The Minister of Science and Technology, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, has expressed delight that Nigeria is on the right path to technological advancement.
Onu said this on Thursday after inspecting pavilions lined up with inventions by Nigerian researchers at the ongoing Technology and Innovation Expo 2019 in Enugu.
The minister said that he was elated at the ingenuity of Nigerians, adding that there was no doubt that the country was moving on the right track.
He said: “It is important that Nigerians visit this event to see the potential of our countrymen.
“I am very proud of our researchers and inventors and I want Nigerians to know that we can dream and nothing can limit us from achieving the dream except ourselves.
“From what is going on here, there is no doubt that our great nation has a very bright future.”
Onu said that it was gratifying that many Nigerians had begun to appreciate the relevance of science, technology and innovations in nation building.
According to him, “This is one sure way we can continue to help our country by producing some of the things that we import.
“This will help us to create new jobs and wealth as well as fight poverty.”
Onu said that the ministry was encouraging Nigerians to harness the abundant natural resources in the country for the production of goods for local consumption and export.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that among the eye-catching inventions on display at the expo are locally manufactured Hexacopter, Hydraulic Dyphran and 30.1mm Rocket produced by the Nigerian Air Force.
Squadron Leader Maxwell Sunday told NAN that the products were designed and developed by the Force Research and Development Centre in collaboration with Air Force History of Technology, Kaduna.
Sunday said that some of the wares were developed in 2016 and 2018.
He said: “We are here with three products. One of them is a drone called Hexacopter, which is meant for military operations.
“It is also for Area Mapping and can be used for the protection of very important personalities, among other uses.”
He said that the Hydraulic Dypran used in M.I helicopter series and developed in 2016 could be used to stabilise the relevant aircrafts.
“We have 30.1mm Rocket here. This Rocket is for anti personnel arms,” Sunday said.
He said that the rocket was already being used in the ongoing fight against insurgency in the North-East.
He said that the Air Force was inspired to develop the technologies by the need to be self-reliant and less dependent on inventions from other parts of the world.
The four-day event was declared open by President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, Jan. 14. (NAN)
