NAN-H-35
Academia
By Aminu Ahmed Garko
Minna, Oct. 23, 2017 ( NAN) Mr Joseph Nwosa, the Director, Technology Acquisition and Research Coordination National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) says until industries and policymakers begin to work with the academia, diversification will be difficult.
Nwosa made this known in a statement by Mrs Lydia Legbo, the Public Relations Officer of NOTAP on Monday in Minna.
The director was speaking at a two-day lecture entitled: Engineering and Technology: A Means to Diversification of Mono-Cultural Economy,” at the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna.
He said that Nigeria has all it needed to effectively transit from a developing to a developed country through effective diversification process.
He said that acquiring and transferring technology and innovation through research was important for sustainable national development.
Nwosa said that the key factors hindering sustainable development of the country were weak industrial policy, planning and implementation.
According to him, this leads to weak technology acquisition and transfer, weak industrial linkages, weak strategic business management and weak intellectual property creation and management system.
He said that for any nation to have the desired development, it should be globally competitive, must be science and technology based and innovative system should be in place.
“Others are excellent research, sound education and effective technology transfer,’’ he said.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Musbau Akanji, said that Nigeria required diversification from petroleum and concerted efforts were needed from government through encouragement of innovative research in green technologies.
Akanji said that it could be followed up with spin-off companies which could generate the much needed employment opportunities for the teeming population and improve the economy.
He said that FUT Minna was at the forefront of green research, adding the university would continue to support research that would promote innovation in green research. (NAN)
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Edited by Grace Yussuf