Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to transforming the country into a knowledge and innovation-driven economy with the unveiling of the Nigeria Genomic City.
Speaking at a high-level stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Thursday, Alausa warned that Nigeria’s greatest demographic advantage could become a demographic crisis if the country fails to make decisive investments in research, science and innovation.
According to a statement by the Minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr. Ikharo Attah, the Genomic city is a landmark initiative aimed at harnessing the country’s vast genomic resources to advance scientific research, improve healthcare, strengthen food security and accelerate inclusive economic growth.
Alausa described the Nigeria Genomic City as a strategic national investment that would position Nigeria as a leading hub for genomics, biotechnology and precision medicine while laying the foundation for long-term scientific and economic advancement.
“The biggest demographic dividend ever witnessed anywhere in the world could become a demographic calamity for us if we fail to act. We do not have a choice,” the minister said.
Alausa explained that the initiative was conceived more than 20 months ago and deliberately structured as a multi-agency, multi-ministerial project because of its strategic national importance.
Although the idea originated while he served as Minister of State for Health and later became Minister of Education, he said he resisted attempts to place the project under a single ministry, insisting that it should remain a national asset driven through broad collaboration.
He stressed that the project is not about institutional ownership or personal interests but about creating a sustainable national platform that will benefit generations of Nigerians.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu’s administration is determined to shift Nigeria from a resource-dependent economy to one powered by knowledge, research, technology and innovation, with the Nigeria Genomic City serving as a key pillar of that vision.
The minister noted that while advanced economies have built trillion-dollar industries around biotechnology and genomics, Nigeria continues to underutilise one of the world’s richest genomic resources.
He warned that unequal international data-sharing arrangements have enabled valuable African genomic data to generate enormous value abroad with little benefit to the continent.
He therefore called for deliberate investments to protect Nigeria’s scientific resources, strengthen genomic data sovereignty and attract equitable global partnerships capable of delivering lasting benefits to the country.
Alausa also disclosed that the Federal Government is finalising the establishment of the National Research and Innovation Development Fund, expected to mobilise nearly 500 million dollars annually to support research and innovation across the country.
He expressed optimism that following approval by the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly, President Tinubu would assent to the enabling legislation, ushering in a new era of sustainable research funding.
He further announced that the University of Abuja will host the Nigeria Genomic City, while the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, the National Board for Technology Incubation and other strategic partners will provide the technological and innovation support required for its implementation.
The Federal Ministry of Education, he added, will coordinate the project and facilitate collaboration among participating institutions.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, described the initiative as a unique opportunity for Nigeria to emerge as a global leader in scientific innovation rather than remain a consumer of technologies developed elsewhere.
She said Nigeria’s large population, expanding research capacity and growing pool of technical experts provide a strong foundation for the project’s success, assuring stakeholders of the ministry’s commitment to mobilising the partnerships needed for its implementation.
Presenting the technical framework, the Pioneer Director of the Centre for Genomic and Precision Medicine at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Mayowa Ojo Owolabi, described the Nigeria Genomic City as a transformative investment that would reshape healthcare, agriculture, biotechnology and economic development.
According to him, the project will establish a sustainable national platform built on genomic, biological and health data resources to drive the discovery, development and commercialisation of innovative solutions for disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cures. It will also improve crop and livestock production, strengthen food security and promote inclusive economic growth.
Owolabi noted that Africa possesses the world’s richest genetic diversity, placing Nigeria in a strategic position to become a global hub for genomics, precision medicine and biotechnology.
He added that the initiative would safeguard the nation’s genomic resources through robust data sovereignty and intellectual property protection while leveraging emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and bioinformatics.
He further said the project would develop a world-class scientific workforce, attract investments, deepen collaboration with Nigerian researchers in the diaspora and position the country as an exporter of scientific discoveries and biotechnology innovations.
