President Muhammadu Buhari said Nigeria’s vision of becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020 is only attainable when science, technology and innovation are fully integrated into the national socio-economic development process.
Speaking at the State House in Abuja yesterday at the inaugural meeting of the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC), Buhari said such process would be fast tracked with the coming on board of the council.
The president said he was aware that Nigeria must accord high priority to science and technology if it must take it rightful place among the leading economies in the modern world.
He said his administration was committed to ensuring that Nigeria invested appropriately in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in order to guarantee her competitiveness continentally and globally.
According to the president, the federal government’s goal to secure the country, grow the economy, create jobs and fight crime can best be achieved if science and technology is embraced.
He said he hoped that the nation’s research and innovation output would be measured by the number of intellectual property such as patents granted and not only by the number of articles published in scholarly journals; saying by that, Nigeria would become a centre of discoveries, inventions and innovation in all fields of science and technology.
The president said the country should, before long, be in a position to produce nobel laureates in the sciences.
Buhari said the NRIC was also expected to re-position STI as a national priority to guarantee sustainability, high standard of living and quality of life for Nigerians as well as fast-track industrial and economic development.
The president said in that regard, the council would meet quarterly to consider and take vital decisions on STI-related issues.
He noted that the government structure of the NRIC provides for the creation of a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) comprising technocrats from the various relevant MDAs and the organised private sector to ensure full implementation of resolutions of the NRIC.
He said TAC, which would be headed by the Minister of Science and Technology, was expected to meet on a monthly basis, adding that to carry out its functions, the NRIC would be guided by the strategic implementation plan of the revised policy on STI.
The president said the country looked forward to the NRIC to be the spearhead of its technological progress and achievements.
