Nigeria has saved N188.6 billion which would have gone out as capital flight between 2010 and 2014. Recent revelations by Dan-Azumi Mohammed Ibrahim, director-general of National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), indicate some Nigerian businesses operating in technical industries which sometimes require technology transfer from foreign technical partners often make fictitious claims in order to access funds for enhanced technology transfer fees at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Most of these companies have been detected in the past four years through pre-registration visits by the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP).
According to Dan-Azumi, sometimes Nigerians can float a company, secure contracts to be executed in Nigeria and claim to lack technical expertise which can only be sourced abroad.
He explained that many of the companies claiming technical expertise is not available locally only do this to apply for funds from the CBN in support of foreign technical assistance whereas such companies do not exist in Nigeria at all; not even at the physical addresses they provide with the agency.
He explained that many of the companies claiming technical expertise is not available locally only do this to apply for funds from the CBN in support of foreign technical assistance whereas such companies do not exist in Nigeria at all; not even at the physical addresses they provide with the agency.
In instances where the phony arrangements are undetected, monies made available to the companies through the CBN are remitted to foreign accounts without meeting guidelines which stipulate local alternatives should be explored before seeking foreign technical assistance.
A summary of what happens is, companies claim to exist in Nigeria, secure contracts, and then apply to benefit from CBN designated funds to ease acquisition of foreign technical support. But the problem is, these companies only appear on paper, and that is the only place they
are “Nigerian”. The funds they get from CBN in the event their applications scale through, are fully remitted overseas without meeting local content requirements provided by the NOTAP guideline.
One of the requirements for a business to attain certification of Technology Transfer Agreements reads; “Companies sourcing over 75percent of its raw materials from abroad will not enjoy enhanced technology transfer fees, in particular, if it has been in operation in Nigeria for more than 5years without making efforts to source its raw materials locally. Companies in this category should render Technical Support Service and encourage indigenous entrepreneurs in that sector
to produce raw materials or intermediary products that will meet the required standard.”
This was disclosed by Dan-Azumi during the official opening of a chemical science and technology symposium organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, in collaboration with Procter & Gamble Nigeria.
A summary of what happens is, companies claim to exist in Nigeria, secure contracts, and then apply to benefit from CBN designated funds to ease acquisition of foreign technical support. But the problem is, these companies only appear on paper, and that is the only place they
are “Nigerian”. The funds they get from CBN in the event their applications scale through, are fully remitted overseas without meeting local content requirements provided by the NOTAP guideline.
One of the requirements for a business to attain certification of Technology Transfer Agreements reads; “Companies sourcing over 75percent of its raw materials from abroad will not enjoy enhanced technology transfer fees, in particular, if it has been in operation in Nigeria for more than 5years without making efforts to source its raw materials locally. Companies in this category should render Technical Support Service and encourage indigenous entrepreneurs in that sector
to produce raw materials or intermediary products that will meet the required standard.”
This was disclosed by Dan-Azumi during the official opening of a chemical science and technology symposium organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, in collaboration with Procter & Gamble Nigeria.
Dan-Azumi advocated investment in technology, describing it as what drives development in any nation as the world moves from resource based to knowledge based economies, saying “Nigeria should not be left behind.”
Nigeria’s academia was indicted at the symposium, described as contributing to laxity in research and development. “If we have to rely on the technologies from Nigeria, we will continue to crawl…Academics publish just for promotion and that’s it, not necessarily to add value to Nigeria,” said Dan-Azumi.
Companies in Nigeria were charged to contribute to advancement of knowledge in what was described as Corporate Social Investment.
And in what seemed a spur of the moment reaction to the challenge, George Nasser, managing director of Procter & Gamble Nigeria announced the company would sponsor two selected individuals for PHD studies in science and technology-inclined disciplines.
Nasser, who said the beneficiaries will be sponsored to world class institutions also pledged that those selected, will be engaged to work with the Research and Development unit of P&G Nigeria, to develop business solutions for the market and sub-Saharan Africa region.
Also speaking at the symposium, Ike Ononye, an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati, explained that no meaningful innovation can occur in Nigeria without adequate energy.
“We might think we are making progress, but imagine where we will be if we have reliable energy supply,” said Ononye.
“We might think we are making progress, but imagine where we will be if we have reliable energy supply,” said Ononye.
According to him, science and technology innovations in Nigeria will thrive when there is adequate power supply to power research facilities. He also added that the country lacks facilities to execute some laboratory research which has resulted in many young academics relocating to other countries to advance their knowledge.
Awwal Bamanga, a doctoral candidate at the University of Portsmouth, buttresses this submission as he decried lack of standards and guidelines as a factor militating against advanced research in Nigeria.
The two day symposium was organised by the Royal Chemistry Society, UK in collaboration with Procter and Gamble, was themed Chemical Sciences and Technology Enabling Growth in Africa, and it had participants from different universities in Nigeria and other African countries.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
