HARNESSING SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH
RESULTS FOR SUSTAINABLE
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Professor Oye Ibidapo-Obe FAS, FAEng.,FTWAS, OFR

President
The Nigerian Academy of Science &
Former Vice Chancellor
University of Lagos
Nigeria.

Text of the Presentation at 2010 Science and Technology Summit

August 9-10, 2010 Abuja

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OUTLINE OF DISCOURSE

1. Introduction.

2. The Nigerian Vision 20:2020.

3. Science, Technology and Innovation.

4. The Issues and Challenges.

5. Conclusions.

1. Introduction

It is an accepted norm that knowledge is a sine-qua-non to National

Development –since knowledge underpins human capacity resource generation

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which is primal to the functions, and perhaps the major raison de ter for the

establishment of these knowledge generators: research(including higher

educational) institutions as well as national academies. The output from these

research institutes and universities are usually research reports resulting to

refereed publications in journals, patents and prototypes. One of the major

challenges in the sector is to move these prototypes and inventions from the

laboratories to the market place.

A cursory analysis of Doctoral theses at the University of Lagos from 1970-

2008 indicates that out of a total of 745 PhDs graduated from the University;

366(49.1%) were in the Science and Technology area. Doctoral theses are

ordinarily expected to be innovative in new thoughts or in advancing new

efficiencies in the existing methodologies. The University of Lagos data shows

a minimum of 20-21 new innovations per annum from the University of Lagos.

It can therefore be estimated that some 2,500 new scientific research results

from the University System in Nigeria plus an additional 5,000 from the

myriads of research institutes. Although this figure is low in comparison to the

population; it however indicates that with the increasing level of funding in the

system, the capacity exist to generate more research results.

The current revolution in our world, which is the concurrence of information

and communications technology, is the soul of the evolution of ‘knowledge

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societies ‘or ‘knowledge economy’. A look at the plethora of new terms

prefixed by “e-“indicates the necessary need to be IT or “e-“compliant (e-mail,

e-learning, e-payment, e-government et. al.) in order to make progress on the

21st century.

Knowledge societies, driven by focused and well funded research institutions

with the human resource input from quality assured education system, are

ruling our world under several guises, associations and nomenclature(s) viz: G7,

G8, G8+5, G20, BRIC, World Economic Forum, etc. Nigeria’s global ranking

on the Knowledge Index is 66th position out of polled 75 countries and

classified in the group of lagging followers. The country is ranked 95th out of

129 on Global Competitiveness just ahead of the poorest of the poor countries

including Dominican Republic, Kenya, Gambia, Tanzania, Mali, Benin,

Cameroun and Zimbabwe. Nigeria should not be in that class of ‘lagging

followers’ given the abundant human and natural resources as well as our

history. We therefore need to synergize our individual capacities with the sole

purpose to achieve international prominence.

In order to be a knowledge society and achieve the Vision 20:2020 objectives,

the 8 no. Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and the 7-point (shrunk to 2)

Agenda by 2011/2015, there must be fundamental changes in the way and

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manner we think and act! The Nigerian dream must be transformed through a

visioning process to reality and rebrand on best practices.

2. The Nigerian Vision 20:2020.

The Nigerian Vision 2020 is simply put the desire and aspiration of the country

to be one of the world’s 20 largest economies by the Year 2020[1].It was a

target confidently set by the government in 2006/2007. This target was a result

of the remarkable potentials of the country as assessed by independent

international non governmental agencies comparing Nigeria with the BRIC

(Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries. These potentials are in both human

and natural resources some of which include a population of 150 million with a

median age of 18.63 years growing at 2.37% per annum; a highly proven

resourceful people; the 8th largest exporter of petroleum and 6th largest

producer of Gas. The country also has some 34 different types of solid minerals

including Gold, Coal, Tin, Iron Ore et.al. It is also blessed with rich arable land

and a warm and friendly climate.

It was anticipated that the GDP growth will move from 3.5% in 2009 through

7% in 2015 to 13.5% in 2020 and that the poverty ratio (on $2 US/day) as a

percentage of the population would have reduced from 70% now to 30% in

2020 or so and that power supply and availability would move from 3000MW

through 6000MW to 50,000MW in 2020.

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These are the assumptions but there are several infrastructural, political as well

as the science, technology and innovations challenges that needs to be

surmounted. Several studies in the past 50 years or so have recognized that

significant investments in science and technology education and research lead to

innovations and value addition to people and natural resources. This synergy

has been achieved in Europe, North America, and Israel and more recently

responsible for the emergence of the Asian Tigers/BRIC countries [2, 5, and 6].

