For decades, Nigeria’s challenge has not been a shortage of ideas. From universities and research institutions to technology hubs and workshops, Nigerians have continued to develop solutions to problems confronting the country. The bigger challenge has been turning those ideas into products, factories, businesses and jobs. It is against this background that the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is implementing the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration by moving Nigerian innovations from laboratories to the factory floor and into the marketplace. A visit to the Agency by members of the Presidential Renewed Hope Media Tour offered a glimpse into how that ambition is taking shape. The team, comprising members of the Presidential Communications Team, government officials, journalists and private-sector partners, toured several NASENI facilities in Abuja on August 4, 2026, as part of a nationwide exercise to showcase projects and policies of the Tinubu administration to the public. What the team encountered ranged from locally assembled electric vehicles, e-tricycles and drones to solar technologies, agricultural innovations, rapid diagnostic kits and advanced reverse-engineering equipment. For the officials who participated in the tour, the developments showcased domestic industrial capacity to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported technologies. Special Adviser to the President on Communication, Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who spoke on behalf of the Presidential Media Team, described what he saw at NASENI in three words: “impressive, impressive, impressive.” According to him, the technologies demonstrated the capabilities of Nigerian youths to perform at a high level when given the right leadership, institutional support and environment. The visit also provided NASENI’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, an opportunity to explain the thinking behind the agency’s transformation over the past three years. Halilu said NASENI was moving away from the traditional perception of a research institution whose work ends with the production of prototypes. Instead, he said the Agency is increasingly focusing on technology transfer, adaptation, domestication, strategic partnerships and commercialisation anchored on NASENI’s “3Cs” principles of Creation, Collaboration and Commercialization. The objective is to create indigenous solutions, collaborate with local and international partners and ensure that successful innovations are commercialised. But Halilu cautioned against interpreting local content as an obligation to manufacture every component of every product in Nigeria. He argued that such an approach would be impractical in a global economy where even the world’s biggest technology companies rely on complex international supply chains. For NASENI, he explained, the priority is to identify Nigeria’s areas of comparative advantage, build technical capacity around them and use partnerships to fill the gaps. The approach is expected to create jobs, reduce production time, lower import dependence and add value to the economy. The Agency’s presentation to the media team showed that its activities now span more than eight industrial sectors, with projects and partnerships covering the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Among the most prominent is the NASENI-Troment factory in Idu, Abuja, where the Agency is supporting local production of rapid diagnostic kits to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported rapid-test kits by about 80 per cent, while creating local capacity for continued innovation in medical technology. The Agency is also taking the industrialisation drive into renewable energy. At Gora in Nasarawa State, it is developing a 40-hectare Solar Industrial Park designed to support domestic solar manufacturing at scale. Other initiatives include CNG conversion and refilling facilities in Abuja, as well as a solar streetlight production partnership in Ogun State. The projects are coming at a time when Nigeria is searching for ways to address its energy challenges while reducing the cost of doing business. NASENI’s electric mobility programme is another area receiving attention. During the media tour, visitors were shown locally assembled electric vehicles, e-tricycles and e-bikes as part of efforts to develop domestic capacity in the emerging clean-transport industry. The Agency’s also highlighted partnerships with foreign governments and technology companies as an important part of its strategy. Through the DELTA-2 programme, Nigeria is collaborating with the Czech Republic on technology transfer and applied research. It is also deepening collaboration on technology transfer for a coal-based fertiliser plant and deepening collaboration with universities, industries and development partners. At its facilities, visitors were exposed to drone technologies being develo
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