The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, on Friday said that the ministry was working toward making the nation’s ongoing industrialisation irreversible.
Onu said this in Enugu while briefing newsmen after inspecting structural work at the venue of the forthcoming 2019 Technology and Innovation Expo.
The minister said that earliest efforts to industrialise the country did not succeed as they were not backed by research.
“We had car assembly plants and others in the country, but such industrialisation process stopped because they were not backed by research findings.
“Currently, we are encouraging research findings by our universities, polytechnics, research institutions and individuals.
“The 2019 Technology and Innovation Expo is aimed at looking for ways to commercialise these research findings and make them appeal to investors,” he said.
Onu said that investors would assist in converting such findings into products and services, thereby, completing the process.
“We are looking forward to making Nigeria a laboratory where every Nigerian will be making contributions,” he said.
The minister appealed to technologists and inventors to apply for patents for their products and research findings, adding that the ministry would assist them in that regard.
He said that the ministry had already held two successful editions of the technology expo.
“We have seen some of our research findings being commercialised as a result of previous events of this magnitude. That is why we want to be doing it every year,” Onu said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2019 Technology and Innovation Expo will hold at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, between Jan.14 and Jan. 18.
The theme of the event is “Science, Technology and Innovation for Economic Recovery and Sustainable Growth.’’
Participants will be drawn from research institutions, higher institutions of learning, both local and foreign investors and other relevant stakeholders. (NAN)