From Godwin Tsa and Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has lamented how successive governments in the country jettisoned his science and technology programme for the country.
Jonathan, who left office in 2015, spoke during the official launch of the Zeetin Technologies factory and tricycle product unveiling in Abuja.
The former President said he often referred to Nigeria as a country with a population of over 200 million people, of which youths constitute over 65 per cent, which is a huge number.
He also said Nigerians must convert the country into a factory, adding that when the country is converted into a factory, jobs can be created and the economy improved.
Jonathan stated that so many companies, even in the United States, go to China to produce goods, saying that it was not just about cheap labour, but due to the available skills in China.
Noting that there is an abundance of skills in China in all aspects, be it modern artificial intelligence and whatever else, Jonathan added that whatever one intended to do in China, there were well-trained boys and girls who would help produce them.
Jonathan further said that that is the reason why people go to China; medical companies go to China to produce things they desire.
He also said that what Zeetin Technologies is doing is what the nation must do to create the Chinese type of skilled manpower.
Saying that the world is driven by technology and the brains of human beings, Jonathan said we must develop our best brains.
“My Principal Secretary then, Ambassador Hassan is here and my Chief of Staff, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe too is here. When we came up with the Presidential Special Scholarship for Innovation and Development, it was a programme to develop the best brains in science and technology. So, we as a nation, must begin to think about producing our own things, not importing everything. That was the propelling force that made us to come up with that. Somehow, it was aborted when we left. That is one of the things I feel so sad because you cannot talk about going to the moon, producing missiles and…”
Jonathan cited happenings between Iran and America, between Russia and Ukraine, saying that relatively they were smaller countries confronting bigger powers, but because they have trained their brains to the extent that they can still resist the powerful to some extent, Nigerian brains must not be wasted.
He called on the government, as a matter of necessity, to come up with a programme to develop Nigerian brains and provide skills for the young people so that Nigeria can be seen as a factory to produce goods for the rest of the world.
Jonathan congratulated the Chairman of Zeetin Technologies, Azibaola Robert, and the Zeetin family, saying that they were doing well and should continue on that path.
Earlier, Jonathan said he was glad that Robert, who had been an activist, had transferred his activism into technological activism and entrepreneurship.
He also said he was hopeful that Zeetin Technologies would go beyond the height it had attained.
In his remarks, Robert said every country that has developed has developed from a point.
He also said that to develop from a point, one must also look at the possibility of imitating others, which was the reason he brought VIAR Technologies to Nigeria.
“Zeetin and VIAR Technologies Indonesia are partnering together to start the production of tricycles here and we are producing here,” Robert said.
He disclosed that the partnership was formidable enough to produce at least 100 to 200 tricycles a day in the factory.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Emomotimi Agama, said there were so many opportunities for Robert in the capital market.
“These are long-term projects and long-term projects require long-term money to run. For you to be able to increase your capacity and get to the point where you want to get to, you certainly require capital market money,” Agama said.
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