By EMMA ELEBEKE

Eminent scholars and technology experts, who converged at the NigcomSat auditorium during the official launching of the book, “ Why Run Before Learning to Walk”, written by Professor Turner Isoun and Miriam Isoun last week in Abuja, challenged Nigeria to embark on acquisition of space and innovative technologies for global competitiveness.

Their argument was that if Nigeria is to protect  its interests in global equity and peace, it must be in a position to contribute fully to international discussions about the future management and exploitation of space.

The book focuses on science and technology innovation, STI, could generate millions of jobs and offer solutions to a myriad of national problems.

Professor Turner Isoun said he was optimistic that STI will enable the Nigerian public, especially the youth access to  jobs and solutions.

The book specifically cites examples of jobs already created by the STI revolution in the telecommunications sector with its multiplier effects, saying that the  adoption of STI in the country will take the revolution to the next level in many critical development sectors.

For them, Nigeria’s quest to attain sustainable development must be anchored on deliberate policies, systems and conditions.

The 620 page book chronicles Nigeria’s science and technology strides during Isoun’s tenure as Minister of Science and Technology between October  2000 and May 2007, top of which was Nigeria’s launch of its first satellite.

It will be recalled that as a result of the roadmap he charted for the country’s science and technology sector, the nation has been able to launch three earth observation and two communication satellites, a feat said to have been achieved by Nigeria in the whole of Africa.

In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the occasion,   Prof. Nimi Briggs and Vice Chancellor of University of Portharcourt  said that the impact of industrial revolution and current global realities revealed that knowledge, based essentially on science, technology and innovation, STI and not crude mineral resources, had  become the key driving force for national development and called on readers of the book to commit their reflection to building the nation and the transformation on STI.

For this to happen, he said that Nigeria must acquire versatile technologies that will deliver multiple and diverse products and services that are owned and implemented by Nigeria.

Key among these are: space, information, and communication technology, biotechnology, energy technology and climate change adaptation technologies.

According to him, the inability of successive administrations in the country to achieve development and  decent quality of life for Nigerian through different paradigms impelled the country to rethink her strategy.

He further advocated the application of technology to biological systems, reputed to be the next major global growth axis after the current ICT revolution, as it can lead to increase in food security and sustainable forestry practices.

He noted that Nigeria had made some advances in acquiring and domesticating  a number of  high technologies for the country’s development and also put in place some of the needed policies, systems and conditions that should enable theses technologies to serve the needs of the people without necessarily grinding through the obsolete systems.

While calling for a nationals commitment to education in science and technology as well as pertinent research to support industrialization, the UNIPORT Vice Chancellor advocated for mastering of cutting edge science and technology concepts and tools  that can lead people to innovate and also apply their knowledge to appropriate technologies, insisting that the beneficial  multiply effects of  high technology that is owned and properly managed, far outweighs the cost.