- Says Universities Should Drive Innovation, Industrialisation; Urges Government To Increase Education Funding
By Celestine Okafor (Editor-in-chief)
Renowned global robotics engineer and former Minister of Power, Professor Barth Nnaji, has called on the Nigerian government to prioritise science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, increase investment in higher education and strengthen university-industry partnerships to accelerate national development.
Nnaji, who made the call while delivering the 2026 Founder’s Day Lecture at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), on October 7, 2026, said Nigeria could learn valuable lessons from countries such as China, India and Vietnam, which had leveraged education, scientific research and technological innovation to achieve remarkable economic progress.
Speaking on the theme, “Grappling with the Challenges of the 21st Century through Higher Education in Nigeria,” the erudite professor stressed that Nigerian universities must be reoriented towards solving the country's economic and technological challenges rather than operating largely as conventional teaching institutions.
He recalled that the vision behind the establishment of the University of Nigeria in 1960, inspired by the ideals of the late nationalist, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, remained relevant to the country's development aspirations.
According to him, Nigeria needs higher institutions that are primarily committed to addressing national problems while contributing to Africa's broader aspirations.
Nnaji expressed concern over the country's economic challenges, particularly youth unemployment, limited economic opportunities and the increasing migration of skilled professionals abroad in search of better living and working conditions.
He observed that Nigeria's large youth population should be a source of economic strength if adequately equipped with relevant knowledge, technical skills and opportunities for productive employment.
However, he warned that the continued departure of highly trained Nigerians, including doctors, engineers, pharmacists, accountants and technology experts, was depriving the country of critical human resources needed for development.
To demonstrate the transformative power of education, Nnaji cited India's establishment of its first Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur in 1951 and the subsequent expansion of the system into a network of specialised institutions renowned for producing highly skilled graduates.
He recalled delivering a keynote address at the Indo-USA Engineering Conference at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in 1989, when India had only five IITs.
According to him, India now has 23 such institutions, whose graduates have made significant contributions to scientific research, technological advancement and global business leadership.
Nnaji said his experience supervising Indian graduates as postgraduate students and research assistants at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Pittsburgh had convinced him of the quality of education provided by the institutions.
He expressed concern, however, that Nigeria's universities of technology, established in different parts of the country in the early 1980s, had yet to fulfil the expectations of their founders and the Nigerian public.
He therefore urged the government to strengthen STEM education at every level, beginning from primary school, to equip young Nigerians to compete effectively in the global economy.
The former minister also cited Vietnam as an example of a country that had made significant economic progress despite the devastating effects of decades of war.
He noted that Vietnam had developed into an important manufacturing and industrial destination, attracting the attention of global technology companies.
Using economic figures presented in his lecture, Nnaji contrasted Vietnam's reported gross domestic product of $171 billion in 2014 with Nigeria's $811 billion at the time.
He said the figures cited for 2026 placed Vietnam's GDP at $527 billion, compared with Nigeria's $377 billion, despite Nigeria having a substantially larger population.
The comparison, he argued, demonstrated the urgent need for Nigeria to reconsider its development priorities and invest more strategically in education, industrial capacity and technological innovation.
Nnaji also highlighted China's transformation from a relatively poor country in the 1970s and early 1980s into the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP.
He attributed much of China's development to sustained investment in scientific and technological capabilities, effective institutions and a system that places considerable emphasis on performance and measurable results.
According to him, the prominence of science and engineering graduates in China's leadership and workforce offers important lessons for Nigeria. He cited the strong emphasis on science and engineering education in China as evidence of the importance of developing the technical expertise required to drive industrialisation.
Nnaji called for a substantial increase in government investment in education, particularly in programmes that promote innovation, scientific research and the development of productive skills.
He cited figures from his presentation indicating that Nigeria ranked 176th out of 177 countries in education investment as a percentage of GDP in 2022/2023, with the country's reported investment standing at 0.35 per cent.
He contrasted Nigeria's position with countries such as Namibia, Botswana, Sierra Leone and Tunisia, which he said allocated significantly higher proportions of their GDP to education.
The professor maintained that inadequate funding had constrained the capacity of Nigerian universities to develop the facilities, research programmes and technological expertise required to support national economic growth.
He urged policymakers to make productive education a national priority and ensure that public investment translates into improved teaching, research, innovation and employment opportunities.
Nnaji also cautioned against interpreting the emphasis on STEM as a rejection of the humanities, arts or business studies.
Instead, he argued that scientific and technological advancement must be complemented by creativity, sound economic knowledge, effective management and a strong understanding of human values.
He cited the influence of calligraphy and design on the work of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as an example of how the arts can complement technological innovation.
He also stressed the importance of economics and management education, noting that successful organisations, including scientific institutions, hospitals and research laboratories, require effective leadership and administration. Universities, he maintains, must become centres of innovation
The former minister urged Nigerian universities to adopt entrepreneurial approaches to teaching and research, establish stronger relationships with industry and develop solutions that can be translated into commercial products and services.
He cited the United States as an example of a country where sustained government funding for scientific research and collaboration between universities and industry had contributed to technological advancement and economic growth.
According to Nnaji, institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Harvard University and the University of California system have helped stimulate innovation and the development of technology-based industries.
He also highlighted the contributions of research clusters and university-industry partnerships to the growth of Silicon Valley in California, Route 128 in Massachusetts and Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.
Nnaji explained that effective collaboration among government, universities and private businesses could help Nigeria develop its own centres of excellence, attract investment and commercialise locally generated research.
He maintained that universities should not merely produce graduates seeking employment but should also equip students with the skills to create businesses, develop technologies and generate employment for others.
Highlighting examples of initiatives that demonstrate Nigeria's potential for innovation, Nnaji identified the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, Terra Industries Limited, the Nigeria Prize for Science and Innovation, and Geometric Power's Aba Integrated Power Project.
The Aba project, associated with Nnaji's Geometric Power, illustrates the role that Nigerian-led technological and industrial initiatives can play in addressing the country's infrastructure challenges.
He argued that such initiatives should encourage universities, research institutions and businesses to develop practical solutions to Nigeria's electricity, manufacturing, security and other development needs.
The professor expressed confidence that fundamental reforms in the way universities deliver education and support national development could significantly improve Nigeria's economic prospects.
Nnaji concluded by linking Nigeria's development to the wider aspirations of Africans and people of African descent.
He argued that Nigeria's position as the country with the world's largest population of Black people gives it a special responsibility to demonstrate what sustained investment in education, scientific knowledge and technological innovation can achieve.
According to him, Nigeria's emergence as a technologically advanced and economically prosperous nation would strengthen confidence in Africa's capacity to compete on the global stage.
He called for a national commitment to transforming higher education into a central instrument of economic development, industrialisation and technological advancement.
The lecture's central message was that Nigeria's future cannot be secured through conventional educational practices alone, but requires adequately funded universities, stronger STEM programmes, effective research partnerships and an education system closely connected to the country's development needs. NNL.
