FORMER Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Emeritus Professor Peter Okebukola, has decried low funding in research and development in the nation’s universities.

Delivering the convocation lecture, titled: Universities in the age of Quantum Thinking: Redefining Quality, Relevance and Innovation through Emerging Technologies, at the 13th convocation ceremony of the Kwara State University (KWASU) on Thursday, Professor Okebukola lamented that Nigeria only invests 0.2 percent of GDP in research, recommending a dramatic increase in research and development funding for both the state and federal universities in the country.

“Currently, Nigeria invests approximately 0.2 percent of GDP in research, far below the African average of 0.5 percent and well below the global leaders who invest 3 to 4 percent,” he said.

He also recommended that government should establish tax incentives for private sector organisations that fund university research or establish research chairs in emerging technology areas.

“Building on the NUC’s 2025 partnership with France’s AFD on a 38 million euro ICT transformation project for Nigerian universities, government should actively seek additional international partnerships that bring both funding and expertise to our institutions.”

Professor Okebukola also said that the government should address the brain drain challenge facing universities by creating competitive research fellowship programmes that make it financially attractive for the nation’s best minds to build careers in Nigerian universities rather than emigrating.

On the topic of the convocation lecture, he said that quantum thinking simply means multi-dimensional thinking.

He explained further to say that, “Quantum thinking is not merely metaphorical flourish. It is a necessary cognitive framework for institutions operating in an era where nearly one billion jobs worldwide will undergo significant changes due to technology within the next decade. Traditional universities operated on Newtonian principles, where knowledge was compartmentalised into discrete disciplines, where cause and effect followed predictable paths and where outcomes could be calculated with reasonable certainty.”

In his welcome address, the vice chancellor of KWASU, Professor Shaykh-Luqman Jimoh, said that the university prioritises transformative ideas and innovations that contribute to the development of society, adding that the university cherishes synergies that add value.

Professor Jimoh also said that the university brings the gown in contact with the town as a way of forging connections that have potentials of extending to mutually beneficial relationships.

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