Let me mention a few of Nigeria’s leading inventors, who could be a great help to Nigeria in the area of science and technology.

1. SAHEED ADEPOJU:

He is the inventor of the INYE-1 & 2, tablet computers designed for the African market.

Saheed is the Co-founder of Encipher Limited, a Nigerian-based technology company that introduced the first android-powered tablet into Nigeria. The INYE1, which was unveiled in April 2010 is a 7-inch resistive screen tablet. It runs Android 2.1 and allows users to connect to the Internet using its inbuilt WIFI card and to use an external 3G modem from GSM networks. It offers about 3 hours of battery life and allows HDMI output to HDMI capable devices.

INYE-2, which was unveiled in May 2011, is an 8-inch capacitive screen tablet. It runs Android 2.2 and allows users to connect to the internet using its inbuilt Wi-Fi card as well as its inbuilt SIM. It offers about 8 hours of battery life and allow users to connect to other USB devices.

If I were in the place of the new Nigerian government I would risk giving him an Institute of Technology, at least a department to inspire the students from his experience.

2. EMEKA NCHEKWUBE:

He is credited with the co-invention of the following:

Hypoestoxides, derivatives and agonists thereof for use as stent-coating agents, U.S. Patent no. 7229979

Hypoestoxides, derivatives and agonists thereof for use of antiparasitic agents Patent no. 6242484

Terfenadine oral powder, U.S. Patent no. 5455049

Solutions of pentamidine, U.S. Patent no. 4,853,416

EmekaNchewube is a Nigerian-born Neurosurgeon who currently lives and practices in the United States. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria and earned his Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Central Michigan University. He attended Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit where he also finished his Neurosurgery residency. He is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons and is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He is also a member of the San Jose Surgical Society, the American Medical Association, and the California Association of Neurological Surgeons.

3. BRINO GILBERT:

He is credited with the invention of the Counter Collision Gadget (CCG), a device that has the capacity to prevent accidents on the road, air, sea and rail. The invention earned him many awards including a bronze medal in the Aerospace/Aeronautics category at the May 2003 edition of the Invention and New Product Exposition (INPEX) in the United States. He also received a silver medal in the manufacturing category and a trophy for being the best invention from Africa in the continental category. His vision is to make CCG exportable to many countries of the world. Can you imagine the Federal government putting money into Gilbert’s technology? I think a technology like that which could prevent accidents everywhere, could be one of the biggest hits in the world. It could become our biggest export. And that technology alone could earn Nigeria an overwhelming amount of money.

4. ALOYSIUS ANAEBONAM:

He holds about 12 U.S. Patents including the following:

Extended release acetaminophen, Patent number: 6254891, July 3, 2001.

Extended release acetaminophen particles, Patent number: 6126967, October 3, 2000.

Pleasant-tasting aqueous liquid composition of a bitter-tasting drug, Patent number: 5962461, October 5, 1999.

Pleasant-tasting aqueous liquid composition of a bitter-tasting drug, Patent number: 5763449, June 9, 1998

Composition and process for prevention and treatment of cutaneous immediate hypersensitivity reactions, Patent number: 5684037, November 4, 1997.

Composition and process for prevention and treatment of cutaneous immediate hypersensitivity reactions, Patent number: 5684038, November 4, 1997.

Terfenadine oral granules, Patent number: 5626879, May 6, 1997;

Process for treating uremic pruritus, Patent number: 5576346, November 19, 1996.

Process for treating hemangioma, Patent number: 5552436

Composition and process for prevention and treatment of cutaneous immediate hypersensitivity reactions, Patent number: 5532270, July 2, 1996;

Terfenadine oral powder, Patent number: 5455049, October 3, 1995.

Aloysius holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial Pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, Boston Massachusetts. He is the Founder & Chief Scientist of BREEJ Technologies, Inc., a developer and marketer of advanced treatment cosmetics products for problem skin.

What would it take to bring back people like this to Nigeria? I think the new government should contact people like this personally and ask for the conditions of their return and grant it to them. We urgently need them to return to Africa.

5. YEMI ADESOKAN:

He was selected by expert judges of the Technology Review of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States of America for his discovery work on drug-resistant infections. He was honored by the MIT in 2011 because of his innovative work.

Yemi is Nigerian-born and United States-based founder of Pathogenica Inc. Medical experts are of the view that his innovation may bring an end to the problem of drug resistance in the world particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. His discovery work was carried out by a biotechnology start-up that he founded with Professor George Church of Harvard Medical School DNA technology.

Someone like Yemi could be given a project to come back to Nigeria to start our own variant of MIT, especially since he is already working there. He could be tasked to understudy their system and setup so as to come back to Africa and replicate it.

6. SHEHU SALEH BALAMI:

He is credited with designing a solid-fuel rocket.

Since the year 2000, Shehu Balami, a Nigerian Engineer has been involved in designing rockets. He is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, Niger State. He has produced two solid fuel rockets which were launched along the new Kaduna Millennium City Road in Kaduna State. In 2008, with the support of his friends and family members, he was able to build his first rocket which he later modified in 2011. The solid-fuel rocket was produced under the auspices of the Movement for the Propagation of Science and Technology in Nigeria.

Someone like Shehu is a raw gift from the heart of Africa, can you imagine Nigeria having its own “NASA”? If we are to do it, it would be thanks to people like Shehu. He must be tasked specifically for this assignment. A team must be formed around him so as to work at developing our own “NASA”

7. SEBASTINE CHINONYE OMEH:

He is best known for his research into the use of wind-propelled turbines to generate electricity.

