World Wide Web Inventor Tim Berners-Lee Visits Nigeria

The Founder of the Internet, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, was in Nigeria on Wednesday as the world marked the 30th anniversary of the World Wide Web.

To mark the event, Berners-Lee had embarked on a 30-hour flight which ended in Lagos with a meeting with the Nigerian tech community.

In Lagos, he explained that his invention was driven by the need to connect the world’s population using innovation and technology.

According to him, as the Internet reshapes lives globally, people have a responsibility to make sure it is recognised as a human right.

The Internet since its creation has broken boundaries, connected people around the globe, empowered business and availed information to the citizenry at a click.

Figures recently released by the International Telecommunication Union shows that 51.2 percent of the world’s population are now online.

But that is not enough for the President of the World Wide Web Foundation, Adrian Lovett.

“We need to say now that we can’t stop here. We can’t even stop at 60, 70 or 80 percent. The Web was always meant to be for everyone, and this is our chance to redouble efforts to make sure that we secure that goal,” he said.

Former Minister of Communications, Omobola Johnson, who was also at the event suggested ways to get more women technologically empowered.

“There has got to be a deliberate effort to get women to not be afraid of technology,” she said.

“That means we need to encourage young girls from early ages to interact and engage with technology. Again, we have to start making technology an attractive option for women.”