Is research and development under threat?

By Chidi Aja

Development economists agree that research is the engine room of development. According to them, no nation can grow without the application of science, technology and innovation to respond to emerging socio-economic challenges.

There is no gain saying that research and development (R&D) has remained the bedrock of any self-reliant nationa l economy. Indeed, statistics have shown that countries with high research index are higher in development. In other words, a country’s development rate is increased by the quantum of its research.

For instance, research, innovation and enterprise are essential in shaping the Singaporean economy. To accelerate Singapore’s thrust towards an inventive, innovative and entrepreneurial economy; the National Research Foundation (NRF) works with selected elite international research universities to establish a number of world-class research centres in Singapore which have intensive research collaboration with Singapore-based universities and research institutions. This complex of research centres from world-class research universities and corporate laboratories, together with the talent they train and their technology transfer activities, form the Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE).

‘CREATE aims to be a talent magnet and innovation hub. The research centres in CREATE hosts professors, research investigators, doctoral and postdoctoral researchers who form research groups to pursue research programmes in areas that are aligned both to Singapore’s strategic interest and those of the respective institutions. CREATE entities have intensive collaboration with Singapore-based universities, polytechnics, laboratories and research institutes, in cutting-edge research projects and in the attraction of global talent.

‘CREATE also hosts technology transfer activities to push research results towards commercialisation, tapping the pipelines of business graduate students from universities in Singapore, such as INSEAD and the Singapore Management University, to formulate joint business plans to commercialise research results. Panels and networks comprising venture capitalists and entrepreneurs are involved as mentors to the researchers, to encourage innovative technology applications and enterprise formation.’

This linkage between town and gown is replicated all over the advanced economies. In the last two decades, a new entity has emerged on the campuses of America’s research universities. This entity is known as the University-Industry Research Centre or UIRC. Such centres composed of research groups led by renowned endowed professors whose focus is on problems that have relevance to a particular sector of industry and these centres receive support from that industry. In 1990, more than 1,000 existed and involved more than 35,000 faculty researchers and 17,000 PhD students in the states. Many more exist today.

Malaysia has adopted this approach which it calls University Business Centres. According to a report by the Ministry of Higher Education, ‘the nature of collaborative relationships between university, industry and community are limited only by the degree of our imagination, the matching of common interests and the willingness to plan and implement the opportunities. It is essential that we constantly seek ways in which to reach out to industry – to check with them whether our graduates meet with their needs and to work collaboratively to ensure that together we develop relevant human capital essential for our nation’s development.

‘The triangular relationship between university, community and industry is vital to Malaysia’s development. Universities, industries and communities have a wealth of intellectual capital and expertise. We need to learn from and collaborate with each other. This newly created portfolio provides the public face of the university to industry and community and provides the platform for the partnership to work together in a meaningful, systematic and exciting manner.’

In Nigeria, there is a disconnect between town and gown even as the existence of the research institutions are being threatened. On March 4, 2013 labour unions in research institutions across the country under the aegis of the Joint Research and Allied Institutions Sector Unions (JORAISU) embarked on an indefinite strike nationwide to protest against the condition of research institutions. JORAISU, which comprises the Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions, Academic Staff Union of College of Agriculture, Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, had accused the Federal Government of not implementing some of the items in the agreement reached with the unions as far back as 2009. Some of the contentious issues bothers on the implementation of 65 years retirement age; increased funding of research institutions; constitution of National Research Institute Commission (NARICOM), and payment of peculiar/earned allowances, among others.

The decrepit state of research institutions in Nigeria is unfortunate given the fact that Nigeria, historically, has been one of the most advanced African countries in terms of the quantity, if not the quality of its academic research institutions. This effort dates back to colonial times, after the end of World War II in 1945, when the British colonial authorities seriously considered the possibility of establishing an office to co-ordinate the development of commerce and industries in Nigeria. This led to the establishment of the Department of Commerce and Industries in 1946, which had as one of its major assignments, the conduct of research on a small scale and the promotion of industrial development. ‘The activities of the department enhanced the development of technology and industrialisation in its inchoate stage in the 1940s’

Further attention was paid to the development of technology and industrialisation in the 1950s. Specifically, in 1952, a World Bank mission visited Nigeria on the invitation of the British colonial government to conduct a survey on the state of technology in the country and ways of improving it. The mission submitted its report in 1954, observing that research efforts had not been systematic. It recommended that an institute of applied technical research be established. Based on this recommendation, the colonial authorities made available £260, 000 to establish the Institute of Applied Technical Research in 1956. The institute, which later became the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, was charged with the responsibility of coordinating research into new methods of production throughout the country. It carried out research in many areas but the most prominent ones were the use of wide fibres for the making of sack, the use of local dyestuff for textile manufacturing and the mechanisation of the production of garri.

