already, work has started at 160, out of the total 260 wards of the state. If this is not phenomenal, nothing else could be. And if our visit to the Owo School which is already fully operational was an eye-opener, our tour of the Smart School under construction at Amaechi Idodo was sobering and engaging.

• The Enugu Smart School structure

From the workers at the project site to the teachers at the adjoining Uzam Community School, only words of commendation dropped from their lips.

Three workers at the site, Ani Christian, Emmanuel Nnamani and Ani Emmanuel Ebube Chukwu, all masons, from Amaechi Idodo, were busy moulding blocks when we arrived. They all had nothing but praise for the Governor. So also, was the Headmistress of Uzam Community School 1, Amaechi Idodo, Mrs. Regina Ngozi Nnaji.

Asked if she was not worried that she could lose her job under the new school system, she replied: “We are very happy. In fact, we are in a state of jubilation; the governor is trying. We have no fears about any loss of jobs because we expect that we will be carried along as the schools are being upgraded. More importantly, I am happy to witness this remarkable transformation in my life time”. It was a touching moment for us. Such an emotional connection resonated with each place we visited.

But why did the Government not utilize the existing school structure? Josh Ejeh, SA Research & Documentation under the media unit, explained that the old structures would not fit into the configuration required to push the digital dream. This emerged clearly when we got to the Smart School at Owo, a paradigm shift from the conventional education system.

Among the classes visited by the team was primary five where a lesson in mechatronics was going on. Mecha-what, in a primary school? Yes, mechatronics, not civics, history or geography or just physics. Surprised, we asked who among the pupils could give us the definition of mechatronics. Bigger surprise as several hands went up at the same time. The lot fell on nine-year old Miracle Okafor.

“Mechatronics”, Miracle started, “is the combination of mechanics, electronics and computer to create a technology of artificial intelligence”. Whether she was right or wrong did not matter as much as her promptness, precision and confidence.

For her part, Ani Chinyere Lynda, the class teacher taking Miracle’s class in mechatronics, was upbeat. A graduate of computer science from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Ani who is teaching the subject for the first time, has this to say of the development in the education sector of the state: “It is a very nice innovation. We thank our Governor for bringing this type of innovation for us. It is a very good one because I know that in the future our children will be bright, they will not lack anything; they will be productive”.

Such optimism runs through the staff and pupils of the school. You could see it in the passion, the enthusiasm and, to borrow a popular Nigerian cliche, the body language of the workers. Mr. Timothy Okite who had taught in the state school system prior to joining the Smart School puts the paradigm shift in comparative perspective. According to him, there are many differences between the Smart School system and the previous system. His words:

“When you come to the environment, this place is more serene; very calm for them. When you come to the technology aspect; in that place (the conventional system), the students don’t know what a computer is, they don’t know what ICT is. But here you can see the digital board. At that place, it is charcoal board that they use, not even the white board. But once you come into this place, everything about you, whether as a teacher and as a student, changes. The mentality changes, lifestyle changes: your mode of dressing, mode of speech”. He was right. We saw it, we felt it, and, despite the pressure of time, we were literally reluctant to leave the school.

What future does the Smart School System hold for Enugu State, for Nigeria, and for the world? Before we go to the answer given by Governor Peter Mbah, again, let us hear the teacher: “You are looking for great inventors, great scientists, great men and women that will take the state and Nigeria to greater heights. These children will do wonders”. Splendid. But wait a minute.

If we thought that we had seen it all, we were dead wrong. Not until you have seen or heard from Dr. Chinyere Onyeisi, the Director of Experiential Learning in the Enugu State School System.

The arrival of Dr. Onyeisi changed the tempo of our engagement. That could be seen from the face of the Headmistress of the school, Mrs. Juliet Okey Eze who has the distinction of being the pioneer head of the first Smart School in Enugu State. Only five months on the job, both Mrs. Eze and Josh Ejeh, who was our guide on the roadshow, wasted no time in ceding direction and control to Dr. Onyeisi.

As Onyisi shepherded us into the well-equipped science lab, we were instantly reminded of the futuristic nature of the project with the inscription: “Tomorrow is here”. That summarises the smart school arrangement, the novel educational ecosystem through which Governor Mbah aspires to create an innovative corps of human capital, with the requisite skills and mentality to mainstream Enugu State into the global tech architecture.

With the zeal of an evangelist, Onyeisi took us through the various sections of the Tomorrow is Here Innovation Studio Makerspace, which is characterised into three hubs: the Imagination Hub, the Digital Creativity Hub and Mechatronics Hub. She noted that the components of the imagination hub are Arts & Multimedia, 3D printing & Extended Reality, while the Digital Creativity Hub involves coding, robotics and artificial intelligence and Mechatronics Hub comprises mechanical and electronics. We could not but applaud the vision, tenacity and focus of Peter Mbah, whose revolutionary educational programme should constitute a peer review template.

Before you ask, to guard against any disruption of academic work, consistent with the concept of the project, the Owo Smart School is powered by solar, enjoys unlimited power supply as well as unlimited internet access.

Dr. Onyeisi also showed us the Smart Agric Farm where she said the students started their experiential learning and the ICT lab where budding tech gurus like Miracle Okafor hone their skills. According to Onyeisi, beyond teaching the children to follow the trends in Technology, the system recognises the need for them to understand basic electronics, including repairs. As she put it: “Every day we get ourselves hooked up with electronic devices like our phones and other gadgets. We need somebody to understand the basic functionality and how to fix them, so we are encouraging our children to learn how to do them”.

Peter Mbah’s plan to conquer the world through ICT may appear ambitious. But based on the evidence at the Smart Green School at Owo, then it will not take long to realise his vision which he captures thus: “We want the young people to embrace the emerging future of robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and disruptive innovation through skills in information and technology”.

In Peter Mbah’s Enugu, the future is already here!