Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has urged the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies(NIPSS) to plan, interpret and predict trends on food security, technology, climate change and other related phenomena.

Mr Osinbajo gave this charge on Thursday at the Presidential Villa while inaugurating the newly constituted 11-man board of trustees of the NIPSS Endowment Fund, chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar.

Other board members present were the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, Gbong Gwom, Jos, Jacob Buba, Adeolu Akande, Nigerian Communications Commission chair, Mr Marc Wabara, Yusuf Alli, Hilary Inyang and Sarah Jibril.

The vice president commended the chairman and members for accepting to serve on the board, noting that since 1979 when NIPSS was established, it had proven to be the foremost institution for reflection, ideation and research.

“So, I believe that NIPSS and what we are trying to constitute today is one that would have to plan, predict and interpret the trends of the coming years; and those trends would be many,” stated Mr Osinbajo.

He added, “One would be the various challenges that the world would face; we are going, aside from food security, huge problems of poverty at a scale that appears to be increasing all across the world—and I speak not just for our own region—all across the world.”

The vice president also said the world was moving quickly with technology, adding, “as a matter of fact, it would appear as (if) the world is moving literally on technology steroids.”

He also expressed concern about climate change.

“We have seen already climate change and all the implications for the future of our planet and the future of our socio-economic circumstances of the world and in particular developing countries and, of course, Nigeria,’’ said Mr Osinbajo.

(NAN)