For several years, research findings by Nigerian scientists have continued to gather dust in the archives of research institutions despite billions of Naira deployed into funding them. OGBONAYA ONU, the minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, says the government is now ready to commercialize these research findings and woo investors who would convert them into (tangible) economic benefits. Speaking to TONY AILEMEN, BusinessDay’s assistant news editor, and TOCHUKWU OKAFOR, financial analyst, in this exclusive interview, he explains the ongoing restructuring at the ministry, with a strong push on innovation. Excerpts:
We understand there is a plan to bring researchers and venture capitalists or entrepreneurs together to expose the rich research reservoirs we have, for commercial benefits, can you talk us through this project?
Over the years, we have developed so many research findings and these intellectual properties have been protected using patents. These are very useful research findings that cover several fields, including human and animal health, power and energy, amongst several others. But one thing that has been lacking is how to harness them for a more beneficial use. So, now, we want to commercialize these research findings.
In technologically developed countries, you have venture capitalists who look at such research and convert it into tangible products, which you find in markets and shops. Now, in the process of doing that, there are some risks, but the bulk of these risks would have been addressed by the researchers. In Nigeria however, there are very few of such venture capitalists. We have entrepreneurs who are doing well in this country, so we believe we should interact with them and let them know that these research findings exist and let them know how they can use them to create wealth for our people and for themselves.
Even with the patents, we are willing to provide them with these researches, provided they will invest and convert these findings into tangible goods that will eventually be of benefit to humanity. By doing that, they will help us in creating jobs and wealth, first for themselves and for our people. Once they create this wealth, they can effectively pay their taxes, which the government can use to develop infrastructure. This is the first time that this is happening and these entrepreneurs work and reside in Lagos, the nation’s commercial hub. This is why we are doing this in Lagos. We have already put in place the legal and policy frameworks, all that is needed now is to translate them into tangible products. This is why we are bringing the Science and technology innovation community and the Nigerian entrepreneurs together under one roof to actualize this project.
How huge is the benefit, because we are aware that over the years, a large number of research have been waiting for these opportunities?
Yes, there is no doubt that the benefit is huge. We are fully convinced that these investors will make so much money from this initiative. Nigeria has over 200 million people. So, the market alone is huge. Now, we also have the African Continental Free Trade Area, with a population of slightly over 1.2 billion people. Many countries don’t have such huge advantage. We also have the Executive Order 005 signed by Mr. President, which insists that whatever products or ventures Nigerians can do here, we cannot bring people from outside the country to do them.
Even in procurement, the government gives advantage to goods and services that can be sourced locally through our manufacturers. This policy gives the entrepreneurs in Nigeria, the needed protection and added advantage. This is the best time. We are also ensuring that they meet international standards to enhance global competitiveness. This government is the first to bring all regulatory bodies together in 2018 and we repeated this again this year with the aim of ensuring that we use the regulatory bodies to maintain standards to attain the highest quality needed for global competitiveness. Standardization is key, which is why this meeting in Lagos is coming at the right time. So, this is the beginning and the outcome of this interaction will determine the frequency.
Your Ministry is currently undergoing restructuring, and has added innovation to its title. What informed that decision?
Innovation is very important in nation building and it is not limited to Science and Technology alone, because it occurs everywhere. But you must have a body that can coordinate innovation in the country. If you develop a product, you require innovation to make it remain competitive. It is the same product, but those that are marketing for you, may come back with problems associated with the products based on customers’ observations, those problems you refer to the research team who will come up with the solutions. If you don’t do that and somebody else comes with products that satisfy your customers, they will leave you.
For a nation like ours to get to where we need to be, we will need to encourage innovation. This is because, there has never been any nation in the world that has developed without deploying Science and technology. Without effective deployment of science, technology and innovation, there cannot be effective development. There has to be a body that regulates and coordinates innovation. So, the then Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, had to provide coordination, because the bulk of the innovation will come out of science and technology. You can see what is happening in the creative industry. The Ministry is now restructuring, so that we can now take care of all forms of innovation in the country. In the near future, our new structure will have a new vision and mission statements, we have our core values and a new logo. The new structure will be very encompassing, because we will have departments that will look after the Social Sciences and Humanities just to be sure that you take care of every aspect of innovation.
We will be creating the necessary environment for innovation to take place, as this will assist us as a nation to be where we want to be
How does this enhance the responsibility of the minister, the ministry, agencies & departments under it?
