The Federal Government of Nigeria and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) have agreed to actively deepen collaboration to turn the nation’s intellectual property into tangible financial assets, with Vice President Kashim Shettima saying the future belongs to nations that understand the dignity of the mind.
The target is to commercialise research from Nigerian universities and support the creative economy through stronger technical cooperation, deeper institutional support, and expanded capacity-building, among others. READ ALSO: Some People Accused Me Of Plotting To Kill Tinubu To Become President — VP Shettima This was disclosed in a statement on Monday as the outcome of a meeting between the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, a delegation from WIPO led by its Director-General, Daren Tang, and top Nigerian government officials at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Shettima drew the WIPO delegation’s attention to Nigeria’s unmistakable ambition, which he said was to build an “intellectual property system that serves the inventor and the investor, the researcher and the entrepreneur, the artiste and the industrialist, the farmer and the software engineer”.
He also welcomed the decision by WIPO to open its first office in Abuja, “the first in Sub-Saharan Africa and one of only seven worldwide”. Shettima recalled that the Federal Executive Council had in November 2025 approved the National Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy “to provide Nigeria with its first comprehensive framework for the development, protection, promotion, management, and commercialisation of intellectual property.” “As we deepen our collaboration with WIPO, we do so with gratitude and with great expectation.
We look forward to stronger technical cooperation, deeper institutional support, expanded capacity-building, and practical pathways for the commercialisation of Nigerian creativity and research. “We believe that the future belongs to nations that understand the dignity of the mind and the economy of ideas,” the VP was quoted as saying in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha.
Shettima noted that the administration of President Bola Tinubu was building an economy where investors would feel satisfied that innovation is protected, disputes are resolved with confidence, and intellectual assets can be converted into wealth. “The foresight of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, through the Renewed Hope Agenda, is anchored in unlocking productivity, expanding economic opportunity, attracting investment, creating jobs, and positioning Nigeria for long-term prosperity.
“At the heart of this agenda is a clear recognition that value in today’s economy is increasingly created through ideas, technology, innovation, data, brands, culture, and knowledge. The countries that will lead this century are those able to create, protect, commercialise, and scale intellectual assets,” he added.