A former Director-General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria Prof Abubakar Sani Sambo said the most sustainable way to tackle economic development is the harnessing of innovation and emerging technologies.
He stated this at a capacity-strengthening dialogue organised by the Calestous Juma Executive Dialogues programme of AUDA-NEPAD, under the auspices of the African Union High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) in Abuja.
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He said this calls for concerted efforts to meet the goals and aspirations of Agenda 2063 and STISA 2024 across the continent.
“Innovations and emerging technologies are expected to accelerate the pace of achievements of the targets in continental and national development plans and frameworks. Technologies would also support tackling climate change and its consequent impact on the gas and oil industry of Nigeria and other African oil-producing countries,” he said.
Deputy Director of Education at the Department of Policy Planning Research & Statistics in the FCT Education Secretariat, Mrs Sylvia Yissa, said: “We live in an ever-changing world, and it’s time to concretely talk about the utilisation of innovation and emerging technologies across multiple sectors.”
The Coordinator of the APET-CJED programme at AUDA-NEPAD, Dr Justina Dugbazah explained the roles of the African Union Commission in spearheading socio-economic development and integration in Africa through policy development and implementation.
Prof. Okechukwu Ukwuoma, a tech expert said attitude is a key driver of success for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) noting that the Nigerian 2022 STI policy has provided veritable tools and strategies to be used for changing the mindset of the society on emerging technologies.
