President Mohammadu
Buhari, has charged universities in the country, particularly the government-owned ones, to be innovative enough to help government solve its problems.
The President, who gave the charge recently at the 30th Convocation Ceremony of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), stated that “universities must try to build innovation systems to help Government solve its socio-economic and political problems”.
Buhari, who was represented by the newly appointed Chancellor of the university, His Royal Highness, Major-General Mohammad Iliyasu (rtd), noted that universities can do this by enlisting the support of corporate organisations, alumni associations, philanthropists, and development partners.
“In recent times, the efforts of the private sector and Government, in the expansion of access to university education, through the establishment of universities, has been unprecedented”, he said.
He noted that the newly revised and upgraded curricula for the approved programmes in Nigerian universities are based on the philosophy of training, primarily job creators, rather than job seekers.
“This”, he said, “will go a long way in addressing the issues of skills acquisition and employability. The capacity building project for improved teacher quality and number is yielding the desired results. Over 12,000 university teachers have benefited from it”.
While hinting that universities exploit their environments to advantage, he noted that being located in the Niger Delta region, the UNIPORT is beset by problems unique to its environment, particularly environmental degradation and pollution, and youth restiveness.
“The university is strongly encouraged to continue its research activities into finding meaningful and appropriate solutions to the challenges which it and its host community face”, he said.
He continued that “while government appreciates the efforts of the various research institutes in this and other universities in Nigeria, there is need to pay attention to the quality of research that emanate from these universities in order to guarantee their status as Centres of Excellence”.
The Federal Government, the President noted further, “is aware of the setback to research in our universities due to brain drain, loss of research development assistance, and weakened links with overseas development partners in the last three decades.

Sogbeba Dokubo