STI will help Nigeria overcome major challenges — Onu

Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology, said the deployment of science, technology and innovation (STI), will help Nigeria overcome many of its major challenges  especially insecurity.

Onu said this during a working visit by the Senior Executive Course 43 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic studies (NIPSS), to his office on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said that the use of STI should also enhance intelligence gathering and facilitate the use of cutting-edge technology to eliminate security challenges in all regions of the country.

The Minister stressed the need for Nigeria and other developing countries to develop home-grown solutions to challenges facing them, such as production of vaccines to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

“No matter how wealthy and rich a nation can be, in terms of resources, there is need to make sure that many of the things needed in your country are locally provided,’’ he said.

He disclosed that the Federal Government was at the implementation stage of the revolutionary Executive Order 5, which seeks to place Nigerian professionals and deployment of Technology as the fulcrum of socio-economic activities.

Earlier, Prof Dung Sha, the Director of research at NIPSS, said that the Institute would work with the ministry to ensure the deployment of STI in solving challenges at all levels.

He also said that the Institute was on a fact-finding mission on the contributions of the Ministry to national development.

He said that this would enable the institute to make necessary recommendations to the Presidency on how to improve the role of STI in national development.