A professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ilorin, Jacob Olayiwola Aweda, has called for closer collaborations between the nation’s universities and industries to ensure greater economic development.
Professor Aweda made the call while delivering the 217th inaugural lecture of the University, titled, “Engineering Technology and Technology of Manipulation of Process Parameters”.
The renowned academic lamented that “there is little or no information sharing between the universities and industries operating in Nigeria regarding the running, maintenance and application of new technologies in the operations of many industries”.
Professor Aweda contended that for the country to develop as envisaged by all, the nation’s industrial establishments must not toy with a functional partnership between them and the various research centres and the universities, which are empowered to offer assistance to them in various ways.
He pointed out that it is also very important for the industries to support the running of academic programmes and award of grants to deserving students, saying that what comes to the universities from the industries is too little to help the cause of research and development.
Professor Aweda bemoaned a situation where so many industries find it difficult to grant academics, researchers and students access to their premises while many others also ignore questions forwarded to them from the academia, which he said would have helped researchers in their investigations.
The foremost scholar also decried a situation where Nigerian industries depend largely on foreign materials and personnel, particularly when those factors of production can be locally sourced.
He added that the perpetuation of such tendencies would only deepen the nation’s economic woes.
Professor Aweda also enjoined stakeholders, particularly the Federal Government, to ensure that the drive towards the institutionalisation of technical education right from primary school does not suffer a relapse.
He lamented the discontinuation of the 6-3-3-4 system of education, which was initiated in 1983, saying that the policy is the best for a nation like Nigeria to grow and advance technologically.
The university don insisted that Nigerian youths deserve to be exposed to a system of education that would encourage them to be self-reliant by inculcating in them better labour market skills and earning potentials instead of those that would depend on white collar jobs.
The inaugural lecturer appealed to the Federal Government to ensure that it offers adequate protection to entrepreneurs, particularly those operating Small Scale Enterprises (SME) against the domination of their products by imported goods and materials as he appealed to the government to also ensure that those entrepreneurs work with research centres and universities for mutual benefits.
Professor Aweda commended the authorities of the University of Ilorin for establishing a Technical and Entrepreneurial Centre (TEC), saying that the activities and products of the Centre would encourage students towards entrepreneurship.
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