The Federal Government has launched the Nigeria Genomic City, a nationwide initiative designed to establish Nigeria as a premier destination for genomics, biotechnology and precision medicine. The move comes alongside plans to create a National Research and Innovation Development Fund that could generate approximately $500 million annually for research and innovation activities.
Maruf Tunji Alausa, minister of education, revealed the plans on Wednesday at a high-level stakeholders gathering in Abuja. He framed the initiative as central to the government's broader push to remake Nigeria into an economy powered by knowledge and innovation.
Nigeria faces a critical choice: transform its rapidly expanding population into an asset or watch it become a burden, Alausa warned. "The biggest demographic dividend ever witnessed anywhere in the world could become a demographic calamity for us if we fail to act," he said in a statement issued by his special adviser on media and communications, Ikharo Attah.
The Nigeria Genomic City represents a deliberate national investment to unlock the country's genomic potential, he explained. The project aims to improve healthcare delivery, bolster food security, drive scientific breakthroughs and unlock fresh economic prospects through biotechnology and precision medicine.
Alausa revealed the project was conceived over 20 months ago and deliberately structured as a multi-agency, multi-ministerial undertaking due to its strategic significance. He noted that the concept emerged while he held the health portfolio but moved with him to the education ministry.
Rather than house the initiative under a single ministry, Alausa insisted on keeping it as a shared national resource requiring wide collaboration. "The project is not about institutional ownership or individual interests.
It belongs to Nigeria and is designed to serve future generations," he said.
The vision aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's drive to pivot Nigeria away from resource dependency towards an economy centred on knowledge, research, technology and innovation. Yet Nigeria remains far behind in leveraging its genomic advantages, Alausa noted.
Wealthy nations have built trillion-dollar sectors around genomics and biotechnology, he observed, while Nigeria fails to harness one of the world's most valuable genomic resources. The minister also cautioned against inequitable international data-sharing deals that allow African genomic information to generate enormous profits elsewhere with minimal returns to the continent.
Nigeria must strengthen data sovereignty, safeguard its scientific assets and forge international partnerships built on genuine reciprocity, Alausa stressed. The Federal Government is finalising the National Research and Innovation Development Fund to channel roughly $500 million yearly into research across universities, research institutes and innovation hubs.
Once the Federal Executive Council and National Assembly give their backing, President Tinubu is expected to sign the enabling legislation into law. This move would establish a lasting financial framework for sustaining research and innovation across the country.
