President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that the Nigerian government has taken deliberate steps to ensure that its youthful population is given the appropriate environment to achieve their dreams in innovation by passing legislation that governs and provides a level-playing field via the Nigerian Start-up Bill, which has been passed by the National Assembly.
Buhari stated this at the opening ceremony of the First Africa Research and Innovation Forum (FARI), 2022, organised by ECOWAS Commission in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation in Abuja
Tribune Online reports that the Nigeria Startup Bill project is a joint initiative by Nigeria’s tech startup ecosystem and the Presidency to harness the potential of Nigeria’s digital economy through co-created regulations.
The Bill will ensure that Nigeria’s laws and regulations are clear, planned and work for the tech ecosystem.
Buhari said: “This will contribute to the creation of an enabling environment for the growth, attraction and protection of investment in tech startups”.
The President, therefore, expressed his burning desire to assent to the Bill, saying “I look forward to assenting to the landmark piece of legislation as a critical building block for energising our innovation landscape.”
Buhari further assured that Nigeria is committed to further strengthening the collaboration with Science, Technology and Innovation(STI) experts, alongside the provision of technical advice, methodologies and guidance to ECOWAS member states as integral parts of their respective national development policies and plans.
While commending the organisers of the event, he added that event was long overdue as “we lacked the forum to showcase the available research and development (R&B) efforts in the region particularly in the area of STI as a way of finding solutions to the myriad of challenges affecting our region and for researchers to network among themselves for a better future noting that the application of STI in all facets of life equally brings to the fore the prospects of the much-needed solutions to our challenges.”
While underscoring the need for a forum like FARI, Buhari said it would provide an avenue for capacity building and multitasking skills among the STI experts.
“In the area of capacity building and multitasking skills, it is a known fact that a new generation of active and productive talents are being discovered to proffer solutions to the numerous challenges confronting the region.
“Hence, the need to come up with innovative ideas for the well-being of the people of our region.
“The time to move forward and act accordingly is now. This can only be achieved through the pooling together of human capacity, infrastructure, and technical skills and among others that should be available to our youth thereby curbing unemployment.
“Speaking of the youth, more than half of our population in West Africa are 15 years old and younger.
“It will be an existential threat if we are unable to channel their energies and their creativity into acquiring skills that will be deployed into solving the challenges that confront us not just in the present but also in the future.”
Earlier in his address, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Adeleke Mamora, noted that the idea of the Forum was initiated when the Ministers in charge of STI in the West African Region met in Accra, Ghana.
Mamora noted that the Forum provides an avenue for Researchers and Innovators to exchange ideas on the scientific and technical organisation aimed at improving public understanding of STIs for the socio-economic development of West Africa.
Mamora further stated the Forum was targeted at improving the Region’s Research and Innovation as it would also serve as an avenue for robust networking between researchers and the private sector.
He emphasized the need for the West African people to leverage STI in order to create a new lease of life for all.