Similar to what is going on in developed societies, how Nigeria harnesses and deploys technology and innovation to address emerging challenges will be crucial to the country’s recovery from the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
Professor Osinbajo stated this on Monday at the virtual conference of the Centre for Lion Gadgets & Technologies (University of Nigeria, Nsukka) themed “Technological Innovation for Holistic Sustainable Development”.
The event also featured a virtual interaction between the Vice President and students both from the university and the secondary school in the UNN campus.
Speaking about the importance of technology and innovation in resolving society’s numerous problems, the Vice President said “we must creatively imagine and pioneer our way out.”
According to him, “we are in one of the worst health and economic crises in living memory and our recovery must be innovative – we must employ never-before-seen methods to fight the never-before-seen plethora of issues before us.
Whether we are discussing the delivery of social services to vulnerable communities and promoting financial inclusion or we are talking about boosting agricultural productivity and promoting the security of our communities, how we harness technology is crucial.
“The future will be decided in groups such as yours, where young Nigerians are actively thinking about how to deploy technology in creative ways for problem-solving.”
The Vice President however noted that such innovative ideas must be deployed in a manner that is inclusive and accessible to all Nigerians including the poor and vulnerable. “…in thinking about solutions to our developmental issues, we are expected to be both creative, relevant, and ingenious, which is what innovation is all about.
But we must also be faithful stewards of our environment, we must be inclusive, innovation must be accessible to all especially the poor and vulnerable.
