Science-Tech Innovations: Time To Benefit From Our Best Brains

“Truth be told, we have gotten to a point when governments and institutions should charge our scientists and technologists – both at home and abroad – to find solutions to many of our persisting economic chal­lenges, with mouth-watering prizes to the bargain.” – Oyoze Baje (April, 2023)

His name is Dr. Osatohanmwen Os­emwengie, the Nigerian-born ge­nius, better known as the ‘Amer­ican Drone Builder’. He is also described as “an academic juggernaut” boasting of four Ph.Ds and seven Masters Degrees in the areas of robotics and engi­neering. Since he relocated to the United States in the ‘80s, he has become an indis­pensable asset to the American Armed Forces, shaping the country’s future in military technology. That is according to the ‘Africa Giant’ online portal.

In addition, he played a pivotal role in the innovation and production of the Mars Curiosity Rover, which has been exploring the rugged terrains of Planet Mars and unraveling the Martian mys­teries long after it was set in motion. Not done, he is currently immersed in devel­oping a military game collision avoid­ance software for drones. As aptly stated in the portal, “the next time you see a drone zipping across the sky, remember Osemwengie”.

Now you understand why he is ranked as one of the most educated minds on Plan­et Earth and why his people refer to him as the ‘Edo Pride’. But has Nigeria, as a country benefitted from the hi-tech prod­ucts of his creative ingenuity? That is the billion-dollar question. Yet, there is more to worry about.

For instance, only recently, a 12 year-old Nigerian-born girl, Eniola Shokunbi, currently in Connecticut, USA designed an air filter to reduce the spread of air-borne diseases in US schools. The unit is constructed using a simple combination of components: a box fan, four furnace filters, duct tape, and cardboard.

In her fifth grade at Commodore Mac­Donough STEM Academy in Middletown, they were tasked with creating a solution to enhance safety in schools during po­tential future pandemics. Therefore, to combat airborne viruses like COVID-19, she developed a simple but effective air filter system.

“Shokunbi’s air filter design showcases both innovation and cost-effectiveness”. The piece of good news is that the Con­necticut State Bond Commission approved $11.5 million in funding for the design. But a similar question remains: Will Nigeria benefit from the air filter? The answer is hanging in the wind.

It would be recalled that back in June 2023 one was thrilled with the piece of news that three Nigerian lecturers, Dr. Ali­yu Isa Aliyu, Tukur Abdulkadir Sulaiman and Abdullahi Yusuf were listed among the top 2% most-cited scientists in the world. That was a few years after another Nigerian-born Silas Adekunle became the youngest and richest robotics engineer in the world, then at the age of 26.

As reflected in my related opinion es­say urging the government to take note of such sterling achievements, not left out of the praise-worthy exploits of Nigeri­an-born scientists, inventors, engineers, innovators, lawyers and entrepreneurs is the interesting fact that Nigerian doc­tors, nurses, hi-tech entrepreneurs rank amongst the best and highest in number in the United States(US).

The million-naira question this soul-lift­ing scenario raises is that why for instance, are we still grappling with lack of stable electric power supply, as the national grid keeps collapsing one month after anoth­er? What is responsible for the absence of good access roads, functional and well-equipped hospitals and an educational de­livery system to cater for our myriad of challenges? That is where the leadership question comes in.

It is worthy of note that yours truly made a passionate appeal to Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, as Acting President in February 2017 to consider constituting a Presiden­tial Committee on Impact Creativity. It was through my opinion essay titled: ‘Making the Best Use of Our Best Brains.’ The aim is to bring together the creative works of our inventors, innovators, top scientists/ technologists, thinkers, artists and genius­es-both at home and in the Diaspora- to maximally benefit the technological and economic landscape of the country.

Such exists in the United Kingdom, the United States, India, China, Cuba and even Brazil where there are deliberate polices for massive funding of researches and their implementation. The govern­ments-both federal and states- should have credible data on these great achievers and their products.

Truth be told, governments and insti­tutions should charge our scientists and technologists to find solutions to many of our persisting economic challenges with mouth-watering prizes to the bargain. For instance, in 1795 the French military offered a cash prize of 12,000 francs for a new method, to preserve food which Ap­pert won in January 1810.

The private sector should not be left out. How would it feel should Dangote have a prize for solutions to pot-hole riddled roads? His colleagues in more developed countries are already thinking ahead, on who and what would take over from Sean Parker, Mark Zuckerberg and Evan Spie­gel. One billionaire called Peter Thiel has a Foundation that gives out $100,000 (dol­lars) each to young inventors. Out of the over 122 beneficiaries, the most notable is James Proud. His ingenious product called ‘Sense’ is a small hardware gadget worth $149 that monitors how well the buyer sleeps. It has been discovered that the quality of our sleep affects our health and longevity.

As patriots who believe in the great­ness of ‘One Nigeria’, we are proud to be associated with names of Professors Philip Emeagwali, Gabriel Oyibo, Samuel Achilefu, Babajide Alo and Ayodele Olai­ya. They ring a loud and crisp-clear bell in the hallowed halls of creativity, globally. Others include Col. Oviemo Ovadje (Retd), Jelani Aliyu, Brino Gilbert, Shehu Saleh Balami, Saheed Adepoju, to name a few. But Nigeria has not benefited much from their immense intellectual resources. Yet, the fault is not theirs but that of our policy makers.

For instance, Emeagwali is regarded as one of the Founding Fathers of the Internet. For his feats, he was awarded the prestigious Gordon Bell Prize nor­mally reserved for 18 scientists. He has been able to use super computers to see the inside of oil fields with greater accu­racy. With such, he states that if only one per cent more oil is extracted, it pays for itself as it amounts to billions of dollars! But has Nigeria, an oil-producing coun­try leveraged on his great discovery? The answer is obvious.

For his part, Gabriel Oyibo, the Kogi State-born engineer, mathematician, re­searcher and physicist has done what Al­bert Einstein could not achieve for thirty years! In 2002 he successfully solved the Grand Unification Field Theory. For that he was allegedly nominated for the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2002 and 2003. But has Nigeria recognized or utilized his techno­logical breakthroughs? I am afraid, not.

In a similar vein, Nigeria has not benefited from Prof. Samuel Achilefu’s invention. His is the ground-breaking de­velopment of a set of high-tech, cancer-vi­sualizing goggles which assist surgeons to see cancer cells in real-time while operat­ing on patients. It won him the prestigious St. Louis Award in 2014.

With all these outstanding global achievements in various fields of human endeavor and given our God-given, rich and vast natural resources Nigeria has no reason to be at the bottom rung of the Human Development Index (HDI), as well as among the world capital of persist­ing poverty. A more creative approach to governance and pragmatic synergy with the best of our brains will place Nigeria amongst the best in the world of science and hi-technology.

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