Today, there are over 200 research institutions in Nigeria. Each of these institutes has specific mandate but these mandate can also be broadly classified as industrial research, agricultural research, medical research, pharmaceutical research, space research, ICT research and so on.

Mandate of some research institutions

Many of the research institutes have their past in colonial times while a good number of others were established soon after independence and in the 70s with various mandates to project Nigeria into an industrial age. For instance, FIIRO has the mandate to:

o Characterise local raw materials for use in industries

o Identify appropriate raw materials for use in industries

o Identification and development of appropriate technologies and assist in their transfer, adaptation and utilisation by local enterprises

o Development of indigenous processing techniques into modern technology in the area of food, agro-allied products and in various non-food uses

o Pilot scale operation of processes found in the laboratory to prove their technical and commercial feasibility

o Economic evaluation of projects and consultancy

In recent times, the institute’s mandate has been refocused to address the following:

o Research and development into food/agro-allied processing

o Research and development into pulp and paper technology

o Research and development into packaging/product design

o Design and fabrication of equipment prototype

The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) with the mandate to promote the development and utilization of Nigeria’s industrial raw materials, originated from the recommendations of a Workshop on Industrial Matters organised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) in July 1983.

It was established by Decree (Now Act) No.39 of 1987, but commenced operation on February 10, 1988. The RMRDC, which is today Nigeria’s focal point for the development and utilisation of the nation’s vast industrial raw material, has the following as its mandate:

• Draw up policy guidelines and action programmes on raw materials acquisition, exploitation and development;

• Review from time to time, raw material resources availability and utilisation with a view to advising the Federal Government on the strategic implication of depletion, conservation or stock-pilling of such resources;

• Advise on adoption of machinery and processes for raw materials utilization;

• Encourage publicity of research findings and other information relevant to local sourcing of raw materials for industries;

• Encourage growth of implant research and development capabilities;

• Advise on and devise awards or systems for industries that achieve any break-through or make innovations and inventions;

• Organise workshops, symposia and seminars from time to time designed to enlighten people on new developments and solutions discovered;

• Consider and advise on special research grants for specific objectives, and

• Consider and advise on any other issue capable of enhancing the objectives of the Council.

The Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) established as a semi-autonomous organisation under the NSTDA Decree 1977 Research Institute (Establishment) Order 1977, Supplement of Official Gazette, No 49, Vol. 64, 13 October 1977, has the mandate to conduct integrated applied research and development in the building and construction sectors of the economy. In particular, it is required to conduct research on local building and construction materials to determine the most effective and economic methods of their utilization;

architectural design of buildings to suit Nigerian climatic conditions with respect to lighting, ventilation, thermal comfort and humidity; local building and construction materials to determine the most effective and economic methods of their utilization; architectural design of buildings to suit Nigerian climatic conditions with respect to lighting, ventilation, thermal comfort and humidity; the design and performance of functional units in buildings including electrical installations, plumbing, painting, drainage, ventilation and air-conditioning system;  local construction, foundation and earth-works for buildings and bridges, especially on problem soils; local construction and building operations and methods, to increase their effectiveness; the design and construction of roads best suited to the Nigerian environment; the economic and social aspects of the building and construction industry; road safety including the occurrence of accidents and methods of reducing the number of accidents; the economic and social aspects of road and transportation schemes, accidents and safety measures; structural designs of buildings and bridges and the development of design criteria, specifications and codes of practice; all classes of engineering materials – metals, ceramics, polymers, etc., including the systems for their conversion and processing, materials production and synthesis, materials development, materials availability, processing and applications, materials failure analysis and prevention, corrosion protection and foundry technology.

