By Abdullahi Mohammed, Abuja
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo Thursday met with the members of the Board of Trustees of the Endowment Fund for the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS). Speaking at the meeting held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Osinbajo said there was the need for NIPSS to recalibrate its visibility and attract significant financial backing from the private sector and other non-public sector sources.“One of the reasons why a think-tank is effective is because it is a place where people think and develop ideas because ideas make the difference.
This is why countries that have made progress continue to seek ways not just in developing their own think-tanks, but in looking for other think-tanks they can collaborate with because there is so much happening around the world and a lot of collaboration is necessary.“Some of the roadmaps for the growth of technology, for artificial intelligence, the roadmaps for where we are going to find ourselves for machine learning, and where we are heading to with respect to the finances of the world – the cryptocurrency, and others, even thinking through the development of military strength, are the products of think-tanks. “One of the critical things for us in NIPSS is to first of all realise that the most important part of our work in the coming years would be really thinking and developing ideas.
“The work of a think-tank is thinking and development of ideas. But NIPSS can offer training to people and at the end of the programme, they get titles and all that but that is not how think-tanks make their names. Think-tanks make a name by the ideas they develop. All the think-tanks in the world, produce some of the greatest ideas,” he said. The Vice President identified other areas that should concern NIPSS including developing ideas on how to get the country and its people out of extreme poverty and address climate change issues, among others.“Our country is a nation of 200 million people, growing at 6 million a year and poverty is almost at 60%, even more, extreme poverty.
In another few years we are going to become the third most populous country in the world. We have to devise a strategy to get out of that poverty. “It is our foremost think-tank that ought to be in the forefront of thinking how we are going to deal with the situation, politicians will come and go. Our think-tanks must be able to provide a tactical roadmap to move from where we are to get to where we ought to be.“And that is the same for every other thing. Everyone is talking about Climate Change and what is going to happen to the world. People are thinking about these things time and time again, but we need to have our own think-tank come up with policies and ideas about what we need to do,” he said.
In his remarks, the Sultan of Sokoto Dr Muhammadu Saad Abubakar reiterated the trustees’ commitment to serve, and assured the Vice President of their preparedness to deliver on the mandate.He said the trustees are set to “make the institute the best it can be,” adding that the trustees would interact with the Alumni of NIPSS. The trustees including the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III; Gbong Gwom Jos, Chief Jacob Buba Gyang; Chairman of the Board of the Nigeria Communication Commission, Prof. Adeolu Akande; Chairman of Overt Energy, Chief Marc Wabara, a legal luminary, Yusuf Alli, SAN; and Prince Julius Adelusi Adeluyi, who joined virtually.
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