AN IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY ON NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA BY ABUBAKAR ABDULLAHI October, 2004 i AN IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY ON NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF NIGERIA BY ABUBAKAR ABDULLAHI (MATRICULATION NO. 3081) A Dissertation Submitted to St. Clements University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of Doctor of Philosophy in Management St. Clements University October, 2004 ii DECLARATION I declare that this Dissertation is an output of my own research endeavours. In pursuant of this research work, concerted efforts were made to duly acknowledge through bibliography, all sources of data and information used. However, in case of inadvertent omissions or incomplete referencing, I nevertheless, still express the acknowledgement of such sources. I accept full responsibilities for any shortcomings and errors of judgment, logic or fact in this study. Abubakar Abdullahi ………………………………. Signed iii CERTIFICATION This is to certify that this dissertation entitled “An Impact Assessment of Science and Technology Policy on National Development of Nigeria” by Abubakar Abdullahi (Matriculation No 3081) is carried out under my supervision and guidance. Also, that the dissertation has been approved for submission to the St. Clements University for the award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Management. ………………………………………….. …………………………………………….. Dr. Gabriel U. Moti Professor David Iornem “Supervisor Academic Adviser ……………………………………………………..… St. Clements University iv DEDICATION This research work is dedicated to my wife Hajiya Fatima Abdullahi and my children Mohammed Bashar, Zainab, Jamila, Aisha, Isa, Fatima and Abdullahi for their patience and understanding, especially when the demands of office kept me away from home. They have been quite wonderful and a source of inspiration to me in realizing my vision of acquiring a Ph. D. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Let me start by thanking the Almighty God for blessing me with good health, wisdom and foresight to undertake this study and for providing me with good leaders, colleagues, friends and associates who offered me valuabl9e suggestions throughout the study. The past ten years have provided me with immense opportunities to deepen my understanding of the programmes, activities and operations of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology in Nigeria. During this period, I had the privilege to contribute to the policy process formulation and implementation of the Ministry. Also, I participated in various local and international fora for S&T development including those organized by Nigerian Academy of Science, African Academy of Science, Third World Academy of Science, African Technology Policy Studies (ATPS), WAITRO, the G-15 and G.77 among others. These opportunities would not have been possible without the prime role played in my Civil Service Career by the one-time Secretary to Government of the Federation, Alhaji Aminu Saleh, Wamban Katagun. I am indeed, grateful. Also, I am indebted to the Head of Service of the Federation, Alhaji (Dr.) Mahmood Yayale Ahmed, Ajiyam Katagum for his support and encouragement especially during the period of this study. The science and technology community has provided enabling environment for me to expand my frontiers of knowledge over the years. This has been made possible through the support and cooperation from the current and past Ministers of Federal Ministry of Science and Technology. vi I am particularly grateful to Professor Turner T. Isoun for his wise counseling and words of encouragement which served as sources of strength and actually inspired me to complete this study. The intellectual support of Dr. Gen. Sam. Momah and the moral support of Mrs. Pauline Tallin are also appreciated. I wish also to express my profound gratitude to the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr. Abdullahi A. Aliyu for his concern and support towards the achievement of this worthy initiative. It is pertinent to acknowledge with deep sense of appreciation the cooperation received from Directors in the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology and Director Generals, Directors and Chief Executive Officers of Research Institutes in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Environment, Health and Science and Technology who kindly responded and completed the questionnaires used for this study. To all my esteemed Directors in the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Dr. D. B. Ayo, Dr. Ado. K. Abdullahi, Dr. L. E. Nsa, Mr. B. A. Adegbesan, Prince R. N. Ihenacho and Dr. H. D. Ibrahim, I wish to express my appreciation for their high sense of responsibility, concern and unflinching support throughout my tenure in the Council and their encouragement and professional advise during this study. To other Management staff, I deeply appreciate your support. This study would not have been accomplished without the significant contributions of my Academic Adviser, Professor David Iornem who inspired and encouraged me even when I expressed doubt of my ability to complete the study due to my busy schedule. I also, acknowledged the immense contributions of my Project Supervisor, Dr. Gabriel U. Moti of University of Abuja who painstakingly read through my work and offered useful suggestions that led to the successful completion of the study. vii The role played by Mr. K. B. Ajoku cannot be overemphasized. His immeasurable words of encouragement and contributions are duly acknowledge and appreciated. I am also grateful to Mrs. H. I. Okorie for working tirelessly in typing this manuscript and Mr. A. O. Oduyemi for typesetting this work. To all my support staff, Dr. D. Ibrahim, Z. A. Chori, N. Mohammed, G. Soya, C. Antiga and S. Abdull; I am indeed very grateful for your support and loyalty. It is pleasant working with all of you. Finally, I thank all those who contributed directly or indirectly towards the accomplishment of this worthy course whose name I might not be able to mention individually I am indeed very grateful to you all. Abubakar Abdullahi ABSTRACT It has been observed that science and technology (S&T) policies have not been a critical determinant of national development performance in Nigeria. Also, that viii Nigeria has not fully realized its national objectives of S&T-driven rapid industrialization and development. It is in recognition of these observations that the study attempted to assess the impact of science and technology policy on national development of Nigeria. To carry out the assessment study, extensive literature review was carried out which formed the background knowledge to the study as well as provided the necessary input to the discussion of the findings from the study. The data generated from interviews and questionnaires were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods. Four hypotheses were tested in order to quantitatively analyzed the findings from the study. The analysis confirmed all the hypotheses stated as well as the fact that S&T policy has not played a critical role in national development and that Nigerian society is not aware of and hardly contribute to formulation of S&T policy. Furthermore, the study revealed that development process in Nigeria failed to recognize the critical role of scientific and technological activities. The country lacked science culture and the existing institutional capacity for S&T development is very weak in terms of requisite personnel and facilities. The study concluded that a new policy shift is desirable which emphasizes the promotion of S&T culture, its integration into the production system and the strengthening of institutional framework for policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation in addition to promotion of S&T literacy. Finally, pertinent recommendations were made which include among others, the need for government to place greater emphasis on achieving value-for–money on its expenditure on research. This demands increase in activities on R&D evaluation as well as strengthening of infrastructure for information and knowledge dissemination. In addition, there is need to promote goal-oriented national projects that encourages technological capability building. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Title Page Declaration ix Certification Acknowledgements Abstract Table of Contents List of Figures List of Boxes List of Appendices Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Background of the Study 1.2 Statement of the Research Problem 1.3 Research Objectives 1.4 Justification of the Study 1.5 Statement of Hypothesis 1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study 1.7 Reference Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Historical Development of S&T in Nigeria 2.3 Appraisal of Evaluation of S&T in Nigeria 2.4 Emerging Realities 2.5 Critique of National Science and Technology Policies 2.6 Indicators of S&T for Development 2.7 Impact of Research and Development on Society 2.8 Reference x Chapter Three: Research Methodology 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Research Design 3.3 The Study Population 3.4 Data Collection 3.5 Quality of Research Data 3.6 Processing of Data 3.7 Limitations of the Methodology 3.8 Reference Chapter Four: Presentation and Analysis of Data 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Responses to Questionnaire 4.3 Science and Technology Policy 4.4 Science and Technology Literacy 4.5 Nature of R&D Focus of Research Institutes 4.6 Role of Research, Science and Scientists in a society 4.7 Strategies for Strengthening R&D Capacity Building in Research Institutions 4.8 Scientific Breakthroughs with Impact