Individually, Nigerians are respected all over the world in terms of intellectual

ability and resourcefulness –what apparently is lacking is a leadership that can

provide a positive (YES! WE CAN) attitude and the willingness to work

together as a family and nation (not as nationalities?) to achieve specific well-

defined objectives.

A key and perhaps central element in the National Vision and Goals strategy, be

it Vision 2010; Millennium Development Goals, NEEDS, Vision 20:2020 and

the 7-Point Agenda, is the need to strengthen STEM(Science, Technology,

Engineering and Mathematics) Education as a public good. The Vision 2010

document provides a clear direction for the Education and Science and

Technology sectors through the improvement of science, engineering and

technology education training; it sought specifically to make education at

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primary and secondary levels compulsory and free by 2003 and 2009

respectively; to allocate not less than 26% of the national (Federal, State and

Local Governments) budget to education; to charge supplementary fees in

university to partially recover costs etc. Currently, work is going on the Vision

20:2020 implementation document and I doubt if but I hope that it would be

radically different from that of Vision 2010.

What all these point to is that we are not lacking in visions, but poor in the

resolve to implement the strategies. For example, we need the will to establish

the proposed National Research Foundation (NSF) so that it can create

innovation cluster(s) for research and development in universities and research

institutions. The recent efforts on World Bank Step-B Centre of Excellence and

the more recent ETF (Educational Task Fund) Research Funds are

commendable and should be encouraged.

3. Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)

It is important to reiterate that STI is beyond the traditional science disciplines

of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics, but incorporates the

appreciation and understanding of nature (humanities) as well. It is the

innovation aspect of Science and Technology that makes our life more

abundant. It is S&T that generates innovative products for the market place. The

1979 Nobel Laureate in Physics-Abdul Salam remarked that ‘in the final
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analysis it is basically the mastery and utilization of modern science and

technology that distinguishes the south from the north’. From a larger

perspective and in line with global trend of knowledge as the criteria for

national power and prominence; our Nelson Mandela mantra is ‘Knowledge is

Power’. No amount of raw materials endowment, if there are no value addition

will make our country prominent. We need to develop the capacity to add value

to the national mineral and other agricultural products through processing and

other scientific value addition in order to dictate the global price of those

commodities.

The metrics or measurable parameters for, the determination of knowledge

economies, that will lead to the achievement of NV 20-2020 include

population, GDP and GDP per capita, R&D expenditure as % of GDP, The

quantum and quality of Higher Education Institutions in Science, Engineering

and Allied Disciplines, the patents granted to residents per million of the

population, the receipts of the royalties and license fees per person, researchers

in R&D per million people, high tech experts as % of manufacturing experts as

well as the most critical issue of the level of electricity consumption per

capita[4]. It is perhaps appropriate to note the constraining effect of lack of

adequate electricity on the entire economy-for a population of 150 million and

in order to position us on the global scale and achieve the audacious NV 20-

2020-we need some 1000 watts per capita for a total output of 150,000MW.This
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as compared to our current capacity of below 4,000MW is far below par. The

medium term strategy is to speed up investments in renewable energy forms

(solar, wind, mini/micro hydro) especially for the rural population and that

perhaps the rural communities can be fed solely on renewable and thus be

separated from the national grid.

It is these knowledge based economies, that are advanced in substantially

meeting the stated metrics for national accelerated development, which will

result in enhanced and sustainable economic development, wealth creation and

growth in gross domestic product that are in the group of the 20 fastest growing

economies in the world.

It has been shown how the individual country-by-country performance driven

by science, technology and innovation (STI) led to the rapid economic and

technological expansion of Japan after the second world war; the specific key

STI role of Teknion University and the Weizmann Institute resulting in Israel

emergence as a world power as well as in the rapid economic and technological

developments in Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, China and India.

Sound scientific knowledge is fundamental to addressing the critical issues of

economic transformation and globalization; reduction of unemployment,

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underemployment, poverty, hunger and disease, and the sustainable use of

natural resources facing the world today. The world is changing at a rapid pace

driven by science and technology, and the challenge of integrating science and

technology into development is getting increasingly complex. For example,

reflect on the controversies over the development of bio-fuels, embryonic stem-

cells, nuclear fuels, GM seedlings and in the use of nanoscience /nano-

technologies for remote dispensing of antidotes and similar drugs to patients

remotely are all the results of dedicated research outputs.

As for the case of bio-fuels, the question is whether the benefits of such fuels

will be able to compensate for decreased food production as the farmlands will

now be largely devoted to production of crops for biodiesel with subsequent

food shortages and thus increasing food prices. The new search is to use farm

wastes, jatropha curcas for bio-fuels. Each of the above situations can be

similarly analyzed with the attendant difficult economic and moral issues.

