Nigeria’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji has emphasized the need to harness Science, Technology and Innovation in addressing pressing national challenges.
He made the statement in Abuja at the launch of a development initiative between the governments of Nigeria and Ghana.
Nnaji said the gathering underscored the collective commitment to harnessing Science, Technology, and Innovation (ST&I) to address some of the most pressing national challenges confronting Nigeria and Ghana, including economic diversification, job creation, climate resilience, improved public health outcomes, food security, and sustainable energy development.
He said the objectives of the Sankore Project resonate deeply with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 8-point Agenda, especially its emphasis on Technology Advancement, Capacity Building, and Economic Growth.
“The Sankore Project promises to deliver innovative solutions that will significantly enhance economic growth, improve public service delivery, and raise living standards across our region. Importantly, it seeks to establish robust frameworks to ensure coordinated project delivery and rigorous monitoring of outputs and impacts.
“This significant initiative, generously supported by UK International Development with an accountable grant delivery mechanism valued at up to £1.9 million Pounds, symbolizes a critical partnership between the governments of Nigeria and Ghana, UNESCO, R4D, and the United Kingdom,” he stated.
Earlier in her address, Susan Mshana, Deputy Development Director, British High Commission, explained that Sankore is a new accountable grant delivery mechanism of up to £1.9million supported by the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office which will be delivered in two work streams to strengthen ST&I systems in Nigeria and Ghana, as well as support the UK government’s partnership with the government of both countries on ST&I.
In his speech, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ghana, said “Nigeria is a sleeping giant that needs to wake up, so the rest of Africa can wake up.”
According to him, “Nigeria has the capacity to lead the entire continent of Africa, and we can do this through forums such as this Sankore project.
“I want to thank UNESCO and the organizers for creating this opportunity for us to meet once again, to rekindle this time, not a rough war, but a war to innovate and to create the needed jobs for the teaming employees we have in our countries.
“And also, to remind us, that the challenges confronting us as a people can only be surmounted if we do what the psychologists call a superordinate goal. In psychology, superordinate goals are goals that are mutually desirable and cannot be achieved by one group alone, requiring two or more groups to cooperate to achieve them, often used to reduce intergroup conflict.
“So it’s an opportunity for me to remind myself and remind you that we have an opportunity, we need to work in a collaborative fashion to be able to keep the purpose for which this 1.9 million pounds, I guess, has been provided for this project.
“All the agencies under the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology in Ghana, their core mandate and function is to research and innovate.
“In Ghana there are people who are research commercialization pessimists. They can’t stand any ideas of attempting to commercialize research.
“The time has come for us to begin looking at how we can commercialize the output of research for the good of those research institutions and for our collective growth and development.”
Harnessing science, technology key to addressing Nigeria’s challenges – FG
