By Dr. Waheed Ogunjobi
ABEOKUTA — Former Vice Chancellor of Tai Solarin Federal University of Education, Professor Oluyemisi Obilade, has dismissed claims blaming Nigerian academics for the gap between research and national development.
Speaking on the state of university research, Professor Obilade insisted that scholars are not being given an enabling environment to translate inventions into practical solutions.
“Academics are not being given an enabling environment to translate inventions into practical solutions,” she said.
To drive home her point, Obilade cited the yam pounding machine, invented decades ago by Professor Makanjuola, a Professor of Agricultural Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. The machine, she noted, “only became commercially successful after foreign investors acquired the patent.”
She also referenced Dr. Olutoye, the Nigerian surgeon who performed a globally celebrated fetal surgery abroad, questioning whether such feats could be achieved under current conditions in the country.
“Can such feats be achieved under current conditions in the country?” she asked.
Professor Obilade lamented that many young Nigerian researchers return home with vision but are forced to relocate again “due to lack of tools, funding, and public-private partnerships.”
She called for stronger collaboration between government, industries, and universities in Ogun State and across the country to harness local research for economic growth.
“We need stronger collaboration between government, industries, and universities to harness local research for economic growth,” she stated. #
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