Nnaji: FG to Tackle Hunger, Poverty with Science, Technology

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, yesterday said President Bola Tinubu was set to evolve science and technology to rewrite Nigeria’s story and drive hunger and poverty out of the land.

The Minister disclosed this in his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the consultative General Assembly of the West African Network of National Academies of Sciences (WANNAS) in Abuja.

Nnaji said: “It is imperative to inform you that the administration of President Bola Tinubu, is desirous to fight hunger and poverty through the utilisation of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).

“I like to further inform you that the ministry is doing the needful in securing the country through our activities and programmes, geared towards job creation and wealth generation.”

He noted that the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology was determined to diversify the Nigerian economy, stressing that it was one of the major agenda of the federal government through the application of science, technology and innovation apparatus.

The minister claimed that all through history, no nation had ever become great without paying sufficient attention to Science and Technology (S&T).

He stressed that some countries that were ravaged by war and conflicts, recovered, rebuilt their infrastructure and later became rich and wealthy because they utilised innovation, science and technology for nation building.

He said: “The Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, having realised the role of innovation in the industrial revolution, has developed many policies and programmes that are critical to the advancement of the sector.”

He however said while the interdependence of West African countries innovatively, calls for synergy and collaboration in all spheres of development, it would strengthen its currencies and combat the exchange rate syndrome.

He said the academia must lay a good foundation for ECOWAS to leverage on, saying the National Academy of Sciences was paramount in propagating the campaign of a switch to innovation and industrialisation the region yearned for.

The minister said: “Permit me to conclude with a sincere appeal for synergy and collaboration among the West African Sub-region; that would quicken our quest for sustainable economic development through the utilization of the STI sector.”

Also speaking, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Prof. Fatou Sarr, explained that WANNAS was a group of experts, a think-thank that could play a major role in finding solutions to numerous issues confronting the society at national, local, regional and global levels.

“The reason for our gathering today is important for the development of our countries. In fact, the living standards of a nation depend on the abundance of scientific development and technology.

“This lies in the capacity of its actors to find viable solutions to the problems of the society and contribute to the sociology-economic development of our countries,” she said. The meeting will end on Thursday with a communique.