NAN-H-51
Economy
By Constance Attakeme
Abuja, Nov. 13, 2017 (NAN) A Swedish Scientist, Dr Sven-Thore Holm, in Abuja on Monday said that the time for Nigeria to move from commodity economy to a knowledge-based economy was now.
Holm, who led Sweden to develop a science park and is currently assisting University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) on a similar project, made the statement at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum.
He said that the country should think of a way of changing knowledge to money to create employment.
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`The time is now not tomorrow because on the political level, the discussion is going on how to change the Nigerian economy from commodity economy in terms of oil, in terms of commodities and is now going for a much more Research and Development based economy.
“Because you have a huge educational system and you also have a brilliant research system, now is the time to change knowledge to money, employment, development and higher standard of living for the entire population.
“ That is the ultimate objective of what we are trying to do here. I have been doing this in Sweden for the last 35 years so I know how to do this.
“And we are bringing some more people down here to introduce Nigerians how to do it and try to make a short cut of the economy development here.’’
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Holm said that Nigeria was moving fast due to the fact that the Vice-Chancellor of UNN, Prof. Benjamin Ozumba was championing the process together with his friends.
‘’The Vice Chancellor is really moving fast as he was in Sweden in February and a lot of things have been happening here.
“We have just been to the Swedish Embassy and they are more than eager to take part in a kind of a deeper relation, Sweden –Nigeria, and properly there could be some kind of formal agreement between our two nations.
“How to develop it even further, to take care of the young generation you have here to develop the future economy of this country, is a big thing it will take some time it is a good thing and we are going for it.’’
Holm said that UNN would be the hub of the transition of the economy because it was leading the park to utilise educated people to do something else.
He said the project had started running some activities in UNN and would spread knowledge across the country in different ways.
` We try to engage and encourage people for much thinking about entrepreneurship, about creating their own companies instead of going to the public sector and create their own lives and earn their own money,’’ Holm said. (NAN)
COA/JCE
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Edited by Chukwudi Ekezie