Notap Harps on Use of Technology for Youth Restiveness

Umar Buba Bindir, the newly appointed director general of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), has advocated the total domestication of foreign technology in Nigeria with a view to solving the problems of development in the Niger Delta region and other troubled spots in the country.
Bindir stated this during a courtesy visit to Dr. Ghaji Bello, the acting executive secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) in Abuja. He said that no country can develop without technology, hence NOTAP was established to, among others, monitor the traffic of foreign technology into the country and lead the way for the domestication of technologies for the development of the country.
He cited the Ajaokuta steel complex, among other failed gigantic projects as example, that Nigeria has failed in its various attempts at technological development because the logical steps for the domestication of technology had not been followed conclusively. Engr. Bindir said NIPC is conscious of attracting investment flow into the country but that when an investment involves technology transfer, issues such as cost, appropriateness, functionality, relevance, capacity building, among others must be properly examined not only to check capital flight that occurs in technology licensing, but also to avoid misuse of scarce resources.
According to him, countries such as South Korea and Malaysia have advanced technologically and achieved tremendous economic growth because they were able to domesticate technology.
He said Notap had decided to go into strategic partnership with relevant government agencies to facilitate the domestication of technology in Nigeria and added that NIPC is one of the very important strategic partners Notap had identified to collaborate with hence the commission was chosen as his first port of call on assuming office.
He explained that, his visit was informed by the need to consolidate on the existing relationship between Notap and NIPC to forge greater collaboration between the two agencies for a more fruitful partnership that would lead to the implementation of the 7 point-Agenda of Mr. President as well as the attainment of the vision 20:2020.
Notap he said was also established to facilitate the acquisition of foreign technology and strategically promote locally generated research and development results as well as inventions.
Earlier in his welcome address, Dr. Ghaji I. Bello, acting executive secretary of NIPC, said that the focuse of NIPC was to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country and added that the one-stop-shop strategy in which Notap prominently participates was initiated to fast-track the flow of foreign investment into Nigeria with a view to bringing the country to the level of her peers in the international community.
Dr. Bello said Notap had shown sufficient commitment in the implementation of its mandates hence when the idea of setting up the One-Stop-Investment Centre (OSIC) came, the Presidency insisted that Notap must be among the key participating agencies.
According to him, Nigeria should ideally be operating at the level of Brazil and India, for instance, in terms of economic development.
He said citizens of other nationalities can never develop Nigeria for Nigerians and stressed that the task of building Nigeria relied in the hands of Nigerians.