Young Nigerians can innovate Nigeria out of her current problems, according to the vice president.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo believes that through innovation in science, technology and management sciences, young Nigerians can proffer solutions to the country’s age-long challenges.
Osinbajo stated this in his keynote address to the founding class (2021) of the Nigerian University of Technology and Management (NUTM), on Saturday, September 18, 2021, in Lagos.
According to the vice president, “the most significant problems of this generation, especially in Africa, will require innovation in science, technology and the management sciences, especially entrepreneurship and innovative leadership if we are to stand a chance of resolving them.”
“We need to invent and produce cutting-edge AI applications for education, business, medicine and security.
He added that “I think sitting before us today, the graduands of the NUTM scholars programme, we might just be beholding the men and women with the answers to some of the world’s most significant challenges. And there are many challenges indeed.
“We need to design the educational innovation required to train millions of children in or out of classrooms all across the country and on our continent, and provide the techniques for delivering opportunities in technology on the scale.”
Osinbajo added that “clearly in Agriculture, we need to invent advanced devices, precision agriculture methodologies, and robotic systems that will guarantee the huge yields per acreage or volumes in dairy and livestock to meet the food security needs of a country headed for the third position in global population size in a few short years.
“And we are waiting for the breakthrough in the treatment of peculiar African health challenges such as sickle cell disease, fibroids and cancers. There is so much to do.
“But we know that ground-breaking innovation in technology or commerce will always be the product of the work of well-trained people.”
According to the vice president, the Nigerian University of Technology and Management is a pioneering higher education institution that has been established to nurture leaders and innovators to create impact in Africa and other parts of the world.