Universities must evolve beyond centres of learning to become engines of industrial growth — VP Shettima

Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima has declared that Nigeria’s universities must evolve from producing graduates to becoming hubs of innovation, industrialisation and enterprise if the country is to achieve sustainable economic growth.

The Vice President declared this during the inauguration of the Manufacturing Technology University Innovation Pod (Manu-Tech UniPod) at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU).

Shettima, represented by the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, described the facility as “the beginning of a national movement” to reposition tertiary institutions as drivers of economic transformation.

He said the initiative “aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which places education, innovation, industrialisation, youth empowerment and economic diversification at the centre of national development.”

According to Shettima, Nigeria can no longer afford to separate education from production, research from enterprise or knowledge from national prosperity, stressing that universities of the future must produce innovators, inventors, entrepreneurs and employers of labour.

He said the Manu-Tech UniPod would bridge the gap between university research and industry by integrating artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, agro-processing, digital design, industrial automation and entrepreneurship into one innovation ecosystem.

The Vice President noted that the project complements ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening STEM education, technical and vocational training, digital transformation, research capacity and innovation.

Describing Aba as one of Africa’s foremost manufacturing clusters, Shettima said the innovation hub would connect the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with cutting-edge university research, opening new opportunities for commercialisation, investment and exports under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

He also commended Governor Alex Otti for his commitment to education, healthcare, security, technology and industrial development, describing him as “a performing governor” building a sustainable development ecosystem.

“The launch of this Manu-Tech Innovation Pod is not the end of a project; it is the beginning of a national movement where education powers industry, innovation drives prosperity and knowledge transforms our nation,” he said.

In his remarks, Governor Alex Otti described the Manu-Tech UniPod as a major milestone in Abia’s drive to become Nigeria’s leading hub for innovation, manufacturing and enterprise.

He said sustainable development thrives on strategic partnerships, applauding the collaboration between the Federal Government, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for establishing the innovation centre.

According to him, the National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme will equip about 500,000 students and researchers with technological and entrepreneurial skills to transform research findings into commercially viable products and services.

Governor Otti expressed confidence that the UniPod would redirect university research towards solving real-life industrial challenges, strengthen small and medium-scale enterprises, boost investor confidence and accelerate economic growth.

He said the facility perfectly aligned with his administration’s economic blueprint and complements ongoing investments in infrastructure, security and human capital development.

The governor also announced plans to deepen the state’s partnership with UNDP through the “expansion of the Jubilee Fellows Programme, the Aba Export Growth Lab, energy investment initiatives and industrial competitiveness programmes.”

“The hour of big dreams and great ambitions has arrived,” Otti declared, urging students and entrepreneurs to leverage opportunities provided by the UniPod to build globally competitive businesses.

Also speaking at the event, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa, described Abia as a rising innovation hub capable of shaping Africa’s future.

She said the Manu-Tech UniPod was part of the initiative designed to mobilise $1 billion to support 10,000 African startups, scale at least 1,000 high-growth ventures and create millions of jobs across the continent.

“Africa will not wait for the world to develop it; Africa will develop itself,” she declared.

Eziakonwa paid tribute to the late Dr Michael Okpara for laying the foundation for industrial development in the old Eastern Region and praised Governor Otti for creating an enabling environment for innovation through investments in education, healthcare, infrastructure, security and workers’ welfare.

She urged students to “think boldly, collaborate fiercely and create purposefully,” expressing confidence that the next globally transformative innovation could emerge from Abia.

The UN official lauded Governor Otti for his developmental strides, saying the late Okpara’s mantle had fallen on him.

On her part, UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Elsie G. Attafuah, described the innovation hub as a major step towards positioning Abia as Nigeria’s leading innovation-driven industrial state.

She said the Umudike facility forms part of a national innovation ecosystem that began with the AI UniPod at the University of Lagos and the Mine-Tech UniPod at Nasarawa State University.