Nigerian researchers have been urged to concentrate more on researches that have the potentials and capacity to translate into commercialized goods and services for economic sustainability of the Country.
The Director General of National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr. DanAzumi Mohammed Ibrahim who said this at a one day Patentees Forum with the theme “After Patent what next,” organized by NOTAP in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, noted that there was a weak Intellectual Property Culture in the Country occasioned by poor knowledge of its importance to the economy of the nation.
Dr. Ibrahim advocated for the increase of research funding that will metamorphous into tangible products and services needed in the country.
“What makes the developed countries tick was the quality of R&D results emanating from their knowledge establishments. In developed Countries, Universities and Polytechnics are self sustaining because of the huge resources accruing to them as royalties from licensing of R&D results,“ Dr. Ibrahim said.
The DG noted that NOTAP was established to regulate the inflow of foreign technologies into the Country through the registration of technology transfer agreement and at the same time, encourage the development of indigenous technologies.
“In carrying out the responsibilities of the Office, it was noticed that over 90% of the technologies that power the Nigerian economy were foreign and for a Country that aspires to be economically self sustainable, the situation was unacceptable. Technologies are products of research and researches are undertaken by the knowledge institutions therefore, Nigerian Universities and Polytechnics need an orientation towards problem solving research. In order to sensitize Nigerians and bridge the knowledge gap in the field of Intellectual Property Right (IPR), the Office in 2006 in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) initiated the establishment of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in some knowledge institutions across the Country,“ Dr. Ibrahim noted.
The DG encouraged researchers to patent their R&D results before publishing to avoid it’s exploitation by someone else.
He further encouraged the participants to write bankable research proposals to donor agencies to ensure that they engage in researches that will translate into goods and services as government funding was inadequate.
