The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion
(NOTAP), recently organised an intellectual property and
technology coordinators training, to equip them with the capacity of
using Science, Technology and Innovation more effectively,
especially in the interactive platform created by the agency. BINTA
SHAMA reports.
Dr. Ibrahim
In pursuit to advancing Nigeria’s technology, the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) commenced series of activities to build the nation.
Researchers tasked more on patenting
While flagging off a one day training programme on Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTO) Coordinators on automated submission of patent applications to NOTAP, the Director-General of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr. DanAzumi Mohammed Ibrahim urged indigenous researchers and innovators prioritize the protection of their intellectual property.
Harping on the importance of developing new technologies for the country, Ibrahim said that no nation can be termed developed until it has the capacity for research and development. “Calling on all participants drawn from Universities, Polytechnics and Research Institutions across the
country, no nations are considered developed because of their technological advancement,” adding that research and development are key to the growth and development of a nation as no country will develop without a vibrant intellectual property culture.
“As long as research and development results remain at prototypes level, the efforts of research and development may not have any significant effect on our economic development.
Knowing that Nigeria’s economic development is dependent on the number of new technologies developed by indigenous researchers. I urge you all to come up with technologies that will power the Nigerian economy.
“We at NOTAP are determined to change the weak intellectual property culture in Nigeria because no entrepreneur will be courageous enough to invest his money on R&D result that is not protected. And I therefore charge you researchers here and around the world to apply for intellectual property protection right first before the outcome of the researches are published.
Adding that, NOTAP registers technology agreement and if it gives approval of 10 applications, 6-7 are on software and that the Office feels pained, seeing the humongous amount of money that leaves the country on acquisition of foreign software.
A participant and former Director of IPTTO, Enugu State University of Technology, Prof. Mrs. Chinelo Igwenagu said the training will offer the IPTTO Coordinators the opportunity of comparing notes and sharing ideas with one another. She said most IPTTO coordinators work in isolation not because they don’t want to collaborate with others but because the proper platform had not been provided.
She commended NOTAP for making their jobs easier especially as the automated submission of patent application forms will eliminate the challenges of struggling to physically visit NOTAP for submission of patent applications.
Confronting challenges faced by research & research work
Likewise, in same vain to compliment the advancement of the economy on R&D activities, NOTAP also organised a two day stakeholder forum on the promotion and commercialisation of (R&D) with the aim to address challenges confronting the research community in Nigeria.
The Director General NOTAP Dr. DanAzimi Mohammed Ibrahim said the agency observed a disconnect between the Organised Private Sector and the National Innovation System and the resultant effect being insufficient wealth creation and low value creation to the National Economy.
Consequently, NOTAP has taken strategic steps in facilitating collaboration with inventors, inventions for commercialisation.
“NOTAP as part of its commercialisation mandate, the responsibility of linking industry with the National Innovation System (NIS) in order to encourage demand driven R&D projects for commercialisation,” urging the stakeholders to take advantage of the forum to address the challenges confronting the research community in Nigeria and come up with strategies for the promotion of identified viable inventions.
The Counsellor WIPO Nigeria Office Dr. Oluwatobiloba Moody, said as a specialized extension
of the United Nations in the area of intellectual property (IP), is to lead the development of a balanced and effective IP system that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit of the nation.
As you know, WIPO Is the specialized agency of the United Nations with a mandate in the area of intellectual property (IP). It is the global forum for IP services, policy, information and cooperation.
Its mission is to lead the development of a balanced and effective IP system that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit of all.
Moody pledged to continue to work closely with the Nigerian government (NOTAP), the IP offices, and other key stakeholders, towards improving opportunities and platforms for innovators and researchers in Nigeria.
IP stakeholders as Africa’s largest economy, to promote awareness raising, training and capacity building in the field of IP. Through close engagement with the Nigerian Government and IP stakeholders in Nigeria, the office will expand the knowledge, accessibility, awareness and strategic use of IP for economic, social and cultural development in Nigeria. We look forward to deepening ties with NOTAP in this regard.
“IP commercialization remains an important element of the innovation mechanism. We look forward to supporting the government in the area of policy development, infrastructure, and capacity building towards ensuring that effective systems for translating R&D results to products and services for the benefit of innovators and research institutions are maximized.
We know that an improved IP system will play a key role in this. Based on the latest Global Innovation Index, for instance, Nigeria ranks 25th among 29 lower middle-income group economies, 15th among the 26 economies in sub-Saharan Africa.
Yet, we know that incredible research work continues
to be carried out by Nigerian innovators, scientists, and researchers within universities, research institutes, and other public and private outfits. Creating an enabling environment to effectively translate these to commercial outputs must be remain the government priority, and I am glad that this forms the core focus of today’s discussions.
R&D, remedy for Nigeria’s technological independence
On the other hand, the Director General of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) Dr. Danazumi Ibrahim advocated for huge funding of R&D as the only
panacea for the nation to become technologically independent. Adding that, over 90 percent of the technologies powering the Nigerian economy, is imported and therefore the nation must be strategic in her approach to handling the irregularities.
“If research and development is affected, then the future of Nigeria becoming independent in terms of sustainability would be weak. I must say, we have no option but to spend hugely on research and development so that we gain our independence and be able also to produce and sell
our products within and to the outside world.
“Our dear nation has a very weak intellectual property culture evident in the nation’s universities and research institutes and in order to change this challenge, NOTAP in 2006 started partnering with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to establish Intellectual Property Technology Transfer Offices (IPTTOs) in Universities to sensitize researchers on the culture of intellectual property and encourage them to file applications for patents before publishing in order to protect their inventions and innovations.
“So far, we have established 45 IPTTOs across the country some of which are in military establishments like Airforce Institute of Technology (AFIT) Zaria, Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Kaduna and Defence Industries. As a result of the efforts in promoting patenting, 65 percent of the patents that came out in 2019 were through the office.
And due to our strict regulatory role, the office has saved over N79.3 billion between the years 2015 to 2019 that would have left the nations shores ascapital flight,”The Director-General of the Defence Research and Development Bureau (DRDB) Air Vice Marshall Onyemaechi Osahor said the bureau is charged with the responsibility of co- coordinating all the activities of defence related laboratories, initiating, conducting and coordinating research and development activities in defence and security related areas.
He said the bureau is in NOTAP as part of its efforts to partner with relevant organizations to ensure the fulfillment of its mandate of having a most modern military and described NOTAP as a strategic organization in technology acquisition and promotion.
