Nigerians want government to support science & technology initiatives

NIGERIANS believe the government should fund science and technology initiatives if the country is to be self-reliant in energy supply and generation, a snap survey conducted by ITNewsAfrica has revealed.

Boasting of abundant oil reserves in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and other off-shore centers, Nigerians say the West African economic hub should put more emphasis on areas of generating solar energy, wind power and other renewable energies instead of solely depending on oil energy reserves.

Norman Okechukwu of Port Harcourt said most of Nigeria’s oil resources were not directly serving the nation but sold overseas to Europe, America and other parts of the African continent without benefiting the local communities.

“I would suggest that the government sets up a fund specifically for promoting some innovative university graduates specializing in science and technology to become future players in this untapped market,” said Okechukwu.

Chinedu Madu from Abuja said it was good that the country was releasing foreign currency from the sale of oil, but cautioned that the reserves of the commodity were not as permanent as the wind, solar and water energies.

He suggested that for Nigeria to have a lasting solution to the energy challenges, the country should start investing immediately in the areas of science and technology for the sake of the next generation.

Indeed, areas that produce much of the oil in Nigeria have been blaming the government of plundering the oil resource to develop other areas while local communities were languishing in abject poverty.

“Our lawmakers should take our message to parliament and make it clear that it is only through science and technology that we can save this great nation in the near future,” said Utaka Uche.

The survey, which targeted only members of the public whose views were not heard in parliament, revealed strong sentiments about the need to stop looting the country’s resources and diverting them to projects that did not benefit the nation.—ITNewsAfrica.