The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is preparing to kick-start its FutureMakers Virtual Hackathon and Pitch Sessions, a programme presented as a national initiative designed to identify and support young Nigerian innovators.
But before the programme takes off, a disturbing question demands an answer: where is the South-South region?
Nigeria has six geopolitical zones — North-West, North-East, North-Central, South-West, South-East and South-South. Yet, concerns have emerged that the South-South is not itemised on the FutureMakers flyer, while the other geopolitical zones are reportedly clearly listed.
Is this simply an error in the publicity material, or does it reflect a deeper problem with how the programme was designed and communicated?
How can a programme repeatedly described by NASENI as a “national” initiative covering all six geopolitical zones omit one of those zones from its official promotional material?
This is particularly important because NASENI says the programme is deliberately structured around six zones and six challenge statements, with 60 innovators selected from thousands of applications.
If there are six zones, why is the South-South missing from the flyer?
Who approved the material?
Who reviewed it before publication?
Was the omission accidental?
If it was a mistake, why has it not been immediately corrected?
And if the South-South is indeed included in the programme, why is that not clearly reflected in the publicity material?
These are legitimate questions that NASENI should answer before the hackathon begins.
The FutureMakers programme is scheduled to run its five-day virtual hackathon from August 17–21, 2026, followed by pitch sessions from August 24–26. Sixty shortlisted innovators are expected to develop solutions to challenges associated with their respective zones, with technical facilitators and mentors providing support.
Winners in each zone are expected to receive ₦1.5 million, ₦1 million and ₦500,000, while top performers will proceed to the NASENI Invention Fest for a chance to win ₦5 million, an overseas study tour and fully funded scholarships.
Those are substantial promises.
But Nigerians should ask an even bigger question:
Will FutureMakers create Nigeria’s next generation of inventors, or will it become another government programme whose biggest achievement is the press release announcing it?
Government agencies have launched numerous empowerment, innovation and entrepreneurship programmes over the years. The problem has rarely been the launch.
The problem has been what happens afterwards.
What happens to the inventions after the competition?
Who finances the prototypes?
Who helps participants obtain patents?
Who connects them with manufacturers?
Who provides access to investors?
Who ensures that promising ideas do not die immediately after the prize money is collected?
And how will NASENI measure the programme’s success beyond the number of participants, certificates, photographs and social-media posts?
If NASENI genuinely wants to move Nigeria from a consumer economy to a producer economy, then FutureMakers must go beyond another competition where young Nigerians are encouraged to pitch ideas to judges.
Nigeria needs products, factories, patents, businesses and jobs — not just pitch decks.
The agency says the initiative is not a one-off competition and that winners will receive access to mentorship, training and scholarship pathways.
Again, Nigerians deserve to know how long that support will continue.
Will NASENI publish a transparent post-programme report showing how many winners eventually built functioning businesses?
How many inventions reached commercial production?
How many jobs were created?
How much public money was committed?
And what measurable economic returns did the programme produce?
There is also an apparent date inconsistency in the information circulated about FutureMakers. The statement says the programme was launched on December 11, 2026, even though its hackathon activities are scheduled for August 2026. If that date is not a typographical error, NASENI needs to explain how a programme allegedly launched in December could already be conducting activities four months earlier.
For an agency responsible for science, engineering and innovation, accuracy should not be optional.
Most importantly, however, NASENI must address the South-South issue.
The South-South is not a footnote. It is one of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with millions of young Nigerians, universities, technology entrepreneurs, engineers, researchers and innovators.
They deserve to know whether they are fully represented in FutureMakers.
If the omission on the flyer is merely a design or administrative error, NASENI should correct it publicly and immediately.
But if there is more to it, the agency owes Nigerians an explanation.
Because a programme claiming to represent all six geopolitical zones cannot afford to create confusion about one of the six.
NASENI must answer: Where is the South-South?
Is FutureMakers truly a six-zone national innovation programme — or has one of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones been forgotten before the competition even begins?
And ultimately:
Will NASENI’s FutureMakers create Nigeria’s next generation of inventors, or will it become another government programme whose biggest achievement is the press release announcing it?
