By Shinne Divine Ogbodo
The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, on Wednesday sought the buy-in of members of the National Assembly, Policy Makers and Stakeholders on the overarching and critical role that the National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM), plays in commercializing publicly funded research projects in the country.
Addressing the lawmakers and stakeholders in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), space at a Forum organized by NACETEM in Abuja, the Minister stressed that any nation that wants to diversify economically must first of all put STI on the front burner of its developmental agenda through efficient buy-in from the policy makers and users of the research outputs.
Onu, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Monilola Udoh, said the ministry is committed to playing a leading role in the search for sustainable development through massive deployment of research and innovation, providing enabling environment, supporting new infrastructure for innovation, development of indigenous capabilities, creation of comprehensive and accessible data banks of all commercialisable R&D results, of which NACETEM is central to achieving.
He added that there is a clarion call for all key actors within the STI space to come together to build a robust partnership and relationship with NACETEM that will bridge the divide and accelerate development through innovation and efficient collaborative efforts.
The Minister reiterates: “The main aim of this workshop is to deepen the knowledge of lawmakers, relevant government parastatals, and other key stakeholders on science, technology and innovation oversight functions.
“This initiative of gathering eminent members of the upper and lower chambers of the National Assembly, policy makers, government parastatals and other key stakeholders is desirable and timely to connect the major players in STI management in Nigeria.
“Evidences around the world proved that research and innovation are growth determinants, which must efficiently work together to attain sustainable growth and development.
“For instance, innovation can be commercialised by both existing firms as well as new firms, but in Nigeria, only a small proportion of entrepreneurial start-ups are engaged in radical innovation.
“In this era of rapidly changing technology and shortening product life-cycles, a country’s ability to develop and successfully commercialise innovations has become a key competitive strength.”
He said with research and innovation, a country can gain competitive advantage by sensing needs in one country, responding with capabilities located in another and diffusing the resulting innovation to market around the world.
Globally, scientific and technological breakthroughs, according to him, are mainly achieved through RD, consequently leading to innovation and sustainable industrial and economic development. The challenges of sustainable development and governance faced by Nigeria call for strategic approaches to research and innovation for diversification of the nation’s economy.
This Forum, Onu, explained, is organised to foster synergy among the relevant stakeholders and actors in the STI community to transform research results from our research institutions for national growth and development, Onu, said.
The Minister said: “It is pertinent to note that most developing countries, such as Nigeria, are still faced with the challenges of inefficient exploitation of its huge and abundant human and material resources for nation building.
“This is evident in her reliance on export of natural resources and raw/unprocessed commodities such as fossil fuel, cash crops, unprocessed solid minerals and others as the major sources of revenue for the economy.
“This has exposed the country to economic instability occasioned by the vagaries of international commodities markets.
“The only available option to change this trajectory is enhancing the diversification of our dear nation’s economy through application and deployment of cutting-edge research and innovation in all sectors of the economy:
“Agriculture, Biotechnology, Health, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Education, Nanotechnology, Space Technology, etc. In order to get the needed impacts on society, research must be demand-driven and tailored towards solving societal problems and improving the quality of life of citizens.
“It has been irrefutably proven that ground-breaking research and commercialization of research outcomes are bringing a paradigm shift in today’s world and any nation wishing to develop and grow at a fast pace must opt for solution-based research.
“There is no better time for research than now when Nigerians are trying to look inwards to find alternatives by using locally developed technologies to address national challenges.
“This is only achievable in an enabling environment where research outcomes are pushed into the commercialisation stage with little challenges.
“For instance, Singapore, one of the newly industrialised economies (NIEs) has achieved huge economic transformation through the successful integration of research and innovation over the years.”
According to him, the Singaporean government made concerted efforts in the 1990s to shift their policy focus, transforming Singapore from an investment-driven economy into a knowledge-based economy. This policy shift emphasises the building of intellectual capital, innovation and a vibrant research culture for value addition and jobs creation.
