The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has declared that no country in the world can make any reasonable progress without the necessary input of scientists.
Speaking while playing host to a delegation of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Health, at the State House, Abuja, Osinbajo said: “I don’t believe that there is any country in the world that can really appear to be doing well, not to talk of doing well, if they don’t take their scientists seriously.”
He, therefore, canvassed for Nigerian scientists to get adequate support in the drive towards national development, especially in the age of technology.
The NIRPD delegation, which was led by its Director-General/CEO, Dr. Obi Peter Adigwe, made a short presentation to the vice president on its projects which focused on three thematic areas namely uterine fibroids, prostate issues and men’s health, and sickle cell disorder.
Acknowledging the work being done by the institute in the areas of medical research and pharmacology, the vice president expressed satisfaction with their endeavour.
“I’m truly proud of what is going on in NIPRD; the sheer amount of serious work that is coming out of there. And I am pleased that at least we are taking our scientists seriously.
“It is very evident that we must do something more serious about our scientists; and we must continue to ensure that they provide the leadership in terms of innovation, medical research, engineering and all of the various other areas that are important to our development.”
Making reference to the inadequate access to COVID-19 vaccines for developing countries at the height of the global pandemic, Osinbajo emphasised that, “Africa needs to do a lot more in terms of developing capacity to solving our problems.
“Everybody at the end of the day will solve their own problems. And I think that we have all the capacity to do so, and that capacity is very well represented in NIPRD, in the excellent talents and experience that you have put together,” he noted.
He also observed that it is becoming increasingly important to provide requisite incentives to encourage and reward local scientists.”
According to him: “Here in Nigeria, obviously, we need a bit more in terms of being able to manage and reward talents so that people remain and then are able to do the work.”
The vice president praised the NIPRD team for providing solutions to local issues and being able to deliver on its mandate within the limited resources it has, while assuring them of the federal government’s continued support in improving their capacity and infrastructure.
“We should continue, and push even more, in that direction,” he added.
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