Samson Afolabi Arekete, a Professor of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Redeemer’s University (RUN), Ede, Osun State, has called for increased investment in laboratory spaces and state-of-the-art equipment to unlock Nigeria’s tech potential.
Arekete, who made the call at the Inaugural Lecture Series 17 of the University with the theme “Human-Computer Partnership: A Cure or a Curse”, noted that Nigeria’s youth population has the talent and enthusiasm to excel in technology.
He said, “We need to increase our laboratory space and equip them with the state-of-the-art equipment and tools for our students and staff to experiment with. The young minds love to explore and our young ones can fly with technology, if they have the right environment.
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“Our nation has a teeming youth population who graduate year-after-year and join the labour market. There should be a Silicon Valley in Nigeria. We should create an enabling environment for our youths to excel with technology. We should provide the right atmosphere where we can build our own computers and supercomputers and come out with innovative software products that will create history and make Nigeria second to none in the world.”
The University don, however, urged the Government at all levels to fund research and innovation in tertiary institutions, rather than relying on imported technology.
“We need to stop importing everything computing. Government should fund research and innovation in all tertiary institutions and stop making Nigeria a dumping ground for every computer product”, he added.
Speaking further, Arekete identified electric power as a major hindrance to research and innovation in Nigeria.
While emphasising the importance of exploring a balanced mix of power sources, including both renewable and non-renewable options, he noted that countries that had achieved self-sufficiency in energy had successfully combined various power sources, such as solar, wind, tidal, hydro, nuclear, and fossil-fueled energy.
He added that by diversifying its energy mix, Nigeria can create a more stable and reliable power supply, thereby, driving research and innovation forward.
