The Vice Chancellor of  Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, has urged Nigerian universities to explore and harvest resources lying fallow in society.
Ogunbodede stated this at  the 11th Anniversary Foundation Lecture of Achievers University in Owo, Ondo State.
The lecture was entitled: “University Education in Nigeria:Matters Arising.”
He said that OAU was taking the lead in this direction in spreading its tentacles and extending invitation to all those who wished to sow their knowledge and experience in the development of the university system.
“It must be noted that each university must carve a niche for itself, achieving some uniqueness, if it must enjoy national and global recognition.
“In a fast changing and challenging world ruled by vision, clarity of mission and creativity, developing efficient, relevant and functional education system has become the linchpin of socioeconomic development.
“There is a retinue of skills, knowledge and experience outside the university that can be tapped, “he said.
According to him, enterprising from primary school  to tertiary education should not be taken lightly.
“How will you graduate and you cannot do something on your own for survival?
“Our universities should change the orientation of our education and be proactive ,”he said.
He decried the use of archaic curriculum, saying it would not work in present day Nigeria.
Ogunbodede also enjoined the Federal Government to include private universities in allocation of TETFUND funds, saying that the students there were Nigerians as well.
He said a time would soon come when private universities would take the lead in Nigerian tertiary education as had happened in primary and secondary school education.
“Government will be caught unawares if it is not sensitive to this move.
“The decay that affects  public primary and secondary schools is now rapidly creeping into our public tertiary institutions.
“This aberration should never have been allowed in the universities.
“A university is meant, among others, to generally cultivate the mental skills of both staff and students, to symbolise and maintain in the society  the respect for intellectual excellence, truth, honesty, curiosity and inquisitiveness,”he stated.
He noted that it would be deceitful for the educational system to achieve its optimal level without attaining sanity in the general society.