In addition, the institute provides:

(a) Consultancy services relating to building, road and engineering materials to individuals, public and private organisations.

(b) Specialist support services to medium and small scale enterprises in the areas of:

    – training,

    – testing and evaluation of products,

    – materials characterisation,

    – materials selection (specification),

    – feasibility studies,

    – materials information.

    – enhancement of product quality and market potential

      as it relates to all aspects of the construction industry

While the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institutes (NSPRI) was established in 1954 to conduct research in all aspects of post-harvest handling of agricultural crops and their products, pesticide development, residue analysis and mycotoxin surveys on food items in Nigeria as stated in Decree 5 of 1977, the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) was established in Ibadan, Oyo State on  December 1, 1964 as a successor autonomous research organisation to the Nigerian substation of the defunct West African Cocoa Research Institute (WACRI) (Nigeria Statute, Act No. 6 of 1950) following the establishment in 1944 of the headquarters of WACRI at Tafo, Ghana with responsibility to conduct research to facilitate improved production of disease-free, or disease-resistant cocoa. By virtue of the Nigerian Research Institutes Act No. 33 of 1964, the scope of CRIN was expanded beyond that of WACRI which include research on kola and coffee in addition to cocoa. In 1975, by the Agricultural Research Institutes (Establishments, etc.), the scope of CRIN research activities was further enlarged to include cashew and tea. Consequently, CRIN today has mandate to conduct research on five crops, namely, cocoa, kola, coffee, cashew and tea throughout the country.

According to the aforementioned enabling Decree, the expressed objectives of CRIN mandate on these five crops are:

(i) Improvement of the genetic potential, agronomic and husbandry practices, including processing and storage of the crops.

(ii) Identification of the ecology and methods of control of pests and diseases affecting the crops.

(iii) Investigating the effective utilisation of the crops and their by-products, and the feasibility of small-scale production of such end-use products.

(iv) Integration of the cultivation of the mandate crops into cropping systems where each crop is grown by farmers.

(v) Translation of research results and improved technologies into practice among farmers and manufacturers in order to improve production and socio-economic life of the people.

By the same token, the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, one of the 17 Agricultural Research Institutes in Nigeria, started as a provincial experimental farm under the Nigerian Department of Agriculture with Headquarters at Moor Plantation, Ibadan in January 1, 1923. In 1955, the training arm – School of Agriculture was established and the two establishments came under the Director of Agriculture with headquarters at Enugu following the regionalisation of the country and was known as the Eastern Nigeria Agricultural Research Station. The Institute was merged with the School of Agriculture and became Agricultural Research and Training Station (ARTS) in 1956. It assumed a federal status to become Federal Agricultural Research and Training Station (FARTS) in April 1, 1972. By April 1, 1976 it became known as National Root Crops Research Institute by the Agricultural Research Institutes Decree of 1973, and its enabling Acts of 1975 and came under the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN).

In line with its national and zonal mandates, the institute has the responsibility of conducting research into:

• Genetic improvement of root and tuber crops of economic importance in Nigeria, such as cassava, yam, cocoyam, sweet potato, Irish potato, ginger, rizga, Hausa potato, sugar beets and Turmeric.

• Agronomy of root and tuber crop production including farming systems development for the southeast agro ecology.

• Socio-economic problems related to root and tuber crop production.

• Storage, Processing and Utilisation of root and tuber crops.

• Design and fabrication of simple agricultural farm tools and equipment.

• National Root Crops Research Institute has the zonal mandate for the total farming systems research and extension covering the nine states of the Southeast namely, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and Rivers states. It carries out agricultural extension liaison with relevant federal and state ministries, primary agricultural producers, industries and other users of research findings in collaboration with the National Agricultural Extension Research and Liaison Services (NAERLS).

•   Training of middle level manpower in agriculture leading to award of Ordinary National Diploma/Higher National Diploma including vocational training farmers on specialised topics.

