Nigeria cannot achieve sustainable development or solve its multiple problems if it continues to pay lip service to Education and research Funding.
Professor of Chemical Engineering and Founder & Chief Executive Officer ATODATECH, Los Angeles United States of America, Adesoji Adesina stated this at the 78th Interdisciplinary Discourse of the Post graduate College, University of Ibadan.
According to Professor Adesina, Nigeria cannot achieve sustainable develop without funding research driven by national priorities.
He then called on President Muhammadu Buhari to formulate well defined National priorities to enable researchers develop solutions to her problems.
Speaking on the topic ” An approach to Research and Innovation in National Development: Entrepreneurial Culture in Nigerian Tertiary Education”, Professor Adesina said Nigeria can only move forward if innovative researches are conducted in line with national priorities.
While noting that research is the cornerstone of developed societies, the Professor of Chemical Engineering lamented that Nigeria commits only 0.22percent of its Gross Domestic Product on research.
The don who noted that Nigerian researchers are conducting researches which are not entirely aligned to national priorities also stated that only innovative researches can bring sustainable development.
The former Professor at the University of South Wales, Sydney, Australia asked federal government to formulate policies that will make private organisations, institutions and government fund researches.
“Research must be embraced and pursued with passion. We need to conduct research driven by national priorities. We need the business sector to fund research and development. We also need policy to ensure that they do this. Nigeria must formumate national research policy which will incorporate national priorities. We cannot have development without technology, innovation, management and entrepreneurship”
Reacting to the lecture, Deputy Vice Chancellor (RISP) Professor Olanike Adeyemo stated that the international funders fund researches which are of priority to them.
While urging federal government and other private firms to fund researches in Nigeria, Professor Adenike advised Nigerian scholars to make Nigeria a priority in their researches and come up with scientific solutions to Nigeria’s problems