This innovation that has been added is for us to be able to monitor, supervise and ensure that there is coordination of all innovations in the country. We need to encourage innovation as we did for Science and Technology. We will be creating the necessary environment for innovation to take place, as this will assist us as a nation to be where we want to be. Nigeria must be self-reliant. God has blessed us with things he did not give to many other countries. We have an expanding population, brilliant people who are in the best universities in the world and doing very well. God has given us wonderful climate, water etc. Water is going to be a problem for many countries in the future, but here, we have it in abundance. Our responsibility is to make sure that we are self-reliant, have food security, provide security for Nigerians, and produce things that we now import. If China with about 1.4 billion people can find jobs for her people, we should be able to create enough jobs, recreate the middle class and defeat extreme poverty. China has announced that they have defeated extreme poverty. Thirty years ago, I am sure no one believed that China could defeat extreme poverty. We should also be able to do that. This is the goal. We want to be the best in the world, and you cannot do that unless you are self-reliant.
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Since the young innovate & are early adopters of innovations, are there plans to democratise science & technology education, which is necessary for Innovation?
Here, we see the young people of Nigeria as the greatest asset that the nation has. The crude that used to bring the bulk of our foreign exchange, added to the natural gas and the products we have, do not amount to the value that the young people can bring.
Just look at any of the richest people in the world today, these are people who are using their brains. They no longer have to go into oil fields. Their wealth is coming from technology and innovations. We have many of such here, that’s why we believe the young people are our greatest assets. Some see them as problems but we see them as opportunities. So, within the Ministry, we have been working very hard to get our young people to develop interest in science, technology and innovation. We have so many programs, which we have been following religiously. We organize competitions across the 774 local governments in core science subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Every local government will organize this competition, they will pick the best to compete at the state levels, and the best from the state will now come to the centre in Abuja to compete. We will pick the best three and encourage them.
The first three get scholarships up to the Doctorate degree levels in any science subject, in any University of their choice, but must be within Nigeria. We have also been doing advocacy, gender balancing etc. This curriculum thing is very dear to us. We have to work with the Federal Ministry of Education to inculcate this and update the curriculum. This is because new technologies are emerging daily. Artificial Intelligence was not available in our curriculum many years ago. But today, Artificial Intelligence, nanotechnology, robotics, biotechnology etc are making the type of contributions many never imagined they could make. It is important that we keep updating the curriculum. We are determined to ensure that Nigeria produces Nobel Laureates in the core Sciences. We have done it in literature, so we must do it in other fields.
How prepared is Nigeria for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of Big data, artificial Intelligence, machine learning, additive manufacturing etc?
We are making progress slowly, but the most important thing is that we have started on this journey. We have to recognize that it will take us time to get to where the technologically advanced nations are. But what is important is that we want to get there and overtake them. What makes us very happy is that other countries such as Singapore and Japan have done it.
This Ministry has been at the forefront of efforts to move this nation away from entirely depending on our resources to depending on knowledge that is innovation driven. The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan ERGP for the first time, recognized that Science and Technology is at the heart of all economic activities in the country. Before now, we were depending on commodities. And we saw that each time there was a sharp drop in our resources, we went into recession. So, we said no, we developed a road map that tells the MDAs what to do to solve this problem. Now, working with all the other Ministries, we are happy that our economy is now diversified.
What is now left is for us to deepen that diversification. This is because the contribution of oil is no longer overwhelming as it used to be, that gives us hope. So, if we keep working hard, we will get there. Do not forget that Satellite is the highest form of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. We were the first African nation to start a space program. Big data, all that, yes, we are working on all of them.
Prior to the current name change, what challenges did the ministry face that spurred this addition?
Yes, there were challenges and they will always be there. But one thing that makes me happy is that President Muhammadu Buhari is deeply interested in making Nigeria develop. It is just a pity that his administration came in when all economic indices were on the decline. We shortly after entered recession and since then, we have had severe challenges. But we also see opportunities in these challenges. Funding was a major challenge, but we are also working very hard to see how we can address them.