In the 21st Century; the accumulation of scientific knowledge and its

technological applications are accelerating at a dizzying rate, enabled in large

part by ever more powerful computers and lightning-fast communications such

that product life span is less than 12 months before obsolesce. The internet has

revolutionized the meaning of time and space such that as we have literally

conquered space whereas the precise knowledge of time is still work-in-

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progress. A great leap in medical science enabled by IT is the decoding and

manipulations of DNA.

The above discoveries were facilitated mainly by research institutions that have

an essential role to play in building the necessary S & T capacities. These must

therefore be the focus for the modernizing of forces of the society, for the

promotion of the “values of science and technology” and for mediating between

the political and industrial spheres of national life.

Developing economies, such as ours, can only fast-track and/or leap frog their

growth through targeted research and development. A practical way to do this is

to do what is generically referred to as reverse engineering. It is these research

institutions that must provide the road map to circumvent those road blocks to

indigenous technology enhancement necessary for driving innovation and

development of the nation. The nation must be prepared to invest heavily in the

research which must orchestrate the brain power of the faculty, take

responsibility for training new generation of talents and participate in the

transformation of the nation’s S&T base.

Science brings imagination on theoretical speculations as well as on practical

problems and critical decisions –allowing people to analyze the present (and

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future) situations, make sounder choices, and invest their resources more

wisely.

We need a coherent national S&T strategy with framework to be developed in

consultation with the Nigerian Academy of Science to specify the national

priorities for research and development with the appropriate funding

commitment (at about 1.5% of the GDP annually), and include merit-based

support for basic science and recognize the need for higher level training to

develop, as much as possible, natural competence in selected frontier areas of

science and technology that are most suitable for sustainable economic

development and social well being. This is the path that China took some 50

years ago; using science to address the challenges of the development by

carrying out relevant research, putting the results into practice through

technological innovation and generally using them to inform public policy.

Our country must gradually move away from a consumer to a producer nation.

The obstacles (including the WTO GATT Agreements, the WMO Montreal

Protocols and others) which we have been committed to without our clear

understanding of the implications must be reviewed and possibly abrogated.

4. The Strategies and Challenges.

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The Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) vision is ‘to build a science,

technology and innovation system that will drive a competitive knowledge

economy towards 20-2020’. In order to achieve the above; the 1st strategy is to

build a competitive workforce that is science-based so as to ensure that the

increase in the share of manufacturing in GDP which is 4% in 2009 to 20% in

2015.The science based workforce will increase by 20% in 2015 and 50% in

2020.This will also result in productivity improvement of 25% by 2015 and

50% by 2020.The direct share of Science and Technology related services in

GDP must increase by 20% by 2015.

The 2nd strategy is ‘to forge a national innovation system that encompasses all

existing and new STI institutions’. To achieve this objective; 5% of research

and development (R&D) output should be patentable by 2015(50,000 patent

applications) and 20% by 2020(100,000 patent applications).Furthermore, 30%

of patentable R&D should be commercialized by 2015 and 50% by 2020.The

expected increase in public and private investments in R&D and innovation

activities should be about 1.6% of the GDP by 2010.

The 3rd strategy is to engender a culture of Science, Technology and Innovation

in Society through the improvement of emoluments of S&T professionals in the

public sector to be at par with those working in the oil, gas and financial sector.

To build up this manpower; both the public and the private sector should revert

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to the pre-1980 policy of providing enhanced scholarships to students in S&T

disciplines(including science education).

The 4th strategy is to ensure Government(s) commitment to S&T in National

Planning by creating a National Foundation for Science, Innovation and

Competitiveness at the highest level of governance; create a national awareness

of S&T and its direct implication for national development among the populace

as well as the reinforcement of strong academic background that will support

science and technology education.

The other strategies to achieve the stated objectives include the need to build

capacity in new and emerging technologies(biotech, nanotech and advanced

materials),develop multiple renewable energy resources, attain space

capabilities for socio-economic enhancement, promote value addition to agro,

mineral and petroleum resources, optimize the use of research facilities and

human resources at all levels of governance, ensure an enhanced information

technology(IT) capability to automate the economy and the promotion of the

growth and development of indigenous and orthodox medicine and their

practices.

The challenges for the achievement of NV 20-2020 even within the framework

of science, technology and innovation include the legendary lack of political

will and support from the governing institutions especially the executive and the

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legislature leading to policy inconsistency and lack of sustaining continuity.

