National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has said that the first helicopter built in Nigeria is almost completed.
At a focus group engagement in Kaduna on Wednesday, Kareem Aduagba, project manager for the Aeronautics and Air Vehicle Development Institute, a NASENI organisation gave a speech.
To encourage local manufacturing, innovation, and the acceptance of made-in-Nigeria products, NASENI hosted an event that was attended by manufacturers and innovators from both the business and academic sectors.
Government representatives, business executives, and inventors convened at the event to talk about the policies that will propel Nigeria’s industrial and technology development.
“Very soon, we are going to do the first test. Everything is nearing completion now, and very soon, we will fly the first made-in-Nigeria helicopter,” Aduagba said.
“What we are doing now is not to reinvent the wheel. We had one of our projects being started from the first principle, which we are working on, both the made-in-Nigeria helicopter and some unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
“We have some which we bought over from developed countries, which we had them in semi-knockdown (SKD) and some complete knockdown (CKD).
Khalil Halilu, NASENI’s chief executive officer
“So, we are now making use of science and engineering knowledge to work on the SKD and the CKD.”
The relevance of NASENI in national growth was highlighted by Abdulfatai Ambali, head of the manufacturing services department at the Hydraulic Equipment Development Institute, Kano.
“Under its current leadership, NASENI has a renewed focus on commercialisation, collaboration, and creation,” Ambali continued.
The agency is emphasising awareness, stakeholder engagement, and community impact under the present administration, he said, adding that many Nigerians are unaware of NASENI and its operations.
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To lessen the nation’s excessive reliance on imported goods, he said, NASENI is trying to create domestic technology, with several cutting-edge solutions already implemented in a variety of industries.
Nigerians should be patriotic by supporting local businesses, said Saleh Kwaru, the program’s facilitator, who emphasised that supporting domestic goods is essential to the country’s progress.
“We must look inward and leverage our resources. Constantly relying on foreign products weakens our economy,” Kwaru said.