Sebastine is the Managing Director of Hybrid Micro Machine Products Limited. He is from Ogrute town in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. He is a graduate of engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Challenged by the energy crisis in Nigeria, and the need to develop indigenous technology, he conducted research into the use of wind-propelled turbines to generate electricity, thereby pioneering wind energy technology in Nigeria.

We have to put money behind someone like Sabastine, even if the government doesn’t have money for research, I am sure that there are corporations, companies and international donors who would be interested in helping Sabastine achieve his full potential. Can you imagine us having our own Indigenous solution to the electricity problem? Amazing! Nigeria would stand a good chance if we do what we need to do.

8. OVIEMO OVADJE (RTD):

Oviemo is a Nigerian medical Doctor who is credited with the invention of the Emergency Auto Transfusion System (EAT-SET), which is an effective, low-cost and affordable blood auto-transfusion mechanism that saves patients in developing countries. He has patented the invention in nine countries.

Oviemo was born in Nigeria and hails from Delta State. He began working on the invention in 1989 with $120 dollars. In 1995, he was declared best African scientist and founded EATSET Industries, in April 2001. The United Nation Development Program (UNDP) and the government of Nigeria funded the EAT-SET Project, with the World Health Organization (WHO) acting as the executing agency and providing assistance in the coordination of the project.

He has received many international awards including:

OAU-WIPO Best African Scientist Gold Medal, Geneva Switzerland (1995);

Winner Promex Medal Geneva, Switzerland (1998);

First African Winner World Health Organisation Sasakawa Gold Medal, Geneva, Switzerland, (2000)

Winner ARCO Gold Medal, The Dorchester, UK, (2001);

Winner Army Council Medal, Nigeria Army, Army Head Quarters, Abuja, Nigeria.

Someone like Col. Oviemo is not of the younger generation anymore, we need to put all efforts behind him to be able to produce all he can while he is still actively working.

9. SEYI OYESOLA:

He is credited with the co-invention of CompactOR or the “Hospital in a Box”, a solar-powered life-saving operating room which can be transported to remote areas of Africa and set up within minutes.

Seyi is a Nigerian trained doctor and inventor. He received his basic science and medical education at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, with specialist training in Anaesthesia and Critical Care in the United Kingdom and United States. In order to help bring surgical care to every region of the continent, Seyi co-developed CompactOR, or the “Hospital in a Box”: a portable medical system that contains anesthetic and surgical equipment. One major advantage of this invention is that the operating suite is light enough to be dropped into inaccessible zones by helicopter and it can be powered by solar panels.

The invention of Seyi is so practical, specifically to the African need. There is no doubt that there must be many more inventions and discoveries in such a man. The government needs to find him and impact into him the faith to go on and give us more inventions.

10. CYPRIAN EMEKA UZOH:

He holds more than 126 United States issued patents and over 160 patents worldwide in semiconductor technology including U.S. Patent No. 6709562,“method of making electroplated interconnection structures on integrated circuit chips”, which earned him the inventor of the year award in 2006 from the New York Intellectual Property Association.

If someone has 160 patents, that person must have a lot more to give to the world and to Africa in particular, let’s find him and have him come back to contribute to his motherland

11. KUNLE OLUKOTUN:

He is well known for leading the Stanford Hydra research project which developed one of the first chip multiprocessors with support for thread-level speculation (TLS).

Kunle is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford University. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from The University of Michigan. He is the founder of AfaraWebsystems (later acquired by Sun Microsystems), a company that builds servers surrounding a custom high-throughput CPU architecture and develops IP traffic management systems for high-throughput, low power server systems with chip multiprocessor technology.

These are the people that must be enticed back to Africa, no matter what the cost. They must be encouraged to come back and set up research institutes.

12. UME IFEANYI CHARLES:

He is credited with five 5 inventions all of which were patented at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). These are:

Method and Apparatus for Measuring Thermally Induced Warpage in Printed Wiring Boards Using Shadow Moir, United States Patent No. 5601364, Feb. 11,1997;

Method and Apparatus for Measuring Thermal Warpage Using Projection Moir, United States Patent No. 6564166 B1, May 13, 2003;

Object Inspection Method and System, United States Patent No. 6747268, June 8, 2004;

Inspection System and Methods, United States Patent No. 7492449,February 17, 2009; and

Ultrasound Systems and Method for Measuring Weld Penetration Depth in Real Time and Off Line, United States Patent No. 7762136, July 27, 2010.

Ifeanyi is a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. He is a recipient of the Donald P. Eckman Education Award in recognition of his contributions towards education of mechatronics throughout the world. In 2010, he was also awarded the Electronics and Photonic Packaging Division (EPPD) Excellence in Mechanics Award.

If the federal government could somehow convince all these people to get involved with our universities of science and technology, Nigeria could experience a surge that could lead to a fast track development.

If the Massachusetts Institute of Technology can contribute so massively to the US economy as much as 2 trillion US dollars, then science and technology is one sector of the economy that we cannot afford to neglect.

If Nigeria is indeed serious about finding an alternative to oil foreign exchange earnings, we need to call on our talented scientists and inventors from all over the world to come to the rescue. If Australia can through science and technology, bring into their economy 4 times the amount that oil is giving to Nigeria, then Nigeria too should tap into the huge potential of science and technology to fast track our quest for growth and development.

•Sunday Adelaja is a Nigerian born leader, Transformation Strategist, Pastor and innovator who lives in Kieve Ukraine. He can be contacted at sundayadelajablog@gmail.com

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