Science & Tech
SENATOR Ben Bruce (Bayelsa East Senatorial District) on Wednesday in Abuja said Nigeria must become an active participant in the creation and use of technology in order to grow its economy.
Bruce said this at the 2018 Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition with a theme:“Africa’s Tech Renaissance’’.
He emphasised that there was a correlation between the level of development in Information Technology (IT) of a country and its level of economic development.
According to him, the adoption, diffusion and active development of digital technology in the country is crucial in growing the nation’s economy.
“This means that if Nigeria works hard on its level of development in IT, the country will invariably enjoy an attendant level of economic development.
“Most leaders pay lip service to development. What they do is at best show pictures of roads, hospitals, schools and other projects they have constructed or are constructing.
“Whilst our infrastructural needs require urgent attention, it is obvious that our leaders do not take the main issue of rapid, general, all-encompassing economic development seriously.
“To do so, we need to be cognisant and willing to painstakingly implement some preferred proven international economic development models and understand how to customise them to unique domestic situations,’’ Bruce said.
He noted the need to create technologies that would promote the production of locally made goods that could compete favourably in international markets.
“We must use every means we have to positively project Nigeria.
“Igbo people locally produce things like cars, household electrical appliances and more can be achieved through advanced technologies.
“Ikeja, as a tiny municipality in the south west Nigeria has helped Lagos which is Nigeria’s smallest state by landmass to become the largest 7th economy in Africa due to its highly advanced industrial capacity.
“Today, it is bigger than Tanzanian economy,” he said.
Bruce maintained that the Super Eagles jersey would have been manufactured in Aba but to allow Nike to market it and showcase it to the world.
“We must believe in ourselves and use our media to promote made-in-Aba, Kano and Alaba.
“Let the world buy our culture and our products; this is how Japan started and this is how we will also grow and become a dominant world power.
“We must use every means we have to positively project Nigeria because our value as human beings is being tied to Nigerian values,’’ Bruce said. (NAN)
– Jun 6, 2018 @ 16:05 GMT |
Tags: Nigeria must participate use of technology to grow economy – Bruce