“Taking cognizance of the current global developmental trend, the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, has resolved to refocus on diversifying the economy by fully embracing Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) for national economic development.
“Emphasis should centre on strengthening the synergies between the policy makers (members of the National Assembly) and NACETEM. This is a good opportunity to get more acquainted with the mandates, needs, achievement and challenges of the Agency in order to foster a sense of partnership.
“More so, using this platform, I expect the governing board of NACETEM and other relevant stakeholders to actively engage in forging ways to promote innovation for greater development of our nation. I also expect the Agency to continue to be more proactive in driving the sustainable management of STI space.
“Let me re-echo the Ministry’s commitment to playing a leading role in the search for sustainable development through massive deployment of research and innovation, providing enabling environment, supporting new infrastructure for innovation, development of indigenous capabilities, creation of comprehensive and accessible data banks of all commercializable R&D results, among others, of which NACETEM is central to achieving these roles.”
He stressed that there is this clarion call today for all key actors within the STI management system to come together and build a robust partnership and relationship with NACETEM that will bridge the divide and accelerate development through innovation and efficient collaborative efforts.
“At this juncture, let me use this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to the distinguished members of the National Assembly, the Governing Board members and all other participants. I also wish to reiterate my appreciation to NACETEM for this laudable effort in organising this forum.” Onu, said.
In a remark, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO), Prof. Okechukwu Ukwuoma, expressed pleasure at the presence of the law makers, policy makers, academics, researchers and bureaucrats under the same roof to brainstorm on the significance of science.
According to him, technology and innovation to national sustainable development is a proof of the seriousness attached to this forum aptly tagged ‘Experts’ Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation, adding that without doubt, with stakeholders coming together, its has shown clearly that there is hope for PROJECT NIGERIA and the nation, sooner than later, will take its prideful place amidst the comity of nations. To this end, I warmly welcome you to this forum, added.
This Forum, the DG, said is designed primarily to bring together relevant stakeholders in STI community with a view to having robust discussions on issues such as ‘Roles of Science, Technology and Innovation in Wealth Creation and Sustainable Development’, ‘Planning, Programming and Budgeting for STI’, ‘National Innovation System and the Future of Jobs for Youths in Nigeria.
He said: “The agency believes, the Forum, will help deepen the knowledge of law makers, policy makers and other stakeholders on STI oversight functions, expose legislators and other key stakeholders to the roles of STI in addressing national security challenges as well as showcase the pivotal significance of Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators in budgeting and national planning.
“At a crucial period such as this when the Diversification agenda and national economic sustainability plan of the current administration are geared at repositioning Nigeria towards bouncing back stronger from the ravaging impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, moving our economy from almost wholly resource-based to knowledge and innovation driven towards reclaiming the nation’s pride of place among the comity of nations and realising the great hopes and aspirations of our founding fathers at independence, there is no better veritable tool to turn to than science, technology and innovation.
“This thus makes this forum much more critical as the deployment of science, technology and innovation (STI) for short-term, medium-term and long-term benefits of Nigeria and the need to robustly fund STI will be its focus.
“NACETEM as an agency of the FMSTI, saddled with the responsibility of providing critical knowledge support in the area of science, technology and innovation management for sustainable development, has been at the forefront of coupling knowledge to development in the last three decades!
“We have consciously and conscientiously propagated the gospel of STI, which, in fact, has led to wholesale inclusion of innovation into the extant STI policy of Nigeria. This singular act has revolutionised the way STI is perceived and deployed in the country, as its importance is now more apparent to all and sundry.
“The agency can however not do it alone. Otherwise, its efforts will be like a drop in an ocean. It requires help from all the key stakeholders in the business of STI – law makers whose oversight functions border on science, technology and innovation, Budget Office of the Federation, States’ lawmakers, policy makers in STI, among others. Through concerted efforts, there shall be rapid socio-economic development as STI will become so pivotal in driving national growth and development.
“Against this backdrop, we encourage openness in our discussions during this 2 Day Experts’ Forum that will change how we do the business of Science, Technology and Innovation in Nigeria.”
