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By Fred Itua, Abuja
No doubt, science and technology has made the world a global village. From the comfort of your home, it is now easy to connect with folks across the world Interestingly, Nigeria is taking the lead in this area in Sub-Sahara Africa.
In Nigeria, for instance, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, since 2015, when Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu assumed office as minister, has stretched the limit of our innovations. New ideas on how to diversify the country’s economy, using technology, has taken the centre stage.
From formulation of new policies in tandem with global trends, to encouraging young Nigerians to embrace the huge potentials the science world holds, stakeholders believe that Onu has changed the narrative. They’re also optimistic that in the years ahead, successive ministers will build on the strong foundations he has laid for the country.
Addressing key issues in the ministry and what the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is doing to revamp the development of science and technology, Onu in Lagos last week, outlined key steps taken so far. He also revealed how these steps have helped in reshaping the narratives and creating more opportunities for Nigerians.
Celebrating this year’s World Science Day for Peace and Development, Onu took the crusade for paradigm shift to Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub.
Onu said: “All through history, science has worked for humanity. It has helped us to know who we are. It has also helped us to study and appreciate our environment, guide and direct us on how we can pursue peace and prosperity for the happiness of humanity.
“It is science that has helped us to navigate the oceans, study and utilise the herbs, leaves, roots and backs of trees in our forests, explore and exploit minerals in different parts of the world. Today, humanity is vigorously exploring space. We beam our searchlight on the most distant stars in the universe. Science is helping us study and understand the complexity of our universe.”
Emphasising on the significance of science and technology in nation building, Onu added: “No nation has ever become truly great without deploying science and technology in nation building. Science works with society to attain greatness. We can rightly say that science truly explains what life ought to be. I will like to use this opportunity to call on all Nigerians, both young and old to use science to fully understand who we are so that our journey to greatness can be smoother and easier. Our young people must not be afraid of science.
“They should embrace the study of science so as to guide them and provide the roadmap that will take our nation to achieve the true greatness that we all desire. We should never forget that many of the problems that confront us as a nation can be solved through the application of science to guide our daily lives.
“The future with respect to achieving food security, providing safe drinking water for all Nigerians in addition to its 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; alleviating poverty; strengthening our economy; protecting our environment and securing our nation, all require science.”
Onu told the audience that as a nation, we must change our orientation and pay more attention to science. For him, this can rapidly develop Nigeria for the good of all. The scientist further noted that the development of science will make Nigeria more self-reliant and be respected by other nations across the world.
He noted: “The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is working very hard to help our nation attain true greatness. The Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation is committed, determined and will continue to work hard to ensure that this noble objective is achieved.
“For over the past five years that I have been a minister, the ministry has led the way in ensuring that our economy does not depend entirely on commodities, but rather depend on knowledge that is innovation driven.
“When I became minister on November 11, 2015, the ministry had only one policy: the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council in 1986. It was reviewed a number of times, with the last review that took place in 2012. This policy was only partly implemented because its lead organ, the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC), could not meet for 30 years.
“It was in January 2016, when I was barely two months old in office, that the NRIC, which has the President as chairman, met for the first time in 30 years. Since then, this council has met eight times to help guide this important policy. We have since then put in place additional five policies all approved by the Federal Executive Council.
“These policies, which are at different levels of implementation are: The National Science, Technology and Innovation Roadmap 2017-2030; National Strategy for Competitiveness in Raw Materials and Products Development; Presidential Executive Order No. 5; Leather and Leather Products Policy and the Methanol Fuel Production Technology Policy.
“The National Science, Technology and Innovation RoadMap 2017-2030, clearly shows how the Nigerian economy can transit from depending entirely on commodities to depend on knowledge that is innovation driven. It gives specific responsibilities and duties to various ministries, departments and agencies (MDA) and other organisations on what to be done at any given time to realise this objective.
“Working closely with other MDAs under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, I am happy to inform you that our economy is really transiting as the economy is now diversified. Revenue from non oil sources flowing into our treasury has exceeded that from crude oil.
“The National Strategy for Competitiveness in Raw Materials and Products Development is a very important policy whose aim is to encourage the attainment of high standards in our value addition to increase our competitiveness and productivity. The aim is to ensure that our productive processes meet international standards so as to significantly improve on the competitiveness ranking of our dear country.
“This, by itself, will now help the utilization of the abundant natural resources that we have in the country. So far, this policy has been very useful in increasing the use of locally available raw materials in the production sector of our economy. Huge savings have been recorded over the past few years.”
Onu further informed the gathering of how certain decisions taken so far are reshaping how Nigerian contractors and other professionals are treated locally. For him, it is the beginning of many good things to come in the coming years as a country.
“The Presidential Executive Order No. 5, is a revolutionary document that places the Nigerian professionals, contractors and manufacturers at the center of economic activities in the country. Its aim is to make technology development in Nigeria a state policy. Our procurement policies are now in favour of goods produced in Nigeria.
