By Chris Udochukwu
ABUJA FCT – The Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI) on Monday convened its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, insisting that research funding through the pasdage of the National Research and Innovation Council Bill (NRIC) is the key to unlocking the country’s developmental potentials.
The Secretary General of ASURI, Prof Theophilus Ndubuaku expressed deep concern over the non-funding of research and development (R&D), which he argued is critical for the nation’s technological and economic advancement. LpppHe also lamented the lack of seriousness on the part of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation to implement the Scheme of Service (SoS)
This event held at Algos Hotel in Kubwa, Abuja, which gathered top-tier ASURI union leaders from various research institutions across Nigeria, was pivotal, especially considering the current challenges and opportunities facing the country’s research landscape.
The ASURI Scribe reminded that ASURI has been instrumental to the passage of the NRIC Bill thrice by the National Assembly with the President, who is the chairman of the Council withholding assent.expressed confidence that it would be passed this time around having been passed now again by House of Reps and awaitong passage by the senate.
This year’s NEC meeting was unique because it started with a “Capacity Building Seminar” with the theme: “The Expected Impact of Presidential Executive Order 5 and the National Research and Innovation Council/Fund on Research and Development Sector,” presented by the Guest Lecturer, Engr (Dr) Ibiam Oguejiofo, National Coordinator/Chief Executive, Strategy Implementation Office for Presidential Executive Order No. 5.
Engr. Oguejiofo highlighted that the truth remains that no nation has ever achieved greatness without the effective deployment of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) and the associated research and development programs and projects. According to him, when he met with Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu (Late), who was the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology (as it then was), in 2016 to discuss the possibility of working with him as a Technical Assistant/Adviser, he shared that he had studied various developed nations and found that their development was primarily driven by Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) supported by strong industry/ service sector Research and Development programs and projects.
He further stated that the Minister then referred him to the Science and Technology Policy (2012), which was later revised in 2022. This policy formed the foundation of his understanding of the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC), (supported by the Nigerian Research and Innovation Fund) as the highest governing body in Nigeria’s STI ecosystem. The NRIC focuses on the application of Research and Development (R&D) to strengthen the Nigerian economy and technology sector, aiming to harness natural and human resources for the benefit of our citizens, increase productivity, and improve our global competitiveness ranking.
He said regrettably, the NRIC policy is often being reviewed without implementation and a lot of money is being spent always to review a policy that is not implemented.
Engr Oguejiofo noted that Nigeria is endowed with an abundance of both human and material resources that can be effectively harnessed and utilized through STI. We have favorable weather, a good supply of water from numerous rivers, and a significant amount of arable land that remains uncultivated. Additionally there is hardly any mineral of importance that is not found in Nigeria.
It is also worthy to noted that Nigeria has the largest population in Africa and one of the largest in the world, with a significant portion of this population being young people.
Moreover, the country is located near the center of the African continent, which gives us a strategic advantage. Indeed, we are blessed.
However, the truth is that no nation has ever achieved greatness without the effective deployment of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) and the associated research and development programs and projects. Possessing natural resources alone may make a country rich, but it does not automatically translate into socio-economic benefits for its citizens.
Despite being well-endowed with natural resources, Nigeria is still struggling to effectively ]+1aaand efficiently exploit these resources to meet the nations needs. As a result, our country remains largely a consumer nation with a commodity-based economy that relies heavily on foreign exchange from crude oil exports. We have not yet succeeded in adding significant value to the numerous raw materials available across various local governments in Nigeria. It is clear that we import many of the goods and services consumed in Nigeria, which has placed a heavy burden on the country’s foreign reserves. This has made our economy vulnerable to major external shocks, particularly those related to fluctuations in the international oil market.
He stressed that Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) are crucial to the progress and development of any nation, including Nigeria. Adding that as we all know, economic success on the global stage and the industrial leadership of nations and corporations today are largely driven by STI. It is widely acknowledged that countries that have made significant strides in sustainable economic development have done so through substantial investments in industry and service-driven Research and Development under their STI policies. This approach ensures continuous productivity growth , job creation, poverty alleviation etc and potential for irreversible wealth creation . Examples of such countries include China, India, Malaysia, and Brazil, among others.
Talking about the Presidential Executive Order 5, the National Cordinator reminded that President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria signed the Presidential Executive Order No. 5 on 2/2/2018 and that it focuses on the Planning and Execution of Projects, Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts, Science, Engineering, and Technology.
According to him, the aims and objectives of the Presidential Monitoring and Evaluation Council for Executive Order 5, include intervening ,where necessary, in all sectors of the Nigerian economy to ensure that priority is given to indigenous professionals , manufacturers, Youth etc in the planning, design, and execution of national projects. Foreign professionals should only be considered when it is certified that the expertise is not available domestically, similar to practices in many countries worldwide. Executive Order No. 5 is intended to facilitate the transformation of Nigerias economy from being resource-based to a knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy.
In specific terms, he said Executive Order No. 5 is expected to achieve the following:
Promote technology and innovation as a policy of the Nigerian State for socio-economic development;
Embed science, technology, and innovation in achieving the nations development goals across all sectors of the economy, particularly in alignment with the Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy (STISA) 2024, STISA 2063, SDG 2030, and Vision 20, 2020, or any future plans;
Highlight the critical role of science, technology, and innovation in national economic development, particularly in promoting “Made in Nigeria” goods and services;
Collaborate with relevant Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), and organizations to promote the application of science, technology, and innovation across all sectors of the Nigerian economy;
Encourage and increase the amount of value created within the Nigerian economy through increased Nigerian content in public procurement;
Support and strengthen the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (2017-2020) to promote the Made in Nigeria Goods Campaign;
Promote a knowledge economy;
Encourage both domestic and foreign investments by diversifying the economy, creating employment opportunities, and stimulating the national economy through science, technology, and innovation;
Develop home-grown capabilities and capacity to maintain, redesign, reproduce, domesticate, and duplicate any infrastructure built in Nigeria to ensure self-reliance and development.
The NEC members, representing the intellectual backbone and think-thank of the Union across Nigeria’s research institutions, deliberated on pressing issues affecting the sector. The gathering was attended by delegates from different research institutes across the nation, each bringing to the table a wealth of knowledge and experience.
