Onu urges youths to promote innovative products

Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, the Minister of Science and Technology has called on youths to take advantage of various platforms provided by the ministry to create innovative products and provide services.

Mr AbdulGaniyu Aminu, the Deputy Director of Press in the ministry made this known in a statement on Monday in Abuja.

Onu spoke at the presentation of Mathsoccer Game invented by Mr Princewill Okon, which was invented under the guidance of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP).

He said that such effort from the youths would help to diversify national economy.

The minister said that Nigeria has a vibrant youths’ population who constituted 65 per cent of the country’s population, adding that Nigeria relied on them to build the future.

“The ministry is ready to support any innovation that will help grow the economy to solve national problems rather than seeking solution outside.’’

He assured that the invention would be commercialised and be made available to all Nigerians because of its potential toward nation building.

Onu said that the invention would help stimulate interest in the sciences to improve the skills of teachers.

He also called on Nigerian entrepreneurial class to invest in the invention because of its great potential, pointing out that “mathematics is the language of all sciences“.

The minister commended Okon for his efforts toward the success of the innovation.

Earlier, Okon said that the Mathsoccer Game has a high economic value and he intended to make it a national asset.

“The estimated cost of production of a set of the Mathsoccer game is N2, 500 for the production of 1,000 units.

“The unit cost of a set of Mathsoccer game compares favourably with other similar games such as chess, scrabble and monopoly whose unit prices ranges between N2,500 and N10,000.”

He said that the invention would improve learning skills and appealed to the government to help in mass-producing it to make it affordable to every child.

The Director-General of NOTAP, Dr Danazumi Ibriahim said that the game was aimed at providing an avenue for students and the public to explore their interest in sports and increase passion for mathematics.

According to him, the invention will enhance the learning of mathematics as a subject.

He said the game was adaptable as an instructional tool for teaching the basic principles of mathematics to the younger ones in primary and secondary schools.
He called on government to purchase and distribute Mathsoccer to primary and secondary schools across the country as instructional tools/materials for use in the mathematics laboratory.

“This should be done to serve as a means of promoting the leaning of Mathematics in both primary and secondary schools, “ he said.