“Our contractors now receive preferential treatment. Foreigners can only be employed where no Nigerian has such expertise. When that happens, Nigerian professionals have to understudy the foreign experts in order to acquire such expertise. Nigerian professionals have to lead in consultancies involving foreign companies. In all foreign contracts, all documents pertaining to design, operations and so on, must be in English language.
“Nigerian professionals in the Diaspora are encouraged to come home. All foreign professionals must be certified before they can practice in Nigeria. The Presidential Monitoring and Evaluation Council, with President Muhammadu Buhari as chairman, was inaugurated on October 14, 2021. The Technical Consultative Committee of the Strategy Implementation Task Office for the Executive Order was inaugurated on November 4, 2021.
“This marked the beginning of the full implementation of the Executive Order. So far, very huge savings and increase in employment opportunities have already been reported. Many local manufacturers have benefited from procurement of their goods. The University of Transportation, Daura, Katsina State, which is under construction, and the Wagon Assembly Plant at Kajola in Ifo Council Area of Ogun State, are all products of this Executive Order. Many of the things we use to rely on other countries to produce for us, are now done in Nigeria by Nigerians. These are just a few of the benefits so far from this Executive Order.
“Leather and Leather Products Policy is the first time that Nigeria has come up with a policy to guide the leather sector of our economy. Leather and leather products contribute significantly to our foreign exchange earnings. This is an area, if well developed, Nigeria has a comparative advantage. We remember the Moroccan leather in the past, in our history books. Those were not Moroccan leather, they were Nigerian leather.
“However, this policy aims to add value to our hides and skin to ensure that leather is processed and converted for use in shoes, handbags, clothing, furniture, cars, aeroplane, ships, machines and others. We are slowly getting there.
“The Methanol Fuel Technology Production Policy is a very important policy that will help us to stop gas flaring in the country as natural gas is the main feed stock for methanol production. Methanol is a wonder chemical that is very useful in transportation, power, energy, and a major feed stock in manufacturing for the production of thousands of products used in our homes, schools, hospitals, factories and laboratories.
“We are working hard to domesticate this technology. This will help us avoid the mistake the nation made in the exploitation of crude oil. We are working to submit to the Federal Executive Council, other policies on nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, bioethics and biotechnology. Yesterday, I inaugurated here in Lagos, an Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Nigerian Chemical and Material Industry Action Programme (NiCMIAP).
“We observed that the absence of a well developed chemical industry is a major gap in our journey to achieve inclusive and sustainable industrialization of the country. We decided to close this gap because the chemical industry remains the base upon which the rapid development of every nation rests. The response in the country is tremendous. We have carried out tremendous reforms to prepare the ministry to serve the nation for not just this decade, but for a very long time to come.
“We have changed our vision and mission statements, our logo, core values and critical success factors. We are currently restructuring the ministry to prepare it for the emerging technologies of both today and tomorrow. We are reviewing the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy to make it responsive to the new changes in the world.
“We are making very important contributions through startups, that start initially as micro businesses, then grow to become small scale enterprises and later become medium scale enterprise. We expect them to later grow into large scale enterprises. These startups are found all over the country. They help build and strengthen our economy, while creating jobs for both the young and the old. We have made significant progress in the protection of intellectual property.
“The creativity, innovation and inventiveness of Nigerians have increased since I became a minister. Patents secured through the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) have increased significantly from six in 2015, to 16 in 2016 and 57 in 2020.
“This year, President Muhammadu Buhari changed the name of the ministry from the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology to the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. By this, we are to coordinate innovation activities in the country. We will engage Nigerian entrepreneurs and investors to promote innovation in the country. We have for the first time, since Nigeria gained political independence in 1960, brought together all regulatory bodies in the country. This was first done in 2018 and later repeated in 2021.
“Our aim is to ensure that all regulatory bodies in the country help us maintain high standards comparable with the best in the world to promote Nigeria’s competitiveness ranking. We have brought the academia, industry and government together so that researchers, investors, manufacturers and policy makers can work together for the good of the nation. Before now, each one worked separately. The ministry is working hard to bring all these bodies together for the common good.
“All these efforts and more have been made to help us create jobs for our young people, fight and defeat extreme poverty, rebuild the middle-class, strengthen the economy, create wealth for both individuals and the nation. We are working to prepare our nation for the post crude oil era. We should not just see the problems that this can create, but rather concentrate on the tremendous opportunities that lay ahead of us.
“This we can do by effectively planning and implementing the necessary policies that will help us take advantage of the new direction in the use of renewable energy as a way to help protect the environment which the world is determined to follow. The ministry is willing, prepared and ready to ensure that the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari for the future of our nation is achieved. There is no doubt that if all Nigerians can work together, be patriotic, determined and dedicated, our dear nation will one day, lead the world.”
