DeSPITE efforts made by several governments in Nigeria to leap the nation into circle of the industrialised nations of the world, 90 % of the technology that drives the economy is still imported.
But the good news is that the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, (NOTAP) has been able to patent 30 Nigerian innovations, and is looking towards increasing it to 50 by the end of the year.
The Director-General of NOTAP, Dr. DanAzumi Ibrahim who released these statistics in Lagos, South West Nigeria yesterday at a meeting with select technology editors lashed at the private sector for the slow pace of technology acquisition in the country.
He said that while the Government has been able to coerce the public sector into use of Nigerian technology, the private sector has not be able to embrace it instead foreign technology still dominates the economy.
According to him the banks in the country are the guiltiest in the use of foreign technology saying that it is the norm in the banking sector to see them compete with one another over the use of foreign software in their operations.
While calling for the reduction of imported technology in Nigeria, he said that “we must build the capacity to compete in the global arena by developing our own technology”, noting that as a nation Nigeria should never be under the illusion that technology will be transferred into the country.
Ibrahim disclosed that NOTAP as part of the solution, it has been champion the research activities in the area home grown technology through partnership with the private sector saying that NOTAP has saved the country of N192 billion between 20101 and 2016 as a result of the implementation of its statutory function of registration of technology transfer agreement.
He explained that that was achieved through its refusal to approve for importation of technologies as well as services that could be rendered by Nigerians adding that NOTAP with the assistance of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in 2016 established Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices in some pioneer Nigerian institutions to first of all create the awareness on the importance of Intellectual Property Protection.
The NOTAP boss who decried the low level of intellectual activities in Nigerian Universities said that it has begun some global partnership agreement aid product oriented-research saying that unless a research results to the production of goods and services, it has no economic value enhance NOTAP helps researchers to patent their works.
He stated that NOTAP has introduced a local vendor policy to assist in development of local content initiative of the Nigerian government stressing that most of the Technology Transfer Agreements by NOTAP are mainly on software licensing.
NOTAP according Ibrahim has taken care of the interest of local vendor by introducing 40 % of annual maintenance that goes to them; a trend which he said has helped to improve software development in Nigeria.
A major development, the head of NOTAP disclosed was the linking of research to industry needs through what he called the NOTAP-Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship for the training of high level manpower on industry-relevant research projects noting that Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Friesland Campina WAMCO Plc, Dufil Prima Plc, Airtel Nigeria and Nestle Nigeria Plc have keyed into the project.
Isaiah Erhiawarien, West Africa
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