National Office Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has called on African countries to speed up the culture of innovation and research for sustainable national development.
The Director- General of NOTAP, Dr Obiageli Amadiobi, made the call in a press conference today in Abuja in commemoration of African Day for Technology and Intellectual Property Rights.
The DG said that the difference between developed and developing countries was advancement in technology.
She urged all African countries to invest more in research and development to ensure that their nations do not remain consumers of products of technological advancement from the developed world.
According to her, developed countries have gone far ahead of African Countries because they invested in research and development.
She said that in today’s knowledge-based and thriving global business economy, absorption of technology had become a veritable component for companies to survive and increase their global competitiveness.
She said that the commemoration of the day demonstrated the great importance which African nations placed on science, technology and innovation as an engine that drives development.
The NOTAP boss referred to the commemoration of African Day of IP by African leaders and Heads of states as a way to arouse the latent intellectual capabilities of African youths.
“ In today’s knowledge-based economy and thriving global business environment, absorption of new technology has become a veritable component for companies to survive and increase their competitiveness in the marketplace.
“ In this digital era, the decision of African leaders to declare a day for the commemoration of the role of technology and intellectual property in achieving sustainable development in African continent is a positive stride.
“With the increasing importance of knowledge as the main engine of growth, technology is used as a tool to enhance global competitiveness,” she said.
Amadiobi reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to guiding technology transfer processes and promoting IPRs to support indigenous inventors and innovators.
She said that this would help in driving progress and harnessing the benefits of innovation for Nigeria’s development.
She added that the Federal Government, through NOTAP, had shown its commitment to promoting indigenous technologies.
She said that the government did that by encouraging entrepreneurs, researchers, and inventors to protect their intellectual property and facilitate the process of acquiring foreign technology.
“ Nations are no longer valued in terms of their population, geographical landmass or mineral resources.
“They are valued more by the organic mass of knowledge in its citizenry translated into viable research and development outputs and commercialised products.’’
“Nigeria must develop the technical manpower to attract and domesticate foreign technology in various facets of socio- economic activities, so it can meet up with the challenges of unemployment, hunger, poverty,” she said.
The NOTAP DG urged researchers to maximise their intellectual rights and awaken their creative ability as inventors to develop solutions to the many challenges confronting the continent.
“ The concept of IPR is derived from the rights conferred on an individual or corporate body by a legal authority.
“It is for the individual to have exclusive control over the exploitation of his or her works of intellect over a stipulated period, usually 20 years.
“ To properly understand the concept, intellectual property is the creative works of the mind, literary and artistic works belonging to a creator and can only be transferred or sold with the permission of the innovator.
“ It can also be any innovation, commercial, artistic, symbol, logo or design used for commercial purposes.
NAN reports that the theme of the 2024 African Day for Technology and Intellectual Property Rights is “Leveraging Technology and IPRs to Drive the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
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