By Kingsley Unah
Nigeria’s Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology Development, Uche Nnaji has called on State Commissioners and all stakeholders to embrace the National Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Roadmap to foster technological advancement and economic development.
Speaking at the just concluded interactive forum between the Minister and the 36 state Commoners, the Minister said that the Roadmap NSTIR 2017-2030 has the potential to unlock the nation’s intellectual and Technical resources for growth and diversification of the economy. He noted that the potential of NTSIR in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is only achievable when effectively implemented at the sub-national levels.
His statement partly reads ” Domesticating this Roadmap is crucial; It involves the collective responsibility of National and Sub-national Governments, Policy makers, Academia and the organized private sector to translate the Roadmap into tangible actions that produce meaningful impact”.
Nnaji encouraged States to align thier technological advancements with local priorities to provide solutions for region -specific challenges and promote a more robust and resilient scientific ecosystem that fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing.
His statement reads further “I urge State Commisioners to actively engage the local Industries, research Institutions and community stakeholders. By fostering collaborative partnerships, we will amplify the impact of our scientific endeavors and create a seamless transition from research to application, which will spur economic growth and ensure our technological advancement meet the needs of our citizens”.
The minister added that commissioners are the primary stakeholders in the national council on science, Technology and Innovation NCSTI also known as the “National STI Council”. Mr Uche use this opportunity to intimate the Commissioners of the first meeting, which will take place at the beginning of the next quarter of the year.
In her statement, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Mrs Esuabana Nko-Asanya submitted that each state has its demographic resourcefulness, which if properly harnessed, will foster the culture of Innovation at the grassroot level for sustainable development.
Her statement reads in part ” It is pertinent to state that this task before us is a share responsibility to harness the full potential of the sub-national. This is a time we should think of how to harness our resources and then put in scientific and Innovative strategies so that we can compete effectively. All these cannot be achieved if there is no security in our nation. So all of us, we have that responsibility to make sure that Nigeria is secured”.
Also speaking, the Niger state Commissioner of science and Innovation and technology Development Umar Yabagi assured that they will make their contributions at the meeting and then a communique will be issued that will aid the effective implementation of programmes and projects in the STI ecosystem.