Prof. Olufemi Bamiro, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan has called on Nigerian Universities to proffer local solutions, through rigorous research, to national problems.
Bamiro, said this at the 8th Lecture Series of the Redeemer’s University of Nigeria (RUN) Registry Annual Workshop, on Friday at the university auditorium in Ede, Osun.
He said that translating new knowledge and evidence gathered into policy for national governments should be a key priority for universities, if they wanted to address the sustainable development goals.
Bamiro said that translating new knowledge into policy would assist the country in tackling significant challenges in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
He also advised scholars in the universities to influence what goes into their national development strategies through their research findings.
Also speaking, Dr Omojola Awosusi, a former Registrar, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, urged the Federal Government to de-emphasise the concept of the “son of the soil” in the appointment of people into the university system.
Awosusi said that the detrimental use of the Federal character principle should be discontinued to enhance meritocracy.
He also decried the use of state of origin in admitting candidates into Nigerian Universities.
Awosusi also called on governments to provide the necessary infrastructure that would assist in admitting students with disabilities into the Nigerian Universities.
In his remarks, the Registrar, of the RUN, Mr. Olukayode Akindele, called for effective leadership in Nigerian tertiary institutions for outstanding performances.