To a very large extent, research institutes in the country have made giant strides with commendable results that are numerous to mention. But their impact on the myriad problems facing the real sector and by extension Nigeria’s quest for technological development seem a drop in the ocean. This has not been helped by the destabilisation and collapse of many educational and research institutions during military rule, particularly from the late 80s to the early 90s, which led to the dilapidation/ collapse and the marginalisation of these institutions from the policy process. ‘Their role and relevance decreased along with their funding, as military governments tended to take policy decisions based on regime protection, as opposed to civic benefit. As such, policy attention to research decreased and the role of research as a policy tool was largely sidelined along with investment in the country’s research institutions. This neglect resulted in the dilapidation of these institutions, clashes between Nigerian academic and the government and the flight of huge numbers of Nigerian academics to western institutions overseas,’ notes a DFID Research Strategy (2008 – 2013) Consultation – Africa Country Report for Nigeria.

 The problem with Nigeria’s research institutions

 “We have a large number of research works that can push Nigeria to wherever we are supposed to be”, notes Gloria Elemo, DG, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO). But the activities of Nigeria’s research institutes have been hindered by poor funding and the lack of a functional collaborative mechanism between these institutes and the industrial sector. Indeed, the non-commercialisation of research findings from her tertiary and research institutions has conspired to rob the nation the opportunity of attaining technological parity with the developed economies.  Over the years, research activities in various research institutes in the country have hardly had any meaningful impact on the productivity of Nigerian industries. At best, researchers at these institutes seem to be satisfied with achieving results in their laboratories and in specialised journals for routine academic promotions that do not go far enough to create value for industry. Yet, the producer – user relationship is determined by the proportion of commercialisable research findings. Since the actual commercialised research results are low the link between the producer and the user remains weak.

Elemo agrees. She, however, explains that there are two types of research- basic research for academic use, which form the basis for information or data for market driven research. “Basic research is very common with the universities and that is where you find research that does not get to the market.”

Another problem confronting the research institutes, universities and other higher institutions is that virtually all of them operate outside industrial structures and conduct research that are of less relevance to manufacturing firms.  This, perhaps, explains why the town and gown linkage remains very weak.  Also, not only do Nigerian industries lack technological innovation culture, they lack interest in indigenous research outputs and as a result, not keen to establish in house R&D or patronise the academia for their research needs.

Generally, the technological skill intensity (0.07 per cent) of employees, which measures the ability of firms to generate and / or adopt new product and process technologies is low.  In addition, the ineffective networking among the Nigerian research organisations usually lead to the duplication of research efforts and waste of resources.

But by far the greatest problem of research institutes in Nigeria is the issue of funding. “Research must be an essential element for Nigeria to use technology and innovation to respond to socio-economic challenges. Nigeria, however, under-invests in research and development,” Jide Awe, chairman, Publicity, Events and Trade Services Committee of NCS, says.

To say the least, the funding of research institutes in Nigeria is very poor.  For instance, between 1985 and 2000, research funds averaged only 0.08 per cent of the Gross National Product (GNP), which is a far cry from the UNESCO recommended target of 1.0 per cent.

Explaining the challenges facing these research institutes, the Director General of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Peter Onwualu, notes that research institutes in the country cannot go into commercialisation of research works because of lack

of adequate funds.

“It is expected that SMEs will come to pick the research works from us but we find that most of the SMEs do not have the financial resources to go into mass production. We currently have about 100 projects that we have funded in the past two years, 50 per cent of that has been completed. We have situations of technology that has been produced and tested in the industry.”

According to him, Nigeria would need over N10 billion to develop and commercialise industrial research annually. “The entire budget of National Science Council of the United States of America is more than the entire budget of Nigeria as a country and this a body that fund research all over America and that is why they come up with a lot of products and technology. So, for Nigeria to really make it, we have to invest a lot of money in research and development,” Onwualu stated.

“Commercialisation of research result is not cheap; it is quite an expensive process. Research is capital intensive and in order for research institutes to meet up with the demands and challenges of the time, there is the need for adequate funding and provision of state-of-the-art laboratory equipment up to pilot plant scheme,” observes Elemo.

“But the current impediment to commercialisation of R&D results in Nigeria today is that of factors of production rather than unavailability of appropriate indigenous technologies and human capacity. The most critical impediment to the commercialisation of our R&D results today is poor electricity supply which requires a holistic effort to address. Once electricity is fixed in Nigeria today, the rate of technology adoption will improve tremendously. Other factors include lack of take-off capital, high interest rate, unrestricted importation, and so on,” she adds.

