Speaker Dogara says Nigeria cannot compete with other countries without innovation.
Speaker Yakubu Dogara says Nigeria cannot compete favourably with other countries without an advancement in science and technology.
Speaker Dogara said this at a dinner held on Thursday night in honour of Professor Suleiman Elias Bogoro, the former executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Fund (TETfund), on his induction as a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science.
Dogara urged members of the academy to lay emphasis on research as the country would only attain its full potentials through science and technology.
“Our nation cannot compete favourably without innovation,” Dogara said. “We have also seen that it is innovation in the area of science that drives communities, even nations to thrive. They are exporting their intellect; we have seen that.
"That is why the ten most advanced nations, or richest nations on the earth, some of them do not have the kind of resources that we have. It is in this area: advancement in science and technology that the true potential of this nation will emerge.
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“That is the challenge before the Nigerian Academy of Science, some of us are not scientists, we read Law and I guess we are doing very well in the field of Law. We have different eminent live vessels in different fields in this country affecting lives and defining the destiny of this nation, but I know that it is in science that the excellency of this nation shall truly emerge.”
The Speaker lauded Prof. Bogoro’s virtues, describing him as an inspiration and one who is fully committed in anything he does.
On his part, Prof Bogoro disclosed that during his tenure at the TETfund, ninety percent of resources were committed to research in science and technology.