National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, have taken basic digital skills to market traders on Wednesday 12 August, 2026, with the aim of helping them use their mobile phones for banking, business promotion, communication, and online security.
The outreach, organised by members of the Digital Literacy for All Community Development Service (CDS) group, was aimed at helping ordinary citizens understand and confidently use digital tools for tasks they can perform themselves, rather than depend on others for simple transactions and services.
The initiative is part of DL4ALL’s grassroots digital literacy programme, which it says is being implemented in partnership with the NYSC, state governments, and private-sector partners to equip citizens across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas with foundational digital skills. The organisation’s wider objective is to narrow the country’s digital divide and prepare Nigerians for greater participation in an increasingly technology-driven economy, with a stated target of achieving 70 per cent digital literacy by 2027.
READ RELATED NEWS UPDATES
During the Ijebu-Ode outreach, the corps members engaged traders on practical uses of smartphones, including electronic money transfers, purchasing data, and using banking applications. They also introduced them to social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and enlightened them on how the platforms could help small-business owners promote their products and reach potential customers.
Speaking to a New Daily Prime correspondent during the exercise, the DL4ALL President for Ijebu-Ode Province, AbdulBasit, said the programme was founded on the principle that digital knowledge should be accessible to everyone, irrespective of age or occupation.
“We have come to solve digital problems and create awareness about cybercrime and other related issues. We want everyone to be digitally oriented and to have an active social media presence,” he said.
The outreach also placed emphasis on digital safety. The corps members explained basic security measures that could help participants protect their accounts and avoid falling victim to fraud.
AbdulBasit said the exercise had demonstrated that the need for digital education extended beyond young Nigerians.
He said, “Digital literacy is for everyone.”
He added that many people were willing to learn even when they already possessed some digital knowledge.
He recalled encountering a young woman who responded enthusiastically after being introduced to some basic digital skills, an experience that reinforced his view that more people needed access to practical digital education.
The programme also drew attention to security features that many smartphone users may overlook. AbdulBasit cited two-factor authentication as an example. He noted that one participant he spoke with was unaware of the feature and how it could strengthen the security of digital and banking accounts.
Team leader of the day’s outreach, Habibat Adebisi, said the corps members focused on skills that could make traders more self-reliant in their daily activities.
Speaking with the New Daily Prime correspondent, Adebisi said the team taught participants how to promote their businesses on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, as well as carry out basic transactions such as transferring money and buying data directly from their phones.
The initiative also seeks to reduce the vulnerability that can arise when people lack confidence in handling digital transactions themselves. Rather than relying on strangers or intermediaries to perform simple banking operations, participants were encouraged to understand the processes and carry them out independently.
The outreach further highlighted the importance of digital literacy to small businesses. Muhammad Ayo-Ola, another member of the group, told New Daily Prime that traders need to understand electronic payments because most customers now rely on transfers rather than cash.
She said digital competence should be regarded as a basic business skill rather than a privilege reserved for younger people.
The programme also addressed the practical use of smartphones beyond making calls and sending messages. Participants were shown that devices already in their possession could serve as tools for financial transactions, marketing, communication, and access to information without necessarily requiring professional assistance.
The outreach is part of the CDS component of the NYSC scheme, through which corps members contribute skills and services to communities where they are deployed.
For the Digital Literacy for All members, taking these lessons directly to marketplaces is particularly important because digital inclusion is not achieved only by putting smartphones or internet-enabled services in people’s hands. People must also understand how to use those tools safely and effectively.
The exercise therefore places the emphasis on practical knowledge: enabling ordinary people to perform tasks they may previously have depended on others to handle, while giving them greater confidence to participate in a rapidly growing digital economy.
Ayo-Ola said the underlying message was that digital knowledge should not be treated as an optional skill.
“Everybody has to know it,” she said.
She stressed that business owners should be able to use digital payment channels and other basic services to meet the demands of modern commerce.
The corps members’ engagement in Ijebu-Ode ultimately presents digital literacy not only as a technology lesson, but also as a form of community empowerment. By taking basic digital skills to people who may otherwise have limited access to formal training, the CDS initiative seeks to make everyday technology more understandable, useful, and safer for ordinary Nigerians.
