Nigerians still prefer foreign goods, NASENI laments amid local tech breakthroughs

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has raised concern over Nigerians’ continued preference for foreign goods, despite the growing capacity and quality of locally-made products.

At a stakeholders’ engagement on Thursday in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, NASENI’s Deputy Director of Engineering, Mr. Joseph Alasoluyi, lamented the lack of patronage for homegrown innovations, attributing it to affordability challenges and deeply ingrained public perceptions that undervalue Nigerian-made goods.

“It’s disheartening that we are producing quality products right here in Nigeria, but our people still go out of their way to buy foreign alternatives,” Alasoluyi told participants at the event.

To change this narrative, he said NASENI has trained over 50 individuals in the production of hand-crafted goods and continues to build local capacity to strengthen indigenous manufacturing.

READ ALSO: ‘Your weak coalition coalition has crumbled’, Onanuga mocks Atiku

NASENI, a federal government agency established to promote science, engineering, and technological innovation, currently operates 12 research and development institutes across Nigeria.

“Our focus is on using local resources and talent to meet national needs,” he said. “We’re not just building machines—we’re building a culture of innovation.”

Among NASENI’s recent achievements are the development of:

• Solar-powered irrigation systems for farmers,
• Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion centres for greener transportation,
• Machines that can produce up to 1,000 construction blocks per hour,
• Locally made 10-inch tablets and laptops,
• Electric tricycles (Keke Napep), now ready for market deployment.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now