Nigeria, Nov. 21 -- The Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State, Ayo Omotayo, has warned that Africa and other parts of the Global South will struggle to modernise unless countries drastically increase investment in research, innovation and human capital.

Mr Omotayo issued the warning in a policy paper titled "Working Together to Advance Modernisation: A Shared Vision and the Path to Development," where he argued that structural weaknesses across developing regions are being reinforced by consistently low funding for knowledge production.

He said modernisation in the 21st century is driven not only by traditional industrialisation, but also by countries' capacity to build ...