Vice President Kashim Shettima has charged the National Productivity Centre (NPC) to provide science and technologically-based solutions to accelerate the growth of Nigeria’s economy and, by extension, create more jobs for the country’s teeming unemployed population.
The Vice President said this at the fifth National Productivity Summit, in Abuja with the theme, ‘Achieving Higher Productivity and National Development by Leveraging on Science, Technology and Innovation.’
He warned that at the rate the world was evolving technologically by adapting new and emerging trends, Nigeria could either buckle up and join in the competition or risk falling behind.
Represented by the Special Adviser to the President on National Productivity Council and Climate Change, Rukaiya El-Rufai, Shettima maintained that Nigeria must prioritise a deliberate investment in science, technologies and innovation.
According to him, the present administration, having recognised the importance of new and emerging trends, has been strategic in adopting innovative measures in implementing policies and programmes around the eight-point agenda of President Bola Tinubu, whom he said has been relentless in fostering partnerships with leading firms and research institutions to expand Nigeria’s economy.
He said, “It is often said that Africa miss out in harnessing the opportunities presented by the past three phases of industrialisation. This has resulted in development challenges that we are now trying to overcome.
“The fourth revolution, therefore, not only presents an opportunity for redemption but also for those of us in positions of power and influence to provide solutions shaped and operated by the most advanced innovations in science and technology.”
“We find ourselves in an era that presents us with a stark choice; either to compete with the world or risk failing behind.
“We must recognise the potentials of new technology in science and technology to serve as an advantage theses advancements can help us leapfrog our solutions and save our economy from implosion.”
The Vice President further noted that Nigeria’s hope transcends the mere statistics of its youthful population with a median age of 18, as it could achieve a lot if priority was given to science and technology.
“We know what a nation can achieve when it prioritises science and technology. The accomplishments of our high achieving youths serve as a shining example
“It is essential to recognise that our progress in innovation in science and technology relies in our capacity to develop a succession plan that empowers young Nigerians to spearhead our reforms and initiatives where we have observed the outstanding capacity of our youths in diverse areas from artificial intelligence to numerous sciences.
“This is why our paramount task is to ensure that Nigeria becomes the most conducive environment for our talented youths to make significant strides in shaping the future of science and technology.
“The task ahead for organisations like the productivity centre is to engage and conceptualise solutions and opportunities across the spectrum of sectors spanning from biodiversity to space technology through innovation.
“It is crucial to align those efforts with our national aspirations. The stakes are high as failure to act now will jeopardise our progress towards achieving the sustainable development goals. We must act to ensure our collective success in addressing pressing challenges and advancing our nation’s development agenda. We must bear in mind that the key in promoting science and technology lies in nurturing a dynamic knowledge based economy and facilitating the free flow of ideas.”
Minister of State Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, noted that despite various economic plans by successive administrations, Nigeria’s economic growth and development seems to be moving at “snail speed.”
She said, “Studies conducted by the National Productivity Centre showed that Nigeria’s commitment to productivity improvement over the years has been on the low side and, as such, developmental goals were hardly achieved while poverty remained high even in the face of potential for rapid and sustained economic growth.
“The country has performed poorly in terms of productivity, as, at best, it has recorded occasioned marginal improvements in its productivity profile resulting in high incidence of poverty. About 35 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty.
“Our adminstration is desirous of creating jobs for our teeming creative, innovative and dynamic unemployed youths through various programmes designed to empower them in line with science, technology and innovation.”
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