• NRIC works on IEDs detection device
The Federal Government has convened a meeting of the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC) with a view to making the agency to play crucial role in the planned diversification of the nation’s economy.

NRIC, which is Nigeria’s apex governing body for science, technology and innovation, is chaired by the President of the country, and consists of the key ministers and representatives of the organized private sector (OPS). The council, which was established by the National Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy of 2012, was inaugurated in February 2014 by the Federal Executive Council, but never met.

The council has the mandate to set national priorities on research and development; set directions to coordinate science, technology and innovation in line with national priorities; and facilitate fund raising activities to support innovation activities in areas of national needs and priorities.

Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, said yesterday that the council would focus on placing research and development at the heart of government’s economic diversification plan, how to re-energize import substitution, adding value to local materials locally, encouraging innovation, and linking research results to producers.

Onu, who met with a team from the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) in Abuja, also hinted that the Council would activate the much talked about National Science Research, Technology and Innovation Fund.

The Minister spoke extensively on government’s larger focus for the science and technology sector.
His words: “We are also interested in developing new technologies, because we cannot continue to be copying others. We want a situation where other nations will also have need to come to Nigeria to seek new technologies.
That is the only way we can actually grow our economy.

In the 70’s, our universities, our hospitals ranked high in the Commonwealth. People were coming from outside to Nigeria to receive medical treatment. But the reverse is the case now. As long as you depend on the outside, you will never meet your needs. It is only when you invest heavily in research and development that you can create the products and services and you can compete effectively with others.”

On the World Economic Forum, the world competitiveness index, where Nigeria is at the bottom, he said: “There is no African country in the first 40. We want Nigeria to come up in the first 20. We are determined to make sure that we use technology to diversify our economy, create jobs for people and grow our economy.”
Addressing newsmen later, the minister said the stakeholders in the sector were working at developing technologies that could make security agencies detect Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) before they explode.