There is no availability of STI supporting infrastructure and underfunding of

research activities in Nigerian higher education and allied research institutions.

It is gratifying to note that this aspect is being partly addressed by the Education

Trust Fund (ETF).

Other identified challenges include the unfavorable legal framework in the

country that restricts the activities and perhaps scope of R&D institutions;

inadequate manpower; absence of motivation to study Science and Technology;

non identification of and support for national areas of comparative advantages;

non timely identification of competition and role models as well as lack of

linkages between R&D and manufacturing firms, non appreciation and

application of modern technology by the citizenry in addition to some inhibiting

cultural practices and superstition(as evidenced more glaringly in the health

sector).

The above even though S&T specific cannot be divorced from the general

national developmental challenges which in summary is the creeping lack of

confidence in the ability of government to provide human security in all facets

of human Endeavour.

The catalogue of these challenges point to the inevitable need to deploy science,

technology and innovation tools to combat and alleviate poverty [3] through

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food security, effective health management systems, appropriate education with

proper skills content, sufficient clean energy, uncompetitive national goods and

services in global and local markets, etc. The core values for research institutes

must include excellence, transparency, integrity, merit, and relevance.

Some best practices are evolving in these institutions as a result of the renewed

efforts to revitalize the quality of outcomes in view of several system

shortcomings, through the institutional accreditation process as well as the

repositioning for globally competitiveness.

5. Conclusions

The wealth of nations is now measured by the content and quality of knowledge

inherent and latent in that society. The world has moved from commodity-based

and military power ranking to knowledge economies/societies. Inherent in this

paradigm shift is Science, Technology and Innovation –Science must be at the

heart of development!

In enthroning science as the key to inventing a better society; research

institutions, universities and the national science academy have essential roles

to play in building the capacity for high quality national research and

development in agriculture/ food security, engineering and health.

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All research institutions must develop a Research Policy with an Agenda with

the same vigour and elaboration that attended the erstwhile articulation of

Strategic Plans. The Research Agenda should be derived from a National Vision

on Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation.

The challenges of science, technology and infrastructure in attaining the goals

of vision 20:2020 can be surmounted provided that we can enthrone S&T as the

leading vehicle for the transformation of the country to a knowledge society.

The country must build capacity to find and invest in appropriate technologies,

adapt them to local environment as well as deploy them to solve local problems.

In building this capacity, we must move to a merit based system and disregard

suboptimal selection criteria that do not project our most brilliant and best. The

strategy should be to strengthen science, technology, engineering and

innovation (STEI) capacity as a tool for achieving the country’s priority social

and economic development objectives. The purpose of these capacity and

building programmes is to develop a suite of skills and technical capacities for

the economy.

In summary; the focus is to train scientists, engineers, technicians and policy

makers; promote grass-roots inclusive innovation; develop local institutions that

can scale up locally generated grass roots innovations an also identify, evaluate

and import technology that is in widespread use around the world but which is

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not being used domestically to address local development objectives;

strengthening the capacity of local scientific and engineering institutions to

conduct research and development needed to adapt these technologies for local

use and to generate socially and economically relevant new technologies;

developing the technology transfer know how that will be required to move

inventions from laboratory to the market as well as helping local enterprises to

become more innovative. These are achievable goals that need to be critically

examined, implemented beyond rhetoric and monitored scientifically.

In conclusion, the myriads of science and technology research results available

in universities, polytechnics and research institutions need to be collated on a

continues basis by the Nigerian Academy of Science as well as that of

Engineering to be enabled by the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology.

These results shall be marketed by the academies and supported by the various

parastatals in the Ministry.

6. References.

1. Nigeria Vision 2020-Economic Transformation Blueprint. National Planning

Commission, September 2009.

2. O.Ibidapo-Obe: Renewing the World Bank Strategy for Africa: Presentation

of the Nigerian Perspective. World Bank Abuja. June 7 2010.
3. Alfred Watkins: Science, Technology and Innovation Capacity Building
Partnerships for Sustainable Development. Draft Document on Global Forum
Action Plan. Washington DC. May 28, 2010.

4. O.Ibidapo-Obe: The Power Sector in Nigeria-Challenges and Possible

Solutions. The Nigerian Academy of Science Media Forum. March 10, 2009.

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5. Nosa O.Egiebor: Science and Technology capacity as a development
challenge in Africa. Brainstorming Meeting at AUST Abuja. June 4, 2010.

6. Cisse, Boubou: The position of AUST on the World Bank AAP tertiary
education, human capital formation and development. Abuja. May 4, 2010.

O. Ibidapo-Obe

August 9, 2010

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