Government’s Foreign Trips In Search Of Investors Waste Of Nation’s Resources – Prof. Anayochukwu
By Fatima Mukhtar Lawee
A professor of Chemistry at Nasarawa State University Keffi, Professor Anayo Chukwu Christian Etonihu has berated Federal and State Government’s perennial and fruitless tradition of embarking on unnecessary foreign trips in search of so called investors in the country, which he described as exercise in futility as such trips have never yielded positive results, and hence a waste of the nation’s recourses.
Professor Anayo Chukwu who was speaking as the Presenter of the Institution’s 21st Inaugural Lecture titled, “Chemical Technology and Innovation in the Nigerian Economy Diversification”, said, foreign investors are business people who need not to be searched for, they will come on their own if the economy of the country is stable and with government’s provision of conducive business environment such as stable power and security among others.
He said, any serious government that wants to develop its country must work hard to provide state of the art infrastructure, functional economy and guarantee the peace and security of its citizens.
“With these, investors must rush to that country, especially Nigeria that is blessed with abundant and different kinds of natural resources”. He stressed.
Professor Anayochukwu said to move Nigeria forward, government must encourage development and sharing of new, existing and traditional technologies, which will help towards sustainable production and consumption patterns with due emphasis to local, culturally appropriate and low-cost technologies.
“Science and Technologies create a bright future, he said, stressing that human resources had been the hub on which other resources in any nation revolve, which Nigeria’s policy makers and respective governments can effectively harness the talents and energies of its people and responsibly exploit its natural endowments.”
Professor Anayochukwu who also discussed the multiple challenges bedeviling sustenance of innovation in Nigeria called on Government to use the underlying philosophy of culturalization by making science and technology a way of life and building a culture of innovation to create an enhanced standard of living for all citizens.
He stressed that another factor that has caused Nigeria’s stagnation in its innovation drive is lack of synergy between the universities/research institutes and industries for adequate funding and utilization of Research and Development.
Other problems include lack of adequate guidance and counseling and vocational training in the school systems, bribery and corruption and poor governance at all levels, from community, local government, state and federal.
He said, another problem is that some industries do not have an understanding of the decrees, policies and authority of States’ FMEnv as it governs the environment in which they are operating. To this end, the regulatory body faces stiffer challenges in programme implementation.