The Federal Institute of Industrial Research, FIIRO, recently held its Investment and Technology Week in Oshodi, Lagos state. The Director General of the Institute, Dr. (Mrs.) Gloria Elemo, in this interview with Damilare Okunola, explains why she thinks Nigeria is ready to take up the challenges of industrialisation with the discoveries being made by the Institute

How has it been since you came here in 2008?

It has been quite challenging here, I must confess. There have been quite a number projects going on but all in all, we have been fine and we are still going to be here for the foreseeable future.

What informed the Investment and Technology Week?

The whole idea is that, FIIRO, being one of the oldest research institutes in Nigeria, has actually gone ahead to carry out research on all raw materials in the areas of minerals and agro. And luckily for us, we have been working and have developed over 250 technologies at the count of our fingers, which are ready to go into the market. This Investment week is an opportunity to showcase this technology which tends towards job creation and keying into the transformation agenda of Mr. President. The plan was to make all stakeholders come here and see what we have done and start thinking towards the area of investment and job creation. We also have special attention on the unemployed youths and see what things they can easily take up and make a living from.

•Gloria Elemo

Do you think some of the technologies being discovered can meet up to world standard?

Even the technologies we talked about as being substandard are taken away from our country and returned here costlier than the amount they got them for. This has to stop because we have the standard here and that is what we are preaching. The only challenges we have are in the areas of packaging and presentation, which we are looking at addressing.

Could you highlight a few of the technologies discovered by FIIRO?

We have done research in all the raw materials available in this country, and have come up with technologies in every mineral resource we worked on. They are so many that I do not even know which to mention. We have developed different fruit products, different technologies which we are proud of. Take Kunu for instance, which is a local technology. Normally, it cannot stay for more than 24hours after production but we have been able to come up with a technology that can allow it stay in the shelf for at least one year. With that, it now has an export value which is one of the easiest ways for job creation.

Would it be appropriate to say that Nigeria is ready for industrialisation?

Of course, we are very ready to do that. We only need a level of commitment to get into the nitty gritty of industrialisation. We have the wherewithal as regards technology. However, there are other challenges like that of infrastructure and there are policy issues too, which we have to put in place to encourage those involved in local production. In the 70s or early 80s, a research work was discovered here at FIIRO to show that sorghum can replace barley for the production of breweries. There was a policy which ensured the ban on importation of barley simply because of our discovery here. It saved the country a huge amount of money at the time and many small scale industries sprang up and job opportunities were in abundance. That is just an example of things we need to ensure industrialisation in Nigeria. If the policies are very effective, we are ready for industrialisation. The goods being imported are of higher standard but the cost of production is also on a high side in the country. There are so many infrastructural problems like power supply, bad roads, among others. At the end of the day, the cost of producing goods here are so high that you cannot compete with the goods imported into this country under well-packaged conditions. So, if as an ordinary person you go to the market to buy any product, you are sure to be fascinated by good packaging, and if you get a better packaged item at a cheaper rate, you are likely to go for it. Though the content of our production is better than what is being imported.

Do you think you have achieved the aim for which the Investment and Technology week was organised?

We cannot say that for now. We can only count our blessings after maybe a year or thereabouts. We are yet to see the results, there will be a communiqué where we shall highlight all that has happened and what we need to do. We have projections, though, and that is the ability to create about 250, 000 jobs if everything goes according to plan.

What kind of support have you been getting from the Federal Government as a Federal Institute?

The presence of the Vice President during the event showed the Presidency’s commitment to the course of FIIRO. It shows commitment to the issue of youth unemployment and poverty alleviation in this country. The fact that Mr. President sent his vice here is a sure sign of good things to come in this country as far as tackling unemployment is concerned. It shows that job creation, industrialisation top the agenda of the presidency. It is a stamp of authority and confidence in FIIRO that we have what it takes to ensure job opportunities for the unemployed. What we have, we are ready to give out to strengthen industrialisation in Nigeria. It is as a result of the government’s investment in FIIRO over the years and I really hope that everyone shall enjoy the dividends of this sowing.

The occasion also dwelled on the theme; “turning waste to wealth”, could you expatiate on this a little?

At any rate, I can categorically tell you that waste will soon become more expensive than raw materials used for production; this because of the values which we have discovered from waste materials. Mushrooms grow on waste materials and as a matter of fact, we have taken up its production on a very large scale through the use of waste. Through sorting and recycling, we have been able to create job opportunities for the unemployed and if you are in the system, you will understand better, what it means to have “resourceful” materials on dumpsites.