Similarly, Bashir Borodo, one time president, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), wants the government to inject more funds into the country’s research institutes to boost product quality in industries and encourage industrial establishments to invest in scientific research and joint projects, in return for equivalent tax reduction and other incentives.

According to him, the existing gap between research and development institutes and the local manufacturing industry is as a result of the absence of collaboration, synergies and funding. Borodo highlighted other factors to include general disenchantment of manufacturers due to the lack of basic infrastructure, high cost of production, and inconsistencies in government policies.

“The successful application of scientific and technological R&D results has led to the emergence of new products, improved manufacturing processes, improved capacity utilisation and establishment of new resource based industries but unfortunately, in Nigeria, the scenario is quite different as there is no visible impact of industry on scientific research and vice-versa”, he noted. He stated that research results should directly benefit the nation’s economy through the upgrading of her manufacturing industry, while necessary links between research institutions and the industrial sector must be created and sustained.

Leveraging technology advancement in developing countries

 Development and comparative economists hold that technology advancement was achieved in some developing countries in spite of numerous problems because of the presence of a knowledge economy in which technical and managerial skills were combined with dynamic information and innovations systems that permitted firms and research centres to tap into global knowledge networks.

Another facilitating factor, according to them, is the strong university industry linkages and high quality research.  ‘The presence of higher skill, dedicated labour force and an environment that nurtures the capabilities to learn and apply new technologies which was supported by the visible and facilitating hand of government made technology adaptation a success in Malaysia, India, Chile, Uganda and Kenya.  At times, institutional frameworks were adjusted to encourage technology adaptation.’

One of such common feature in these adjustments is the development of a critical mass of entrepreneurial talent. ‘Investment in and the development of human capital have been cited as critical factors in making the difference between been able to replicate rather than buy foreign technologies. The development recorded in some East Asia countries such as India, Taiwan and Malaysia who have been able to move up to their technological frontier were made possible because they produced in large numbers (from human capital investment) well trained engineers with adequate technical and managerial skills. Today, they have developed innovation-grade domestic technological capabilities that can adapt foreign technologies.  Ditto for countries such as Kenya and Uganda in agro-processing and agriculture, where government investments in life sciences and biotechnology played an important role in adapting foreign technology.’

Public-private-partnership

 ‘Governments of the East Asia countries encourage various forms of partnerships in order to achieve near technology parity with other developed economy.  Public-private partnership that existed between some multinational companies and some private firms helped to improve the quality of research and development (R&D) results.  For instance, Indian government finances a variety of national and state-level research organisations to promote R&D. Also, many German Universities and Polytechnics engage in collaborative R&D under contract with private firms.  The funding sources for research institutes too are both public and private.

‘Another strategic move which the governments of India, Malaysia, and Taiwan made was the development of industrial parks which eventually leveraged synergies between MNC’s, domestic firms and public research centre.  Industry coalitions and organisations helped to communicate the industry’s needs to government while the commercialisation of R&D results was vigorously pursued.  In addition, the Japanese emphasis on continuous improvements of production process using just-in-time technology (JIT) and other quality improvement methods were of tremendous importance in upgrading and sustaining adapted technology in Japan.’

Nigeria has made some efforts to develop indigenous technological capabilities or even adapt foreign technology in order to attain parity with developing economies such as Kenya, Uganda, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Chile, etc, without success.  However, experts say that the country could still step into the league of industrialised nations if the government show more commitment in the execution of the following critical technology management issues:

• Development of technical manpower requirements: As at now, Nigeria’s educational system remains skewed in favour of the development of science subjects which represent the bedrock of obtaining the critical mass needed for innovation and R&D activities in the technical fields.  However, the problem of inadequate funding of Nigerian tertiary institutions such as the universities and technical institutions by government, continue to constitute serious threats to adaptation of technology, Government should therefore, adequately fund these institutions in order to develop the needed local capabilities required for high tech and complex technology such as the software technology and electronics.

