He urged the government to develop green manufacturing technology through the use of its local content for the production of goods in the manufacturing sector.
Prof. Balogun, made the call while delivering a paper titled “Green Manufacturing: A Novel Approach to Economic Recovery in Nigeria”, at the 3rd Inaugural lecture series of the Edo State University Uzairue, Etsako West Local Government, Edo State.
According to the Don, “Nigeria should capitalize on its population of over 200 million people to explore, penetrate and create a strong market for its manufacturing sector.
“The way forward is for Nigeria to take advantage of the green manufacturing strategy and evolve her manufacturing sector in that direction as we move towards the 4th industrial revolution.
“The state of manufacturing in our nation to be specific needs a step change to enhance sustainability and transformation towards green manufacturing .
“We, as a nation, cannotcontinue to depend on imported technology and food and expect to be classified as a developed nation.
“Rather, we need to employ and develop our green manufacturing sector so that we can create more jobs and take our citizens out of the streets,” he said.
Balogun,who is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Edo State University Uzairue said, the solution to poverty in the country is a technological revolution and self sufficient in production of green consumer goods which can only be achieved through green manufacturing.
He noted that the manufacturing sector provides the greatest opportunity for the transformation of the Nigerian economy, saying that it is an antidote for unemployment, a creator of wealth, and a threshold for sustainable development.
“Although manufacturing in Nigeria has a few challenges; among them are inadequate and epileptic power supply, regulatory issues, multiplicities of taxes, trade facilitation issues, and infrastructural deficiencies.
“There are some areas of strengths that Nigeria could build on if she considers the new trend of green manufacturing.” He said.
