Director-General, National Office for Technology Acquisition Promotion and Transfer (NOTAP), Dr. Dan’azumi Mohammed-Ibrahim, said on Monday, that PZ Cussons in collaboration with his agency had upgraded three chemical laboratories at N115 million.
He said in Zaria, Kaduna State, that the laboratories included the recently inaugurated one at the National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT), Zaria.
Others according to him, are that of Moddibo Adamawa University of Technolgy, Yola and University of Calabar.
The D-G said the laboratories were meant to develop human capacity with a view to providing necessary infrastructure to undertake innovative research and development in the country.
“The world is moving away from resource-based to knowledge-based economy and any nation that does not develop its knowledge infrastructure will remain a consumer nation for the rest of its life.”
He said it was high time for the private sectors to come-in and assist especially the education sector that was not well-funded.
The D-G observed that relying on government alone would not yield the desired results, “hence, the need to extend tentacles of partnership to the industries especially multi-nationals.
“The multi-nationals are making huge income from their activities in Nigeria and we believe that it is part of their corporate social responsibilities to the society.
“To ensure that human capacity is developed and provide necessary infrastructure for the human capacity to use in undertaking research and development.
“So that technologies are chunk-out to reduce the level of foreign technology consumption,” he said.
He said the partnership between PZ and NOTAP was aimed at achieving the noble objective of encouraging competitive research and development for national growth.
Mohammed-Ibrahim lamented that over 90 per cent of the technologies that powered the nation’s economy were imported.
According to him, the imported technologies covered construction and banking sectors, information and communication technology (ICT), among others.
“Where do these technologies generate from? They are generated from universities, research establishments and polytechnics.
“But if you look at the way our universities and research establishments are funded, you realise that we will not have much coming out from the system.
“Notwithstanding the funding, still some subsistence technologies are coming-out from the system,” the D-G maintained.
He, however, said Nigeria “is a nation that is aspiring to compete at global level, therefore, we cannot just rely on what is coming from our own system.
“We have to allow technologies to come into Nigeria and study those technologies adopt them to become our own; in my opinion that is how we can develop,” he added. (NAN)