The executive secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Sonny Echono, has said the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, has lived to the ideals of its founding fathers, breeding experts in various fields of human endeavors.
Echono, while delivering a lecture to mark the 65th anniversary of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, also said investment in research and innovation systems will generate practical solutions suited to local realities.
The TETFUND boss, in the copy of the paper obtained in Osogbo on Friday, paid glowing tributes to the pioneer and successive Vice Chancellors of the university for sustaining the legacies of the university’s founding fathers.
“The Great Ife has remained a symbol of commitment and purposeful leadership. Expectedly, the university has lived to the ideals of its founding fathers as the breeding ground for erudite scholars, legal luminaries, successful businessmen, diplomats, accomplished technocrats and administrators, including its legion of Nigerian National Merit Award Winners, who are contributing to national development, and have continued to uphold the reputation of the university,” he said.
Speaking on the concept of research and innovation, Echono noted that research and innovation remain key drivers of national development, saying nations that have achieved sustained economic growth and technological advancement have done so through deliberate investment in knowledge generation, scientific inquiry, and practical innovation.
He added that in present day global economy, development does not depend on natural resources, but on the capacity to create, apply, and commercialize knowledge.
“Research and innovation remain key drivers of national development. Nations that have achieved sustained economic growth and technological advancement have done so through deliberate investment in knowledge generation, scientific inquiry, and practical innovation.
“In today’s global economy, development does not depend on natural resources but on the capacity to create, apply, and commercialize knowledge. Nigeria’s developmental challenges, though significant, also present opportunities for innovation-driven transformation.
“Addressing issues such as unemployment, insecurity, hunger, healthcare limitations, industrial underdevelopment, and technological dependence requires sustained investment in research and innovation systems that generate practical solutions suited to local realities,” Echono said.
Commending President Bola Tinubu for focusing on research and innovation that can provide solutions to challenges peculiar to the country and her people, Echono also stressed that building a fully functional and innovation-driven economy requires deliberate efforts to address issues of funding constraints, insufficient infrastructure, inadequate motivation, limited academia-industry collaboration, and challenges in commercialising research outputs.
He emphasised that the role of TETFund in enhancing the capacity of tertiary institutions in the country for research and development through its interventions activities has become increasingly strategic for strengthening Nigeria’s research and innovation ecosystem.
He further said that by supporting research funding, academic capacity development, innovation hubs, commercialisation initiatives, and entrepreneurship programmes, TETFund has been repositioning institutions in the country as active contributors to national development.
He declared that Nigeria’s “Sustainable development largely depends on how effective we are at leveraging knowledge, innovation, and technology to grow national economy, expand opportunities, create jobs and wealth, develop new products and services and improve the well-being of its people. This is essential for national growth, competitiveness, and long-term stability.”
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Simeon Bamire, said the institution has been recording steady growth since it’s establishment about 65 years ago and commanded the sacrifices and commitment of staff members and students towards sustaining legacies of excellence OAU is reputed for.
The PUNCH reports that Bamire announced plans to unveil the N10bn President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Centre of Excellence in Intercultural Dialogue and Youth Empowerment on June 8 as part of activities marking the institution’s 65th anniversary.
Bamire said the centre was designed to serve as a platform for research, dialogue, leadership development, innovation and youth empowerment.
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