Vice President Kashim Shettima has charged Nigerian universities to move beyond producing graduates and become drivers of innovation, industrialisation and enterprise.
Represented by the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, at the inauguration of the Manu-Tech UniPod at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Shettima described the project as the start of “a national movement” to reposition universities as engines of economic transformation.
He linked the initiative to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, insisting Nigeria can no longer separate education from production or research from enterprise. The Manu-Tech UniPod, he said, would merge artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, agro-processing, digital design, industrial automation and entrepreneurship into a single innovation ecosystem.
Calling Aba one of Africa’s top manufacturing clusters, Shettima said the hub would link the city’s businesses with university research, boosting commercialisation and exports under the AfCFTA. He also praised Governor Alex Otti as “a performing governor” advancing education, healthcare, security and technology in the state.
Otti: UniPod fits Abia’s economic vision
Governor Otti called the UniPod a major milestone in positioning Abia as Nigeria’s leading hub for innovation and manufacturing, crediting the partnership between the Federal Government, UNDP and TETFund. He said the wider National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme would equip about 500,000 students and researchers with tech and entrepreneurial skills.
Otti announced plans to expand the state’s UNDP partnership through the Jubilee Fellows Programme, the Aba Export Growth Lab and new energy and industrial competitiveness initiatives. “The hour of big dreams and great ambitions has arrived,” he said.
UN: Next big African innovation could come from Abia
UN Assistant Secretary-General Ahunna Eziakonwa said the UniPod is part of a UNDP push to mobilise $1 billion for 10,000 African startups and scale 1,000 high-growth ventures. “Africa will not wait for the world to develop it; Africa will develop itself,” she said, urging students to think boldly and create purposefully.
UNDP Resident Representative Elsie Attafuah said the Umudike facility joins similar hubs — the AI UniPod at the University of Lagos and Mine-Tech UniPod at Nasarawa State University — in a growing national innovation network. UNDP plans to expand from seven UniPods to over 50 nationwide, she said, adding that a fresh MoU with the Education Ministry is being finalised.
MOUAU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Ursula Akanwa said universities should now be judged by the industries they create and technologies they commercialise, not just graduate numbers or research papers.
TETFund Executive Secretary Sonny Echono, represented by Dr Suleiman Zingina, said seven UniPods and one Innovation Hub are already running, with 12 more expected before year-end.
The event drew Abia government officials and dignitaries including Chief of Staff Caleb Ajagba, former Deputy Governor Ude Okochukwu, and university and polytechnic leaders from across the state.
READ ALSO:
- Court Grants Ex-CCT Chairman Danladi Umar ₦100m Bail Over Corruption Charges
- Senate Approves ₦50m For Families Of Slain Teachers, Soldiers In Oyo Abduction
- FirstBank-Sponsored ‘Mary’ Musical Play Wows Audience with AI-Infused Storytelling | By Oladapo Sofowora
- Akpabio: We Won’t Manufacture Conflict With Tinubu’s Government
- Nigeria Loses 3,100GWh Electricity to Gas Flaring in May — NOSDRA
