By Vivian Onyebukwa
About 17 research and development institutes of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, entrepreneurs, investors and financial experts gathered in Lagos recently to foster effective collaboration among stakeholders within the science, technology and innovation ecosystem that will lead significant inclusive development and growth of Nigeria.
It was a ministerial breakfast meeting with the theme “Building Strategic Partnerships Between Science, Technology and Innovation Community and Nigerian Entrepreneurs.”
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, said, with the series of researches going on by scientists in various fields, it is important to know where Nigeria stands.
He said: “Should Nigerians be just consumers of products of scientific research and innovation? No, we must be both producers and consumers of essential products of scientific research and innovation.”
He recalled that Nigeria, in the past, paid a very big price, whose adverse effect is still with the country, when the ancestors stayed back and did very little at a time when some others navigated and explored the oceans and determined the limits of the country’s planet.
“As leaders in various sectors, it is important to remind you that, in both ancient and modern times, no nation has ever become truly great without deploying science and technology in nation-building. Hence, for Nigeria to have a bright future with respect to achieving good security, providing safe drinking water for all Nigerians in addition to it’s use in agriculture and industry, providing shelter for our people, clothing both the old and the young, getting enough drugs and the appropriate medical equipment for our health care, fighting and defeating illiteracy through mass and high quality education, exploring outer space and the oceans, etc, we need to effectively deploy science and technology,” he stressed.
He charged all Nigerian
entrepreneurs and investors to look inward and expand their businesses by helping to transform research findings into products, goods and services as they will make more money by doing so. He stated that the ministry was willing, prepared and ready to give all the needed support. “There is no doubt that, if all of us can work together, be patriotic, determined and dedicated, our dear nation, Nigeria, will one day lead the world,” he said.
The chairman on the occasion, Pascal Dozie, said that the potential within the science, technology and innovation ecosystem was huge, but remained largely untapped. He said: “In a workshop organised by World Economic Forum in South Africa, it was widely agreed that Nigeria is still struggling with first industrial revolution while the global economy is already in the fourth stage. The gap is massive, and the question is, what should we do? Do we keep doing what we are doing, or is a new thinking and framework required?”
Dozie suggested that new thinking is needed and urgently. With over 25 million Nigerians unemployed, over 80 million classified as extremely poor and major economic development variables leading South, the importance of a new thinking and framework of collaboration particularly in the science, technology and innovation ecosystem cannot be over emphasized.
He described the meeting as most timely and imperative, and made some recommendations, which include replicating the breakfast meeting in other regions of Nigeria to ensure wider awareness, participation and outcomes.
The president of the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria, Mansur Ahmed, described the meeting as a very good initiative. “This kind of initiative is necessary to bring the various stakeholders together, •but we must creat an ecosystem that will support the transformation of research and development into remarkable product. And it requires many different stakeholders and some innovation on how you bring them together,” he said.
Samuel Oghene, Director General, Nigerian Natural Medicine Development Agency, one of the parastatals of the Federal Ministry of Science,Technology and Innovation, was excited to participate in the interaction between the ministry and innovators, and described it as the first of its kind. “Even though we have been having science, technology and innovation in Abuja, but this is more unique and compact,” he noted.
Ayo Okuoni, DG, Nigeria Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, stated the reason for the event, which is to come and demonstrate what innovations are coming out of the country’s science research, but the beauty of it, according to him, is also that the entreprenuers, who commercialise those research findings, were also in attendance.
“That’s a very good initiative; that the research findings do not end up only in the laboratories, desk or shelf and the biggest entreprenueurs, who will come and commercialise those research findings are in attendance,” he said.
Matthew Azoji, MD/CEO, Neimeth Pharmaceutical Plc, commended Onu for his initiative in ensuring that research outcomes from the various institutions and agencies of government are commercialised for the benefit of Nigerians, Africa and the world. According to him, “it is a very good development, so we will like to collaborate with the government to ensure that we help Nigerians.”
Also, Agnes Asagbare, overseeing DG/CEO, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Osodi, Lagos, who was also at the event, said: “It is so apt that FIIRO is here today to speak to entreprenuers and investors about what we are doing at FIIRO. Today, we are able to showcase our technology which maybe has been on the shelf and nobody knows about it. So, we are sort of exposing FIIRO to those who want to invest in FIIRO, who wants to learn to be entrepreneurs because we do carry out weekly trainings.”
Among those who also attended the programme were Minister of State, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mohammed Abdullahi, and Edet Akpan, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.