• Encouraging the sustenance of public – private partnerships (PPP) because strong domestic research capabilities are facilitated by PPP in acquiring, absorbing and adapting new technologies.  For instance, PPP helped India in the massive production of generic drugs that are not only cheap but also cost effective.  In addition, the private sectors have certain skills and abilities that the public sector lacked, including the ability to manufacture large numbers of products to very high standards. Salmon and Wine production in Chile benefited immensely from PPP which helped to leverage technology adaptation for economic growth.

• Upgrading of primary products: Value addition to primary products enhances the quality and revenue derivable from them as secondary products.  Yet most Nigerian products are still being sold in primary forms and modes Enhancement of quality require some technological inputs which in most cases are alien to our environment and therefore outside our capabilities.  To acquire such foreign skills there is the need to copy and adapt foreign technologies.  Malaysia upgrade palm oil production technologies to high-grade oleochemical technology to obtain secondary products whose sales have enhanced the economic growth of Malaysia and made their products very competitive in the global market.  Fortunately, Nigeria has many primary products from the agro industries such as cassava, maize, yam whose value should be upgraded.  Nigeria can indeed enter into the league of technologically advanced nations through the upgrading of agricultural products which are in abundance too.  The high compliance with the government’s policy on local raw material substitution by the MNC’s especially in the brewery industry is an added incentive to adopting, foreign technology. Import restriction policy and the granting of tax relief to foreign companies operating in Nigeria should be strongly implemented.

• Commercialisation of R&D results: Research outputs that are allowed to rot away in library shelves are useless and a waste of human and material resources.  The private sectors and industries who are engines of economic growth and drivers of a technology-oriented economy are in a better position to commercialise research outputs which in most cases, are generated from the universities and research centres.  The linkage between the research institutes, universities and the industries should be strong and narrow in order to facilitate and ensure free flow of information between them.  This would enable the universities to undertake researches that would be of interest and relevance to the industries.  The latter should also develop confidence in the quality of local research results.  Facilitating agencies that should strengthen this linkage between the academic and the industries are the interface agencies, broker organizations and bridging institutions.  They too, should be encouraged to flourish.

Adequate funding of R&D institutions: The present state of decay and neglect of the numerous research institutes in the country which is due to inadequate funding by the government is totally unacceptable.  Good results should not be expected from institutions with dilapidated infrastructure.  Adequate funding would facilitate the production of the critical mass of entrepreneurial skill required for the proper running with research results.

• Integrating the distinctive competences of the skilled (professionals) and unskilled (artisans) workforce: Extreme polarisation of technological potentials among our workforce may have made it impossible to successfully blend theorem with the art of doing things.  The professionals who have various degrees and awards no doubt are experts in theory but in most cases deficient in the practicals going by the pattern of our educational system.  For instance, there is nothing wrong in asking a mechanical engineer to work with and perhaps under study how a road-side mechanic overhauls car engines.  In doing so, the practical skill would have been passed on to the engineer who in turn would educate the mechanic, the basis of what he does.  This cross-fertilization of knowledge may enhance their skill intensities and place them in a better position to learn and even copy foreign technologies.  Even in high and complex technology such as electronics, artisans in Taiwan played crucial role in adapting such technology while working in conjunction with Taiwanese professionals.

The transcendental importance of research and development and by extension research institutions to the overall development of any nation cannot be relegated to the background. This fact is acknowledged by the 1st NV20:2020 Medium-Term Implementation Plan (2010 – 2013) document by the National Planning Commission, which has as one of its sub-heads Improving National Research and Development Activities.

According to the document, “in order to become and remain globally competitive it is necessary to engender a culture of advanced research and development in strategic areas of national advantage. The first step towards ensuring the attainment of this objective is to improve on the current state of research and development activities around the country hence, the conception of this sub-programme within the 1st NIP of NV20:2020. Some of the projects aimed at achieving this include: (i) National Raw Materials Research & Development Programme; (ii) Raw Materials Local Content Development Programme; (iii) Establishment of National Institute of Science Laboratory Technologists (NISLT) Zonal and Equipment Maintenance and Development Centre in six geo-political zones in the country; (iv) Establishment of Science and Technology (S&T) Parks in Nigeria.”

Remaining globally competitive is a task that must be achieved and research institutions are the vehicles to achieving it. Neglecting them is tantamount to postponing the country’s industrial and technological development.