Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu have said that investing in technology and innovation will boost education, human productivity and national development.

According to them, the nexus of political, economic, social, diplomatic, cultural and intellectual power is the efficient application of technology for national development.They made the submission yesterday at the Government College of Ughelli Old Boys Association (GCUOBA), Lagos branch, luncheon, which had eminent personalities to support the digitisation of the school to enable students embrace modern technology.

In his address entitled ‘The Role of Technology and Innovation in National Development’, Omo-Agege said emphasis should be placed on how Nigeria could leapfrog into the future through the utilisation of technology as the fulcrum of nation-building. He said: “Technology has become the soul of many businesses, including small and large-scale corporations. Though the dialogue on the all-important setting of technology in our development process seems to resonate perfectly with the broad spectrum of our society, not many have taken time to critically examine the subject matter and its overall implications for national development.”

Omo-Agege added that it was the goal of the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to harness technology for national development.“There is need to key into the Buhari-led Next Level Agenda which includes empowering the Ministry of Science and Technology and other relevant agencies of government to harness the untapped skills of our young men and women in the technology sector for national development. The task of ensuring availability of competent manpower to drive innovation and technology will also entail greater synergy between various research and development institutes to avoid duplication,” he added.

Sanwo-Olu, who was the chief host of the occasion, stressed that education was one of the critical phases that government officials needed to ensure that the youths had opportunities to, while hoping for a better future for the country.He described education as the major enabler in life that anybody could aspire for, adding that if any government did not provide quality education for the children and youths, it was not only destroying the future of the country, but their capability as leaders of the people.

The state government, according to the government, will not only give critical support to the education sector, but will ensure that it redefines and places education as a critical delivery and nation enhancer, which is why the government increased its 2020 budgetary allocation for the sector.

In his welcome address, the president of GCUOBA, Lagos branch, Sam Omatseye, said people from all strata of life attended public schools, which were best known for their excellent academics, noting that it petered out due to years of government’s neglect.He added the public space of education needed revamping in terms of infrastructure and digitisation, adding that the old boys had kicked off the drive to digitise the college to allow the students enjoy the power of modern technology.