Vision 20:2020: NOTAP canvasses more science, technology reporting

For Nigeria to attain vision 20:2020 and other development plans , media practitioners  have been charged to showcase to  the world the  country’s areas of opportunities  and strengthen in Science, Technology and Innovation, STI, in their science and technology reporting.

Director General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, NOTAP, Dr. Umar Buba Bindir, who gave the charge in Lagos during a workshop for media practitioners on science and technology reporting, urged the media to hit the world with news on areas where Nigeria has made progress in science and technology.

“If we undermine STI, vision 20:2020 will be a mirage. We must promote Nigerian technology . Except  we brand Nigeria  it will be difficult  to achieve progress” , he said.

The NOTAP boss  expressed regrets that 50 years after independence, Nigeria  has   global products nor  companies despite our  rich  intellectual property.

“If we remain doing things in the way we have done in the last 32 years, we cannot get it right. We need to know our strength, weakness, opportunities  and threat  in our strategic thinking in order to get it right.”

Bindir also called on government to look into the opportunities in the nation’s research institutions such as the Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, NIPRD, the bio-technology sector and some  other science and technology based universities and polytechnics and harness these opportunities for development.

Earlier in his opening address , the Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Ita Bassey Ewa,, urged the media to provide proper and consistent reportage of STI issues.

Ewa, represented by the Director-General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi, FIIRO, Dr Gloria Elemo, pointed out  that technology information can effectively impact national development only when it is properly and consistently communicated to all and sundry.

“There is a growing understanding within the Scientific Community on the recurring need to strengthen linkages, partnerships and networks with media practitioners as critical stakeholders, who are also acknowledged information gatekeepers. This partnership is essentially critical towards effectively stimulating documenting, translating, documenting, translating and communicating science technology and innovation to the public”, he said.

The workshop was organized by NOTAP to improve their skills and knowledge in science and technology reporting.