One of the major issues with developing countries is that they are not quite appreciative of the enormous power that Science, Technology and Innovation have relative to developed countries. If you really go and study the difference between developed and undeveloped countries the difference is how they deploy Science in solving their economic problems. A classical example is that in 2006, African Union met and passed a resolution that each country in the continent should deploy at least 1% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to science and technology, for research and development. As it is now, no country has attained that goal. But just few years ago, the European nations met and adopted the same resolution to spend 3% of their GDP on research and development. As we speak, about three countries are already fully implementing it and have gone beyond the 3%. If you look at developing countries, you see the challenges they have with infrastructure, such as roads, hospitals, etc. Again, the private sector is not strong to support the system. But the President has however promised to allocate 0.5% of our GDP to Science and Technology. This will help encourage research and development. This is a major improvement. It is a presidential commitment and it will be realized. We are also trying to encourage the private sector to invest more in research and innovation.
What plans does the Ministry have for young Nigerians out there who are developing machines and different products, but lack resources to attract needed support?
Yes! We show interests in what they are doing. Some years back, a young Nigerian from Delta State developed a drone and when I was told, we invited him to Abuja. I was shocked to know that he didn’t go to any school. When he came to Abuja, he showcased his invention at the Eagle square and was very pleased with the attention he received. We supported him with some money. We have a small team from outside the Ministry that monitor such activities and report back to us. We are meticulous in following such people and supporting them. The money varies, depending on what the assessors come up with. It is the assessors that determine what we give to them.
With the recent development of the Omicron variant and the black listing of the country by some developed economies, what are the plans of the ministry to innovate a platform for research to help provide solutions to similar health crisis moving forward?
Over the years, Nigeria has established the National Biotechnology Development Agency. Nigeria also used to produce vaccines, but just like many other things, after sometime, we just did not pay attention to the production of vaccines. The National Biotechnology Development Agency however has the production of vaccines as part of its mandates.
As a matter of fact, we had established some relationships with Cuba. Because of their peculiar circumstances, Cuba paid so much attention to science and technology, particularly as it affects health. They even have sample vaccines that are presently before the World Health Organization (WHO) for assessment. But you also know that these are investments that require huge capital outlays. We believe that with adequate funding, there is nothing that we can’t do. We have the manpower with very brilliant endorsements.
Before now, if you recall, we had given our people the task to develop vaccines for both the Coronavirus and other diseases that are troubling us and right now, we have some people who have brought forth some claims and they are being investigated, working in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health. But I also want to assure you that our nation is taking this matter very seriously. The Ministry of Health and other institutions are working to ensure that Nigeria’s interests are not jeopardized.
How does this government intend to tackle the growing number of out of school children, given the impact this may have on deployment of science, technology and innovation to develop the economy?
Truly, every Nigerian should be worried about this situation that we have found ourselves, not just the government alone. We should not have any child that is not educated. The good thing about education is that it helps to prepare every child to be a good citizen. If they are not educated, how will they know of the Constitution and the laws, before we talk of operating them? This also helps to sharpen the raw talent a child has.
If a very intelligent person lacks education, he or she may not be able to contribute to national development, as they would have. Even if you look at the security challenges that we have, you will discover that an educated person who is properly engaged will be less likely to get involved in criminality, than the ones that are not educated. Both Mr President and the Minister of Education have been working very hard to ensure that the number is reduced. This ministry also wants people to be educated, otherwise it will be very difficult to get them to understand mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology, including the innovations that we are working hard to achieve.
PROFILE
Ogbonnaya Onu, Nigeria’s Minister of Science, Technology & Innovation is a politician, author and engineer. Born on December 1, 1951, he was the first civilian governor of Abia State and holds a First Class Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lagos.
Onu also earned a Doctoral Degree from the University of California, Berkeley with distinction. Prior to his political career, he lectured in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Port Harcourt, serving as the pioneer Head of the Department, as well as the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. He was also elected Member of the Governing Council of the University.
In 2015, he was appointed minister of Science and Technology by President Muhammadu Buhari and reappointed in 2019. As minister, he began the National Science and Technology Week, which held its first edition 2017 in Abuja, to showcase inventors and inventions.
In 2016, he initiated a programme tagged 774 Young Nigerian Scientists Presidential Award (774-YONSPA) aimed at encouraging and developing the interest of Nigerian youth in science, technology, and innovation. The aggressive awareness embarked upon by the minister led to the infusion of science and technology in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the federal government, as a critical component of achieving stable economic growth.
In August of 2021, the minister announced the change of name of the Ministry of Science and Technology to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. This decision was to facilitate economic growth and global competitiveness as well as to make Nigeria a nation of innovators.
A certified member of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, Onu is a fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, fellow of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers.
