The role of Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) in any nation cannot be overemphasized. As part of efforts to rescue the future of Nigeria and its people from poverty and deprivation, the Federal Government in 2012 approved the national policy on science, technology and innovation with the belief that the outputs ST&I would have positive implications for the transformation agenda of the present administration.
In the words of President Goodluck Jonathan two years ago, when he undertook to be the chairman of the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC), the President said, “I am convinced that science, technology and innovation remain the key that will help us to achieve the desired transformation. I have undertaken to be the chairman so as to provide the leadership needed by this policy to drive our national development on all fronts, while preserving and respecting the individual mandates and responsibilities of the line ministries and agencies of government.”
There is no doubt that his conviction stems from the resourcefulness of the Nigerian people, apart from the fact that the gains of the application of the results from research would have beneficial effect for the quick turn-around of the economy.
The NRIC, of which Mr. President is the Chair, will be involved in facilitating Federal, Sectoral, Regional, State, and Local level innovations through the creation of innovation Councils. Undoubtedly, the development will make Nigeria a global innovation outsourcing destination.
Since the policy was approved, there have been tremendous strides as exemplified by a plethora of breakthroughs in biotechnology, space research, energy development and information and communication technology (ICT) and a host of others.
However one important aspect arising from the policy approval and which has consistently featured in the agenda of both the 12th and 13th meetings of the National Council of Science and Technology (NCST) is the Triple Helix Concept, which has the Ward Based Cluster Concept (WBCC) as its driver. The concept, no doubt, has snowballed into Ward Based Cluster project (WBCP) which is inherent at the grass root level.
This year’s meeting held in Minna, the Niger State capital has the theme ‘Science, Technology and Innovation Policy: Prospects and Challenges of its Implementation at the Grassroots’.
At the courtesy visit to Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita told her host that the Federal Government had been laying emphasis on research as one of the ways to improve the economy, adding that the Ward Based Cluster Project, a technological programme introduced recently by the government to bring up development from the grass-roots level, would soon commence in selected states as pilot projects at the six geo-political zones of the nation.
The WCBP is a project where emerging technologies developed in the urban areas are impacted to the people within the local communities so that they can make good use of their raw materials to create capital investment.
It basically aims at impacting the required skills to residents at the ward level- which is cluster of villages- to draw people from different localities to acquire skill and develop entrepreneurs.
Stakeholders at the last Minna meeting believe that clusters can be used to create jobs and promote socio-economic development in the rural areas. This informed the development of a blue print for the establishment of clusters in Nigeria through synergy among stakeholders.
This is based on the triple helix concept of bringing research, industry and government together to promote competitiveness in production. The blueprint proposes the promotion of raw materials-based industrial cluster in each of the 774 local governments in Nigeria by 2020.
With the use of the triple helix model of innovation in our national development strides, Nigeria stands to gain from bringing together the public, private and academic sectors thus refocusing the research institutes to be responsive to specific and identified industrial needs.
As a demonstration of seriousness and commitment by government, several interventions have been made for the transformation of the rural economy through the injection of technologies developed by Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST).
These include, but not limited to the development of concept note and blueprint for the WBCP, study of raw materials on local government areas and ward basis completed, baseline studies on clusters have been completed, apart from the fact that pilot wards have been designated.
Furthermore, visits have been undertaken by the Minister of Science and Technology with delegates from FMST to state governors where pilot wards are located, pilot wards communities have been sensitized, projects teams have been set up in institutions from where technologies are to be deployed just as some of the institutions have achieved more than 80 percent completion of technologies to be deployed.
It is worthy of note that the technologies deployed by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) for Bayelsa State is ready, while the skills acquisition centres are being constructed.
In the words of the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Abdul Bulama “ stakeholders should as a matter of deliberate policy use Science Technology and Innovation to transform Nigeria into one of the top 20 economies in year 2020, stressing that a nation that is unable to develop its STI system, will sink further down, while those with strong STI will mount up, as STI provides the basis for industrialization and sustainable development.
In reinforcing the commitment of the Federal Government Dr. Bulama recently hinted that President Goodluck Jonathan is set to replicate the success story of Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) clusters in 9,555 wards across the country.
According to the Minister, the aim of these projects is to promote raw materials processing clusters, which is an initiative of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council. “The success story of the Otigba cluster; Ikeja Computer Village; Nnewi Automotive SME cluster, the Kano Leather Cluster; Aba Fashion and Garments cluster; Kano Leather Cluster, Aba, Abeokuta and Osogbo tie and dye industry have proved beyond doubts that the cluster concept is one of the potent strategies required for enhancing speedy development of the non-oil sector,”.
The concept has received the approval of the Federal Government for implementation in all wards across the country. “For this reason, it was named the Ward Based Cluster Project. Consequently, it would be replicated in all 9,555 wards in the country, based on each ward’s comparative advantage in terms of natural resources endowment.
Ewache Ajefu, a journalist and Public Affairs Analyst wrote in from Abuja.
