A renowned scientist, Prof. Sulaiman Bogoro, has urged Federal Government to institutionalise Research and Development (R&D) by establishing National Research and Development Foundation, backed by law.
Bogoro, Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), made the call at the maiden edition of the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) Scientific Conference on Tuesday in Lagos.
The theme of the conference was “The Role of Science in Attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs’’.
According to him, SDGs is a product of global partnership aimed at greening and securing the future.
He said the main focus of SDGs and pillars of sustainable development were people, planet, peace and profit.
He disclosed that Nigeria’s SDGs Office had expressed interest at presenting its first Voluntary National Review (VNR) during the July 2020 High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development.
Bogoro, who delivered the keynote address on the theme, said developments without scientific inputs were unsustainable.
“When sustainability matters, Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) and applied research and development are the golden keys,” he said.
The Executive Secretary also said tertiary institutions in Nigeria should advocate research for development within the framework of SDGs for holistic national development.
He further solicited that NAS should make a strong case to the National SGDs office on the domestication of Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) in line with global practice.
He recommended that towards correcting the flawed valued system, NAS, Nigerian National Merit Awards, NAS, Nigerian Academy of Engineers and Nigerian Academy of Letters should be officially recognised and treated as national think tank. (NAN)
