By Eyo Nsima
THE minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has observed that Nigeria currently trail behind the United States, China, Japan, Germany, South Korea, India and other nations in Research and Development, R&D.
According to him, this happens because the puts only 0.2 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product, GDP, into R&D.
Speaking at the 2nd Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, research & Development Fair & Conference, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Thursday, the Minister, said: “Currently, developed nations such as the USA, China, Japan, Germany, and South Korea spend between 2.5 to 4% of their annual Gross Domestic Production (GDP) on R&D, while developing nations like India, Malaysia, Brazil spend between 0.7% to 1.2%. Nigeria lags well behind by spending only about 0.2% of its GDP on Research & Development.
“The underfunding of R&D reflects on Nigeria’s overdependence on foreign goods and services. This is unsustainable if we are serious about building a national technological capability that will drive economic growth. It is my firm belief that this trend can be mitigated through a collaborative approach to research and innovation.”
“In 2019 private sector practitioners in the Information and Communication Technology, ICT hardware & electronic equipment sector, pharmaceutical & biotechnology sector, automobiles and components sector cumulatively spent US$528bn on R&D representing 22% of the US$2.3 trillion global R&D spend. In India, the private sector contributed 38.1% of the country’s R&D spend.
“The essence of this data analytics is to reinforce the importance of our local service companies to embrace investment in R&D as a key component of their business model; and it is my expectation that this R&D fair will provide the needed stimulus. Still, on funding and in line with our commitment to provide leadership, I am pleased to officially announce the creation of the “Nigerian Content Research and Development Fund” with an initial seed capital of $50 million.
“The fund though clearly insufficient, signifies the premium the present administration places on growing Our Nation’s research and development capabilities. I encourage the private sector to replicate the global practice by complementing the Nigerian Content Research & Development Fund and actively support the Government’s drive in upscaling our national research architecture.”
He also said: “At this juncture, I am delighted to formally launch the NCDMB 10-year R&D Roadmap. The Roadmap is anchored on 8 success pillars – funding, infrastructure, capability, commercial framework, collaboration, governance, legal framework and enforcement. The 8 success pillars collectively implemented will no doubt position our industry on the path of sustainable assimilation of products of Research in oil and gas operations
“Accordingly, I am pleased to inform you of my approval of the reconstitution of the Nigerian Content Research and Development Council (NCRDC) made up of Dr. John Erinne (representing Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, PETAN), Mr. Ijuwe Albert (representing Oil Producers Trade Section, OPTS), Mr. Rosario Osobase (representing Petroleum Contractors Trade Section, PCTS), Dr. Noel Biodun Saliu (Representing Nigerian University Commission, NUC), Alhaji Aliyu Adamu (representing National Board for Technology Incubation, NBTI) and Dr. Tandama, Adamu Abu (Representing National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, NOTAP. The Council will be headed by the ES NCDMB while NCDMB will provide the Secretariat support.”
Furthermore, executive secretary, NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, said: “Research and Development led to the 1st Industrial Revolution in the 18th century with the emergence of the steam engines. The discovery of electricity and its application in mass production in the 19th century marked the era of the 2nd Industrial Revolution. The 20th century witnessed the era of the internet with the worldwide Web being the vogue of the 3rd Industrial Revolution.
“We are in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution with cloud computing, Internet of Things, Robotics, Big Data, Artificial Intelligent and many more is the hallmark of the current age.
“Once upon a time, it would have been unthinkable that I would be standing here in Yenagoa while conference participants hear and see me live by clicking a link on their devices. Such capabilities were associated with witches and wizards and it could only happen under the cover of darkness. These days, we are more or less taking such capability for granted.
He also added: “The 4th Industrial Revolution has made it possible to order for a private jet from your handphone or see who is at the door of your home in Lagos while you are on a business trip to Abuja. All these are made possible via Research and Development and we have not seen the end of it. There will be more Industrial Revolutions down the line and the question is why are we not at the forefront of the discoveries or innovate to adapt existing technologies to our needs. Analysis of global practices of Research and Development revealed that the combined R&D spend of just five countries makes up 63.5% of the entire global R&D spend. These five countries, namely USA, China, Japan, Germany, and India was also observed to have accounted for over 50% of the global Gross Domestic Products.”