He expressed optimism that the forum will redefine oversight functions in STI and prioritise funding of STI projects given the centrality of science, technology and innovation in Nigeria.
The Chairman, Governing Board of NACETEM, Mr. Haastrup Olatunji, in his contribution, acknowledged that the gathering is aimed at deepening the understanding of the critical significance of STI in sustainable national development.
He said the Forum could not have come at a better time than now as it will further help in consolidating the gains of democracy under this administration and set the tone for more laudable achievements in the future.
“Developed nations of the world have used STI to a great advantage and it is evident in their giant strides in all facets of life. Nigeria, as a rapidly developing economy, can catch up and possibly leapfrog them if we can as well deploy science, technology and innovation well. To do this however, there is a need to have a good grasp of how it is done and do it very well.
“In doing it well we need to adequately fund research and development projects in this country. The research output of many countries is significantly affected by the amount of money dedicated to research and development (R&D). He said.
According to him, greater investment does not always guarantee excellence, research shows that there is a strong correlation between the level of research excellence a country attains and the amount of money it dedicates to research and development. The ‘critical mass’ of overall R&D expenditure needed to achieve research excellence in any country is most often set as above 1.5% of GDP.
Notwithstanding, he added that the recent efforts and promises to change the situation, Africa’s participation in global knowledge generation remains negligible compared with the rest of the world. Figures from the World Bank show that Africa produces below 1% of global scientific knowledge, despite being inhabited by 16% of the global population. This trajectory has to change and conscious efforts must be made towards achieving this.
“The need for urgent intervention is further reinforced with the 2019 data of UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics (UIS) which put funding of R&D in Africa at 0.42% of the continent’s GDP, a far cry from the global average of 1.7% and the lowest in the world.
“It needs to be stressed here that despite the wider rhetoric about improving the continent’s capacity and contribution, only a limited number of African countries have demonstrated improved investment in research and development. At continental level, for instance, a decision was made by the African Union’s Executive Council in 2006 to establish a target for all member states of 1% of GDP investment in R&D in order to improve innovation, productivity and economic growth.
“While improvements are being witnessed across the continent, data from the UIS show that only South Africa, Kenya and Senegal are close to meeting this target, with about 0.8% of their GDP dedicated to R&D. The question is: Where is our beloved Nigeria? The reviewed National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, I am aware, has made improved provision for R&D in the country, but those of us that will implement it need to back it up with action! And this action has to start with a change of attitude towards STI – Science, technology and innovation must be seen as a pivotal driver of development in a knowledge-based age like the 21st century.” Olatunji, added.
According to him, it’s in view of the need to change this narrative that NACETEM, as a foremost research institution in science, technology and innovation management, has decided to bring key stakeholders together to fashion out how STI will be prioritised as a veritable tool of sustainable development in Nigeria.
Olatunji, added that any nation that relegates STI to the background in its developmental agenda may be left behind, adding: to this end, all hands must be on deck from time to time to evolve new ways and methods of making STI a top priority in all we do as a nation.
“In the past, I am aware the agency has organised two fora on the same subject-matter for members of the National Assembly and other key stakeholders. The fall out has been commendable as it relatively changed the perception of lawmakers and policy makers about science, technology and innovation, particularly in the allocation of funds to STI projects.
Much as this is appreciated, it will be much more appreciated if we can step up the gear a bit to commensurate with what is obtainable in other climes. This will not only make the nation more competitive globally, but will make development rub off positively on the average man in the street, he added.
“I therefore want to appeal to the lawmakers and the policy makers here present to, having listened and interacted with our resource persons, allocate more funds to STI projects as it will go a long way to help NACETEM deliver on its mandates.”
“I must not fail to thank the Minister, Senators, Lawmakers and other key stakeholders for gracing this occasion. It is an indication of our commitment to making the nation great again. At the end of this forum, I encourage all of us to please walk the talk and make STI a top priority in our development agenda. The Chairman, said.
