The Federal Government says it has put in place a strategic plan for the enhancement of science and technology to ensure that the country will be competitive by 2030.
Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, the Minister of Science and Technology made this known during the 8th biannual national engineering conference of School of Engineering Technology at Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the conference was tagged: “National Peace and Economic Transformation: The Role of Science and Technology’’.
Onu said that no nation could develop without science and technology, adding that it had concluded arrangements to ensure that Nigeria competes favourably with developed nations in science and technology by 2030.
“In the year 2030, Nigeria should be competing with the best countries in the world in terms of science and technology,’’ he said.
He encouraged students to work hard to be self reliant after graduating from such as an institution of science and technology.
Similarly, Dr Abubakar Dzukogi, the Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Bida said that the socio-economic challenges facing the country such as insecurity, downward trend of the economy and corruption among others had increased hence the need to apply science and technology to tackle them.
“Give a person a fish: you have fed him for today. Teach a person to fish; you have fed him for lifetime.
“Teach him how to process and package fish for export and you have stimulated economic development. This is the work of engineers,’’ Dzukogi.
Earlier, Dr Abubakar Shehu, the Dean School of Engineering Technology at the institution said that the conference was aimed at charting a course for the development of the country.
“The conference is a forum for scientists, engineers, academics, researchers, policy makers, companies and private sector to present their research, results and findings, state of the art and technologies, products and services,’’ he said.
Shehu said that areas of focus for which technical papers would be delivered include industrialisation and employment generation, food security and biochemical engineering.
Other areas are construction and building technology, business and financial management, renewable energy, capacity building for development, nanotechnology, green technology and engineering education.
The Dean said that other areas that the experts would look into include poverty reduction, information technology, arts and social sciences, entrepreneurship education, oil and gas, safety, environmental sustainability, youth empowerment, geology and surveying. (NAN)
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