Entrepreneur Tasks RSU On Technology, Innovation

A renowned entrepreneur and global business leader, Dr. Daere Afonya Akobo, has urged the Rivers State University (RSU) to upscale its innovation, technology, and creativity in order to connect to the global world.

Dr. Akobo gave this charge on Wednesday while delivering the combined 37th and 38th convocation lecture of the Rivers State University in Port Harcourt.

Speaking on the convocation topic “Joint University Industry Ventures: Entrepreneurship, Technology, Sustainability, and People Nexus for Rivers State University,” the lecturer stated that the role of universities in national development has expanded beyond the traditional functions of teaching and research to being positioned as strategic drivers of national innovation and economic transformation.

He noted that across the globe, higher education institutions are evolving into platforms for development, contributing directly to competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability within the society they serve.

He stressed that within the evolving landscape, the university-industry nexus has become a critical mechanism for translating knowledge into impact, research into application, and education into opportunity.

Akobo, who is the Chairman and Group CEO of PANA Holdings, averred that this transformation is important for emerging economies like Nigeria, where the need to diversify the economy, expand employment opportunities, and strengthen technological capacity is both pressing and long overdue.

He described Nigeria as a complex and ambiguous nation that can overcome its challenges through agility, innovation, and creativity.

He explained that the lecture explores the university-industry nexus as a strategic pathway for institutional transformation, using Rivers State University as a focal point.

The guest lecturer argued that universities must move from being knowledge repositories to becoming dynamic ecosystems that link academia, industry, government, and society, rather than operate in isolation.

Akobo presented what he called the P model, consisting of purpose, philosophy, product, and people, as key to achieving growth in emerging economies, and emphasized the need for connectivity.

He ended with the philosophical mantra: “Be foolish and get hungry – partnership is important, we need to connect.”

The chairman of the convocation ceremony, Chief Dumo Lulu Briggs, stated that the RSU requires more innovative measures to grow higher than its present academic height, noting that the institution must see sustainability as a responsibility and graduate students in technology who are confident and empathetic.

He called on the state government to partner with the management of the institution to drive the vision of the university and urged them to be optimistic and see every opportunity as a gold mine.

Earlier in his address, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, said the RSU highlights the critical role that collaboration plays “in shaping the future of an institution, our community, our state, our country, and the world.”

Zeb-Obipi stressed that the challenges facing the society require innovative solutions that fill the gap between academia and industry, adding that by working together, they can harness the power of entrepreneurship, technology, and sustainability to create new opportunities and improve the lives of people.

“The Rivers State University is poised to be a leader in this place,” he said.

He expressed the university’s gratitude to the guest lecturer and the chairman of the occasion for honouring the university.

Akujobi Amadi