Director-General of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr. Umar Bindir, has said that Nigeria would need a baseline data to improve scientific and innovative development of the country.The NOTAP boss at a two-day workshop for ECOWAS Network of Science Journalists in Abuja , the nation's capital city said that such baseline should have the potential of spreading across countries in the sub-region.Bindir, while advocating for a for special curricula to be introduced in the education system to build the kind of scientists Africa needs in 21st century, urged reporters in the region to be strategic in reporting Science and Technology saying that reporting Science and Technology must be innovative, otherwise reporters would see more problems than solutions based on innovation.He noted that Science and Technology should not be reported as 'S & T' but based on jobs and entrepreneurs for political buy-in stressing the African media practitioners to be innovative in reporting Science and Technology for Sustainable Development.Bindir, who advocated for the adoption of agenda 1777 to fast track the sustainable development process for Nigeria , observed that it would serve as a development paradigm for the continent and nation particularly saying that the one in the Agenda 1777 canvasses for oneness and togetherness for the promotion of unity among African countries, citing Nigeria for an instance.'We must understand that Nigeria is one and we must do away with tribalism, religious bigotry, geo-political zones and political leanings,' he urged, saying that it's high time for Nigerians to believe that in the next seven years, this country should be able to establish seven multinational companies that would give the world seven international products.In a remark, the Director, Information Communication, Science and Technology Division (ISTD), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Addis Ababa , Ethiopia , Mrs. Aida Opoku-Mensah, said that Africa was the only region yet to explore the great potentials of using science and technology as an engine of growth and development.She advised that the media needs to do a buy-in into the scientific developments to make the information relevant and access to the people of the continent.According to her, technology and innovation had served as the foundations of social and economic well-being since the beginning of human civilisation, with the birth of modern science in Europe in the seventeenth century, science, technology and innovation (STI).Opoku-Mensah, who was represented by the Regional Advisor, ISTD at ECA, Mr. Thierry Amoussougbo, noted that technology have emerged as essential for creating wealth and improving the quality of life of people and for the advancement of human society.She observed that the importance of science, technology, innovation and knowledge for development cannot be understated adding that 'there centrality for the nations socio-economic development is undeniable'.She also said that African countries with STI capabilities had the capacity to develop and countries without STI capability do not stressing that 'indeed, Africa is the only region yet to fully exploit the great potentials of using science and technology as an engine of growth and development.'She, however, regretted that there was low investment in research and development, inadequate regulatory regimes, poor infrastructural base and a lack of access to helpful scientific ideas in Africa noting that an estimated that Africa has 83 engineers for every one million people, the developed world as 1000 engineers per one million people.Director and country representative, UNESCO, Dr. Joseph Ngu, at the workshop urged the media to focus on the real impact science and technology has on the people, stressing that the development of Africa has been on the front burners of international conferences for decades.Ngu, who said that many development approaches had been prescribed and administered by experts in various fields of human endeavour, said that science journalists should stimulate public interest and debate on areas where science and technology could impact on social and economic well-being of the society.
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