DG Harps On Technology Management Domestication

Dr Willie Siyanbola, Director General, National Centre for Technology Management, has emphasised the need for technology management and domestication for sustainable development of the nation.

Speaking at the induction of new trainees in Abuja, Siyanbola attributed Nigeria’s underdevelopment to lack of capacity to manage and domesticate imported technologies.

He said that the major challenge facing Nigeria in terms of development was in the area of capacity building in technology management and domestication, stressing that the centre could provide the capacity.

“Yes, we understand science and technology: we know physics, we know chemistry, we know engineering but we do not have the ability to manage those technologies that were imported.

“We have not had the ability to properly domesticate them to the extent that we can replicate: part of the area of focus here is to begin to build up that capability to do all of these.

“We have invested so much in iron and steel, refineries, petrochemicals, fertiliser companies and cement, but we find that the common denominator for all of these is failure, not because we don’t have engineers or scientists but because we do not understand how to manage those things

“There is a need for us to grow this group of technology managers,’’ he stressed.

He also stressed the need for the development of policies for states, for the nation and for organisations for them to be able to deploy scientific knowledge for development.

He disclosed that the centre had trained more than 500 technology managers in the last 12 years and was now collaborating with universities across the nation to start offering technology management as part of its courses.

Siyanbola expressed optimism that the President would assent to the draft Science, Technology and Innovation policy, explaining that if signed, the policy would help address some of the challenges.

Mr Ochapa Ogenyi, Director, Planning Research and Policy Analysis of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, said Nigeria should endeavour to link development with technology.

He identified science and technology as the vehicle that would take Nigeria to where it ought to be in terms of development, stressing that it was necessary to commercialise indigenous technologies.

Ogenyi further charged the students to update their knowledge so that they could constitute the crop of technology managers required to manage and domesticate technologies in Nigeria.