The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has called on Nigerians to support homegrown innovation by purchasing Made-in-Nigeria products, including its 10-inch tablets, locally manufactured laptops, and soon-to-be-launched electric tricycles (Keke Napep).
The agency also highlighted its advancements in producing solar-powered irrigation systems, compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion centres, and high-capacity block-making machines capable of producing up to 1,000 blocks per hour.
During a stakeholders’ engagement in Akure, Ondo State, NASENI’s Deputy Director of Engineering, Joseph Alasoluyi, acknowledged the challenges of perceived low quality, pricing, and public perception as major barriers to the acceptance of locally manufactured goods.
Alasoluyi emphasized that NASENI has the capacity to develop machinery that can compete globally but stressed the need for a coordinated effort to boost Nigeria’s industrial sector and change consumer attitudes toward locally made products.
He said NASENI which was set up to promote science, technology, and engineering as a foundation for Nigeria’s development, currently operates 12 institutes nationwide to achieve its objectives.
According to him, “95 percent of our research metamorphosis into products. The new NASENI is into production and we are interested in feedback.
“The idea of this programme is to interface to ensure we produce products using our indigenous technology. This is what NASENI is out for, to ensure that homegrown technologies are encouraged. We are out there to ensure we integrate effort to ensure that locally technology is used to develop products within the resources we have.
“NASENI’s “3 Cs” – Creation, Collaboration, and Commercialisation – that define NASENI’s strategic mandate: Creating innovations through research, Collaborating with partners to develop and refine products, and Commercialising these solutions to benefit the economy.
Alasoluyi also highlighted the Irrigate Nigeria project – a presidential initiative championed by NASENI to ensure year-round agricultural production through innovative irrigation systems.
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Deputy Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Dr Samuel Oluyamo, said government agencies were not doing theirr jobs go create awareness about researches.
Dr. Oluyamo stated that many promising research outputs were left moribund due to lack of funding and weak linkages between research institutions and industry.
Oluyamo said the federal government’s was yet to be commitment to funding research and development even as he lamented that many academic innovations remain shelved due to lack of support for commercialisation and poor infrastructure.
“Until we upscale research into mass production, technological growth will remain elusive,” he said.