Nigeria Develops Technology, Innovation Centres To Enhance Training, Fabrication
Adoba Echono
The Nigerian government says it is developing technology and innovation centres in the six geo-political zones of the country in a bid to enhance capacity for training and fabrication.
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji disclosed this in Abuja at the opening of the constitutive general assembly of the West African Network of National Academies of Sciences (WANNAS).
Mr. Nnaji explained that many Nigerians have been trained in fabrication within various areas of development to tackle poverty, emphasising the need for commercialisation of Research and Development.
The Minister also disclosed that the government is set to evolve science and technology to rewrite Nigeria’s story and drive hunger and poverty out of the land.
Mr. Nnaji said: “It is imperative to inform you that the administration of President Bola Tinubu, is desirous to fight hunger and poverty through the utilisation of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).
“I like to further inform you that the ministry is doing the needful in securing the country through our activities and programmes, geared towards job creation and wealth generation.”
He noted that the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology was determined to diversify Nigeria’s economy, stressing that it was one of the major agenda of the Nigerian government through the application of science, technology and innovation apparatus.
The minister claimed that all through history, no nation had ever become great without paying sufficient attention to Science and Technology (S&T).
He stressed that some countries that were ravaged by war and conflicts, recovered, rebuilt their infrastructure and later became rich and wealthy because they utilised innovation, science and technology for nation building.
According Mr. Nnaji, “The Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, having realised the role of innovation in the industrial revolution, has developed many policies and programmes that are critical to the advancement of the sector.”
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He however said while the interdependence of West African countries innovatively calls for synergy and collaboration in all spheres of development, it would strengthen its currencies and combat the exchange rate syndrome.
The Minister said the academia must lay a good foundation for ECOWAS to leverage on, saying the National Academy of Sciences was paramount in propagating the campaign of a switch to innovation and industrialisation the region yearned for.
The Minister also revealed that the government is using technology to address insecurity in the country.
The UNESCO representative in Nigeria Abdourahamane Diallo, explained that science academies can produce accurate data for development in the region. He also expressed UNESCO’s willingness to support the work of science academies to accelerate development in the ECOWAS region.
The Senior Scientific Coordinator of the African Union, Kyari Mohammed said the coming together of science academies in West Africa would bring about coordination in Research and development without duplication.
A former President of the Nigeria Academy of Science, Professor Oyewole Tomori urged the West African Network of Science Academies to strive towards attaining scientific excellence within the region.
Also speaking, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Professor Fatou Sarr, explained that WANNAS was a group of experts, a think-thank that could play a major role in finding solutions to numerous issues confronting the society at national, local, regional and global levels.
“The reason for our gathering today is important for the development of our countries. In fact, the living standards of a nation depend on the abundance of scientific development and technology.
“This lies in the capacity of its actors to find viable solutions to the problems of the society and contribute to the sociology-economic development of our countries,” she said.
The meeting will end on Thursday with a communique.
