By Egufe Yafugborhi
ASABA — Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori has challenged tertiary institutions in the state to move beyond producing graduates and focus on research, innovation and solutions to the state’s development challenges.
The governor gave the charge through the Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof. Nyerhovwo Tonukari, at the 3rd Delta State Higher Education Summit in Asaba.
The development comes weeks after renowned Kenyan scholar and Pan-Africanist, Prof. Patrick Lumumba, challenged Delta State to harness its intellectual and human resources to drive development.
Speaking at the Delta State Economic and Investment Summit, Lumumba had urged the state to look beyond its traditional economic resources and maximise its intellectual capacity.
“When we think about investment, we still imagine that our investors must come from Malaysia, Brazil or China. That is not the case,” Lumumba had said, stressing the need for Africans to recognise and deploy their intellectual and financial resources.
At the higher education summit, Tonukari said the governor’s administration was determined to make tertiary institutions contribute more directly to the development of the state.
“Access is only the beginning. The question before us is: what are we doing with this opportunity?” he asked.
Tonukari said Delta had witnessed significant expansion in tertiary education, with four state-owned universities, three polytechnics and two colleges of education, in addition to federal and private institutions.
He said enrolment in state-owned tertiary institutions had increased from slightly above 50,000 students in 2023 to more than 100,000, while the Oborevwori administration had employed more than 1,250 academic and non-academic staff.
“Government has also invested heavily in faculties, laboratories, administrative buildings, hostel accommodation and accreditation,” he said.
The commissioner, however, stressed that increased access to higher education should translate into measurable development outcomes.
On graduate employability, Tonukari said tertiary institutions had a responsibility to equip students with skills required in the modern economy.
“Graduate employability is one of the major responsibilities of tertiary institutions,” he said.
He urged institutions to align their curricula with contemporary economic realities and equip students with digital, entrepreneurial, communication and critical-thinking skills.
Tonukari also called for stronger partnerships between tertiary institutions and industry, saying entrepreneurship centres and the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme, SIWES, should provide students with practical experience for employment and enterprise.
On research, the commissioner said academic work should produce practical outcomes capable of benefiting government, industry and communities.
“Research should no longer end on library shelves,” he declared.
He said research should, where possible, translate into “patents, products, technologies, services and policies”, particularly in areas such as agriculture, environmental degradation, flooding, healthcare, fisheries, agro-processing and economic diversification.
Tonukari also advocated specialisation among tertiary institutions, urging each to identify areas in which it could develop national or international recognition rather than attempting to excel in every discipline.
He said Delta State University, Abraka, had the potential to strengthen its research profile, while Southern Delta University, Ozoro, could develop technology hubs.
He identified the Delta State Maritime Polytechnic, Burutu, as having potential to focus on maritime and blue-economy development, while the College of Education, Mosogar, could deepen its focus on sports education.
On artificial intelligence, Tonukari urged tertiary institutions to embrace digital transformation while ensuring that technology did not undermine critical thinking, creativity, ethics and academic integrity.
He also encouraged institutions to diversify their revenue sources through research grants, consultancy, professional programmes, alumni endowments, intellectual property, commercial ventures and carefully structured public-private partnerships.
“Professors and researchers must contribute more actively to national policy debates,” he said, urging academics to produce research capable of influencing policy and developing technologies that could attract recognition beyond Nigeria.
The commissioner further urged the private sector to regard tertiary institutions as development partners through industry-sponsored research, internships, laboratories, scholarships and technology partnerships.
He called on institutions to deepen their engagement with host communities through health programmes, agricultural extension services, adult education and youth mentorship.
Tonukari also urged vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts to give their institutions distinctive identities, strengthen industry collaboration and prepare students for a rapidly changing world.
He said government, academia and industry must work together “to make higher education a stronger driver of national development.”
The commissioner’s charge echoes Lumumba’s earlier call for Delta to make better use of its human and intellectual resources, particularly in developing solutions to challenges in agriculture, minerals, oil, pharmaceuticals and the blue economy.
Tonukari said the responsibility now rested with the state’s tertiary institutions to ensure that knowledge generated in classrooms and laboratories translated into practical benefits for the people.
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