…As senator orders 500 samples of NASENI invention at 2022 STI expo
The executive vice chairman of the National Agency for Science Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Prof. Mohammed Haruna, has touted continuous investment in science, technology and innovation (STI) as the blueprint for the development of ready nations in the 21s century.
Speaking during the ‘NASENI Day’ of the ongoing Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Expo in Abuja, Haruna said Nigeria’s development will be dependent on home-grown and sustained industrialisation, which is the key to a sustainable economic recovery and growth of the country.
The NASENI boss said the agency is committed to developing local capacity and capability for innovations in a bid to turn the nation into a manufacturing-based economy.
“This occasion allows NASENI to showcase, in a special way, the technologies, products and services indigenously developed by the agency to its stakeholders, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs and the general public, to attract investors and investment for commercialisation and mass production.”
The NASENI helmsman took his visitors on a tour of the agency’s exhibition stand, where machines and other newly fabricated innovation items made by the agency’s indigenous inventors and innovators were on display.
At the end of the tour, he informed a news conference that efforts are being made to partner with the private sector to guarantee the international market and commercialisation of the products.
“What we do is to partner with the private sector who advises us on what is needed in the market. That is why our approach to research and development is need-oriented and market-demanding research. Several of these are off-takers already and we are adopting a policy for mass production,” he assured.
He, however, decried a lack of engineering and other socio-economic infrastructure, which he called “major setbacks” to Nigeria’s manufacturing sector.
“Nigeria must continuously invest in R&D in the areas of STI. The approach of NASENI is collaborative research and partnership with local and foreign counterparts and commercial concern to guarantee export and boost international trade in Nigerian products and services of research and development.
“NASENI has been at the forefront of adopting science and engineering infrastructure to turn ideas into goods and services, to ensure that Nigeria leverages on science and engineering infrastructure to enhance its growth through the commercialisation of its research results.
“NASENI is currently and consistently developing new designs and technologies to solve national problems, ” he assured.
In another development on the day, the Senator representing Kano South Senatorial Zone, Sen. Kabiru Gaya made an order for 500 pieces of maize-threshers fabricated by NASENI Jalingo, for his constituency.
Gaya placed the order on Tuesday while inspecting the NASENI exhibition stand at the ongoing STI Expo that started in Abuja on Monday, themed “Sustaining National Economic Growth through Science, Technology and Innovation”.
He praised the agency for its focus on research and fabrication of world standard equipment that could stand the test of time and promised more patronage of NASENI products.
In his address, the chairman of the occasion, Kola Jamodu, attested that NASENI has helped to boost the government’s efforts to industrialise Nigeria by ensuring the availability of resources for machine production and others required for mass production.
This, he said, will help enhance Nigeria’s capacity. “NASENI is capable of delivering equipment that will meet international standards.”
The keynote speaker and president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Engr. Masur Ahmed, who was represented by the managing consultant, Weircapacity, Mr. Nyananso Ekanem, called for sustained improvement in human capacity development, commitment to more funding as well as putting the right infrastructure in place. For him, Nigeria can explore its potential to become a global player in technology.
