NANFeatures/Vol.10/No.262/2016 (Nov. 25)
Empowering the youth for socio-economic development
A News Analysis by Constance Athekame and Perpertua Onuegbu, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Researchers observe that if the youth are encouraged and empowered, they are capable of recording technological breakthrough that will bring socio-economic development.
It is with this observation that the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) initiates Children Educational Expo to harness young intuitive talents that can be fundamental to national technological development.
The annual event brings children from schools across the country to showcase their talents in technology, arts and craft.
Speaking at the 10th edition of the expo recently in Abuja, Mr Adebayo Bamidele, the General Manager NTA, Lagos, said that the expo served as a platform for bringing children together to showcase their intelligence and creativity.
With the theme: “Improved Technology as Impetus for Mechanised Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Power and Economic Development of the Nation’’, he said the organisers focused on agriculture and how to encourage young children to go into the production of farming implements.
“We are also looking at energy and power which are some of the challenges we have as a nation; the essence is to draw the attention of children to their environment early in life.
“On the average, more than 250 children participated in the expo and at the end; the best participants received prizes such as laptops and desktops.
“Depending on their categories and what area they focused, a lot of them who performed well went home with gifts because they were able to invent things that will encourage mechanised agriculture and also solve the problem of power,’’ he said.
According to him, encouraging creativity in children is cardinal to promoting economic self-reliance for national growth.
The general manager said every NTA station was represented at the event with 12 participants from each state.
In his speech, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu said the expo was to groom children to become celebrated global innovators.
He said the expo would groom the children in such a way that before they attain 20 years of age, the children would have been renowned in their areas of endeavour.
“We shall encourage these various works that have been displayed here to get far in the society as well as mass-produce the various inventions.
“I urge the participants to step down their inventions to their younger ones back home, this will make it possible for replication of their inventions, ’’ Onu said.
Speaking in the same vein, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the ministry of information would have a science foundation.
He noted that the ministry was ready to play its role in the area of science and technology in the development of the nation.
“I urge the children to make good use of this platform to exhibit their talents and also relate with themselves in promoting unity in diversity.’’ he said.
In his speech, Mr Gregory Ibeh, the Director-General, National Mathematical Centre, the co-sponsors of the event, also said the centre would continue to support the event and partner with organisers.
He said once an individual was sound in reasoning, innovation and creativity would follow, insisting that mathematics was the basis in reasoning.
Mr Nnamani Afamefula, the Head of Engineering Department, Skill G Nigeria Ltd., a major sponsor of the expo since inception, pledged that the company would partner with the Federal Government or any individual to upgrade children’s invention.
“We have powerful research and development equipment, any project that we see here that has great prospects we have experts to give it that professional and standardised touch.
“These projects are building blocks for development, so we can call them in if there are any challenges they are having, we can help them and provide the expertise for them and help get a perfect work,’’ he said.
He called on the citizens to encourage youths by patronising their inventions while pleading with the government at all levels to show the citizenry the path to progress by patronising indigenous products.
Some of the participants who spoke on the event as well called on government to encourage them by giving them scholarships.
Hamed Sabo, a student of FOMWAN Model Secondary School, Bauchi, who produced an Organic Fertiliser Processing Plant as a school science project, said that he was concerned with the amount of waste in the environment.
“The amount of waste in the environment is much, so I thought of making something that can control this waste and at the same time contribute to the production of food.
“With the machine you can combine the waste and turn it to something useful. The waste is turned into fertiliser to help farmers plant and get better harvest.
“It has the feeding section, the processing section and the packaging section while the system can separate non-degradable materials and process the degradable ones into useful fertiliser.
“I want government to improve this machine so that our farmers can plant easily and at the same time avoid the use of chemical fertiliser because it affects our health,’’ he pleaded.
Sabo expressed the hope that in the next five years, there would be nothing like waste materials in the environment, appealing to the Federal Government to grant him scholarship.
Another inventor, Anthony Eze, a student of Government Technical College, Enugu, who produced a security robot said he was worried by security challenges and decided to invent it.
“Many soldiers are killed at their duty posts but with this type of robot; they can hide and put this robot in the forefront because of the sensor system in it.
“It can detect intruders and when given the command, it can stop the person; this is for security and for the farmer, the robot can detect thieves in the farmland.
“Government should put interest in technology and seriously invest into our talents so that our talents can be beneficial to the nation,’’ Eze said.
He also advised young inventors not to give up hope but to continue to look for answers through research.
Elijah Orji from the same school called for government assistance, saying he invented the Easy Working Machine for agriculture.
According to him, the machine works with the law of broadcasting and can be used to cultivate and sow seeds like rice, tomato, maize and other grains.
He appealed to government to provide materials for him which he said could be locally sourced so that he could build more of such machines for farmers.
In the light of these inventions and their usefulness, observers note that Nigeria has the talents and skills that can be harnessed for development.
They call on the government to promote talents in the youth so that the innovations would not end in the venue of exhibition.(NANFeatures)
**If used, please credit the writer as well as News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)