By Dwelleth Morountodun
The Minister of Science and Technology Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu says the ministry will deploy Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) to
actualize the President’s promise of freeing 100 million Nigerians from the poverty trap.
Onu disclosed this on Monday while addressing Supervising Directors, Heads of Agencies and staff of the Ministry in his office in Abuja.
He said: “There is no way you can move Nigeria out of poverty without the inputs of science and technology, adding that it is science, technology and innovation that will help us to create new technologies and those new technologies will now be the basis of new status.
That is to say new enterprises and entrepreneurs will now grow by using those new technologies.”
He further explained that the smaller businesses created will grow from medium to large scale, thereby enhancing wealth creation, poverty alleviation and improvement in Gross Domestic Products. (GDP)
Onu, reiterated the Ministry’s commitment to leverage on Federal Government’s first four years’ objectives to grow the economy, secure the nation, fight corruption and have a transparent Government. The Ministry he added will play a pivotal role to drive these objectives to ensure optimum contribution to the development of our great Nation in areas of Science, Technology and Innovation.
The minister said, for Nigeria to sustain its status as the largest economy in Africa by improving her productivity through Science and Technology. In his words,’’ the difference between the developed and developing Countries is the application of science and technology.
The developed countries applied STI to everything they do while the developing countries do not have sufficient application for science and technology.”
He assured the management and staff of the ministry that: “We all have the responsibility of making sure we move away from our dependence on foreign products and rely on knowledge and innovation. Once we do that we now give our economy opportunity to grow on a very fast rate we have seen it happening in China.”
Onu said together with the Minister of State, he would build a new Nigeria, a Nigeria that will be truly great that will not just be in a position to meet the needs of her citizens, unlike now that we still rely so much on importation but will be in a position to meet their needs locally.