By Smart Omorogbe
The Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation, Barr. Mohammed Abdullahi on Wednesday said no nation became great without the instrumentality of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).
He said this is reflective from countries like China, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, U.S and many others, adding that they rose to such enviable heights through the implementation of a viable Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy document.
The Minister spoke at a workshop organized by the National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM), on STI in Abuja, with the theme: A tool for rapid socio-economic development in Nigeria.
He assured that federal government’s policy on STI is being reviewed to keep it in tandem with best global practices, drive the economy and lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.
He said: “May I inform you that the Ministry has commenced the process involved in the review of the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy. It is expected that the reviewed document which will be in line with best global practices will drive the economy of the country and lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty in the next ten years.”
He said the theme cannot be more apt at a better time than now, considering the repositioning of the Ministry and the negative effects of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic on the economies of both developing and developed nations of the world.
The Minister, said: “May I reiterate that it is not only formulation of policies but their implementation that drives economy growth. I have no doubt that NACETEM has put together various resources (human and material) that would impact on participants.
In a remark, the Director General of NACETEM, Prof. Okechukwu Ukwuoma, noted that at 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 STI.
He said: “This thus makes this workshop much more critical as topical issues which require application of science, technology and innovation (STI) for short-term, medium-term and long-term benefits of Nigeria will be its focus. For this reason, I welcome you to a meeting where there will be no dull moment in finding solutions that work for Nigeria’s plethora of challenges!
“NACETEM, an agency of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, 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 almost 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.
According to the DG, 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.
He explained that as opposed to the practice of the past when it takes ages for policies to be revised, the 2012 policy on STI is being reviewed less than 10 years after to align it with the current realities of our existence, adding that this typified the nation’s seriousness with the deployment of science, technology and innovation to the realisation of sustainable development in Nigeria. It is no longer business as usual!
He said: “The time to walk the talk is now. The time to engage science, technology and innovation for sustainable development is today, not tomorrow. It is this realisation that has made NACETEM to keep interfacing with the public on how best to make STI a tool for rapid socio-economic development.
“We have in the last 10 months of 2021 interacted with the public on various fronts. This year we have looked at science diplomacy, government-industry-academia linkages, circular economy, technical and vocational education in a bid to place premium on the significance of STI in development.”
According to him, this latest workshop is an effort to step up the gear in bringing major stakeholders together to brainstorm on how to begin to apply STI to every facet of the nation’s economy.
He explained that science has become ubiquitous in the modern world that it affects human development in all facets of life, adding that while technology is the utilisation of science to carry out a function, science and technology-based planning is what was used to build and transform the world.
He pointed out that innovation leads to higher productivity, meaning that the same input generates a greater output. As productivity rises, more goods and services are produced – in other words, the economy grows. All these point to the inherent possibilities and capabilities of science, technology and innovation to drive sustainable socio-economic development.