By Hillary Asemota
The High Commissioner of the United Republic of Tanzania to Nigeria Dr. Alfred Benson Bana has lauded the technology transfer and promotion initiatives of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP).
Dr. Bana who paid a courtesy visit to the Management of NOTAP said his nation has not done a lot in terms of promoting Tanzania-Nigeria relationship and is interested in promoting intra-African relationships and linkages in different fields of Science, Technology and Agriculture.
He noted that NOTAPs technology transfer strategies ensures that a local component is developed to benefit the community stressing that in most African nations, legislation tends to follow agreements but said that in Nigeria NOTAP is firm in regulating technology transfer agreements which has brought immense benefits to Nigerians.
The High Commissioner according to the statement signed by the Head, Public Relations and Protocol of the Office, Mr. Solomon Nshem, revealed that his nation opened up her economy without first regulating which resulted in adverse consequences stressing that all the projects they embarked upon have technology transfer components but were not captured for local benefits unlike the case with Nigeria where they were all captured through NOTAPs effective regulation.
The visit, he added is to learn about NOTAPs activities in order to link the organization with relevant institutions in his country recalled that a team from the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) visited NOTAP in 2012 to explore areas of cooperation and that there is the need for a follow up to identify areas of partnership and establish a functional relationship that will lead to the exchange of knowledge, skills and values for mutual benefits.
Bana added that his visit has afforded him the opportunity to learn about NOTAPs unique programmes which have promoted indigenous technology development and would share the experience with likeminded organizations in Tanzania especially COSTECH and the eastern Africa diplomatic block for possible partnerships.
He commended NOTAPs strategies in linking Industry and the academia to ensure that Research and Development (R&D) outputs translate into products and services adding that his country would like to learn from this success story.
The envoy described Nigeria as “a big brother” adding that it is a nation blessed with valuable human resources and a role model to other African nations.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, Director General of NOTAP Dr. DanAzumi Mohammed Ibrahim who expressed excitement over the visit by the envoy said that African nations have a lot in common and there is the need to share experiences and exchange ideas for the progress of the continent.
He said NOTAP was established by the Nigerian government in 1979 to regulate the inflow of foreign technology and also promote locally motivated technologies and has through its regulatory role saved over N79 billion between the years 2015 to 2019 that would have left the shores of Nigeria as capital flight.
Ibrahim said NOTAP has also developed numerous programmes and projects towards national development one of which is the establishment of the Intellectual Property Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in universities, polytechnics and research institutes. The concept according to him was developed in partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2006 to enlighten the research communities on the need to protect their Intellectual Property (IP), harness their competences and assist them in patenting their research and development results and inventions free of charge.
He added that NOTAP developed the programme as part of strategy to strengthen the culture of IP in Nigeria and has so far established 58 IPTTOs noting that as a result of the IP awareness efforts of the Office, 65 percent of all the patent certificates released by the Patent Registry in Nigeria in the year 2019 were through NOTAP.
The NOTAP DG informed the High Commissioner of the Office’s efforts in linking academia to Industry through the NOTAP-Industry Partnerships to ensure that research and development (R&D) translate into products and services.
Some of the partnership programmes he stated include the NOTAP-Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship (NITTF), the Technology Story Board (TSB) and the NOTAP-Industry Research Laboratory Upgrade Project (NIRLUP). He expressed appreciation to industry for the partnerships especially PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc for their financial commitment to the laboratory upgrade project with an initial N115 million for the upgrade of three laboratories and an additional N360 million for the upgrade of six additional laboratories, one in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country.
Ibrahim who intimated the visiting diplomat of the Local Vendor Policy instituted by the Office to enhance the capacity of Nigerians in software development said the policy which ensures that a local vendor is involved in the deployment and maintenance of any imported software and is given 40 percent of the Annual Technical Support (ATS) fees has started yielding positive results.
He said the policy has enabled indigenous Nigerian IT companies to build capacity, acquire equipment and infrastructure and are now developing and exporting software to the West African sub-region. He cited example of Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) based in Lagos as one of the beneficiaries of the policy.
The NOTAP boss asserted that Africans should not be under any illusion that a foreigner will come and develop their nations emphasizing that the development of any nation rests squarely on the shoulders of its people.