 IN the dream of
attaining the year 2020 vision of the present administration, President
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua recently identified raw materials development as a
key component.
According to the president, raw materials,
which occurred naturally as agricultural or natural resources were free
endowments on which the poorest group in the society could lay claims.
He affirms: "They occur in most instances, in
remote rural parts of our country. They are close to rural dwellers and
constitute the only source of livelihood for the most disadvantaged
groups in the society."
At a summit on the state of local raw materials
and development in Abuja, the president noted that raw materials
development was identified with the seven-point agenda of his
administration.
The summit was put together by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council.
To further give relevance and bite to the
proper development of the sector, the Senate on its part had spoken of
its resolve to support raw materials development with relevant laws.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Mr. Greg Ngaji made this firm resolution at the summit.
The president also made a case for a policy targeted at the effective development of these resources.
According to him, the policy would not only
improve rural economic activities and income, but would catalyse
infrastructure development in the areas where the need for basic
facilities was high.
The president, who was represented by the
Minister of Science and Technology, Mrs. Grace Ekpiwhre, therefore,
charged the summit to evolve effective community participation
strategies for community participation in raw materials research and
development amongst other things.
In the area of value addition, he tasked the
experts to consider issues relating to value addition on raw materials
in order to enhance export by the development and application of
technologies appropriate for transforming locally available raw
materials.
In his comments, the Chairman of the occasion
and former Economic Adviser to the president, Dr. Osita Ogbu, called
attention to the need for more speedy action on the issue of raw
materials development.
Noting that the Raw Materials Research and
Development was the key agency in the science and technology sector, he
stressed that raw materials was instrumental to achieving all the
components of the seven-point agenda of the president.
He said: "We need to reposition raw materials
research and development and science and technology to achieve the
goals of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua as articulated in the
seven-points agenda. This is the time for action."
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