Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says that he is convinced that the way forward for Nigeria is through innovation and technology and that young people doing incredible things in the country represent a future of prosperity and great abundance.
Osinbajo said the Humanitarian Innovation Hub launched in Yola, was a scheme designed to harness innovations and technological ideas that will bring solutions towards addressing the problems facing the North East as a result of insurgency.
He also said that the hub was a silver lining in the heavy cloud of insurgency that has devastated the region.
The vice president made the remarks, on Tuesday, at the launch of the Northeast Humanitarian Innovation Hub in Yola, Adamawa State.
According to him, “It is said that in every cloud there is a silver lining, in the clouds of insurgency in the Northeast, the Humanitarian Innovation Hub is the silver lining.
“The fact that we been able to discover the creativity and the ability to innovate remarkably by so many young people from the Northeast is certainly to be celebrated.
“The north east humanitarian hub is not something that was stumbled upon as part of the social Investment Programme, it is rather a deliberate attempt to cultivate innovation throughout the country and this happens to be one of the centers where we intend to cultivate innovations and creativity.”
Osinbajo said, ” I have been around the hub and I have seen the 3D printing working facilities, the Makeathon boot camp and practically all that is on display here.
“Using films to heal trauma, Elliott and Namdi’s tracking device, Daniel and Abubakar using alternative building materials to complete building project in three weeks, Kamal who innovates browsing without internet, Nathan and Bulus with a farming integrated system among other innovations.”
Osinbajo also said if all of these innovations had been possible before the programme was launched, then Nigeria and the world should expect greater creativity and innovations.
He continued, “I am convinced that the way forward for our country is innovation and technology and these young people who do these incredible things represent the future of the country and they have done so dramatically and graphically that we are all confident that where we are going is indeed a place of great prosperity and abundance having great regards for all that we see here today.”
Osinbajo noted that opportunity must be created for all Nigerians to think through the challenges the country is facing and find solutions to the problems.
He lauds the hub initiative saying he was very pleased to discover that it was not just a place about ideas but a place where so much has been done about execution.
He said the Federal government is ready to work with the innovations and creativity towards pushing the country forward.
Osinbajo explained that the Federal government is working towards setting up six technology and innovation hubs in the country that would drive industrial and technological solutions for the country.
Speaking at the occasion, Governor Muhammad Umar Jibrilla, represented by his deputy, Martins Babale said, the war on insurgency could be truly won until there was an early recovery and stabilisation of communities in the state.
The governor said, “We believe that this tech and innovative campus will play a vital role in achieving early recovery within out communities.”
Jibrilla promised to support the project and ensure that it achieves its goal of providing solutions to numerous problems facing Nigerian communities.
One of the key drivers of the innovation hub, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a statement said, “The establishment of the hub is a result of the Northeast Makeathon, a project supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that brought together internally displaced persons, humanitarian actors, social and business entrepreneurs from the public and business sector to identify priority challenges to be addressed in the north east such as access to food, water, health, education and shelter.
“This has been an exciting and interesting journey for us all.
“The prototypes presented today represent the most unique and innovative ideas to tackle some of the most difficult challenges facing Nigeria.
“We are confident that the prototypes selected for incubation in the hub will evolve into sustainable solutions that will change the lives of people for the better.”
