Segun Awofadeji in Gombe
The Gombe State Government is seeking partnership with the National Agency For Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to harness the talent of its young people as well as develop research outputs and commercialise the prototypes produced in the state to support indigenous industrialisation.
The Gombe State Commissioner of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Abdullahi Bappah Ahmed, gave this indication when he visited the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, in Abuja yesterday.
Ahmed told his host that Gombe State has many talented individuals who have invented many prototypes, but have not received adequate support and attention hence his visit to explore the possibility of collaborating with NASENI to support the potential of those young people.
He said: “We are here to register our support and seek a partnership between the Gombe State Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations and NASENI on areas of developing our research outputs and commercialization of our prototypes as well as harnessing the talent of Gombe State youths.
“Gombe has been doing wonderfully well in so many areas, particularly innovations and talent discovery. We have talented youths who for over the years, have been inventing prototypes, capable of changing the status quo and contributing to Nigeria’s industrialisation drive, but received no or little attention, as such we seek to partner with NASENI to harness the potential of these youth.”
He presented a 70-year-old inventor, Dr. Hadi Usman, who has been inventing for over 50 years but never had the chance to significantly benefit from his inventions due to a lack of support.
Halilu appreciated the commissioner’s visit and pledged to work with Gombe State Government and others across Nigeria for equitable interventions in the science and engineering sectors, revealing that the agency would soon roll out a framework for the state governments to join the industrialisation drive.
He also expressed his committment to supporting talented inventors like Hadi to create a knowledge-driven environment where everyone has a stake in the development of the Nigerian economy.
