Nigeria Computer Society Lays Foundation for N1 Billion Secretariat to Drive Technology and Innovation in Nigeria
Pics:Prof Adesola Aderounmu,President Nigeria Computer Society
The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS),the flagship body of Information Technology companies and organisations in Nigeria led by Prof Adesola Aderounmu, has made history with the groundbreaking for its N1 billion national secretariat, deemed a technology innovation centre in Lagos.
A ground-breaking stone laying for the billion naira six storey edifice has been done by the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu with a projection that the building will be completed by the next 18 months.
According to the Minister who sees the importance of the centre as effort toward the growth of technology in the country said it is worthwhile that the project is achieved by the professional body so as to make significant impact under the President Muhammadu Buhari’s led administration.
“Today, as we make history by laying the foundational cornerstone of this Technology Innovation Centre, I am persuaded that the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) is sending out a strong message which announces its robust buy-in and optimal compliance with Mr. President’s ‘Change’ agenda,
“Today, our post-colonial national revenue generation model of an oil-export-only economy has been clearly shown to be unsustainable in the 21st Century. The obvious solution, as experts have pointed-out is to diversify the productive base of our national economy and urgently train and re-train our national workforce technologically and digitally.” he said.
The minister who further used the occasion to extend a hand of fellowship and support to practitioners in the industry by appointing the President of NCS Professor Sola Aderounmu,( First appointment in office as Minister of Communication) as Special Assistant on IT matters.
He also called for total support for government in the bid to make the dream of the president for a new Nigeria in the class of technology driven nation be fruition in no distant time.
There are about 27 Technology Incubation/Innovation Centres in Nigeria including the NITDA sponsored IDEA Laboratories in Yaba; Lagos state and Calabar and other private owned and operated centres like CCHub,
According to the President of NCS, Aderounmu who made insight into why the project was conceived said there is the need to urgently setup an incubation/innovation centre to focus on addressing weak university-industry linkage.
He said; ”These incubation/innovation centres are inadequate for Nigeria and could not provide jobs for millions of unemployed Nigerians. Furthermore, none of these centres focused on incubating ideas coming out of our universities. That is, the centre will precisely focus on taking ideas from the laboratory to the market place which allows for commercialization of university research.”
Succinct to note that a recent world bank appraisal concludes that that the weak university-industry linkage in Nigeria is the greatest impediment to the development of a knowledge-based economy and however recommends the prioritization of measures to develop structures and systems for strengthening university-industry linkage through establishment of at least six university based knowledge parks /technology innovation centres over the next six years.
According to the building committee headed by Sir Obi-Okonkwo the project is to provide such a model adding that the master plan for the edifice was considered after expertise recommendation and approval by the NCS working committee. Present at the forum were crème de la crème in the Nigeria information technology sphere and all past presidents of the society, past and present provost, college of fellows, past and present president of (CPN).
Culled from Nigeria CommunicationsWeek.
