2nd March, 2024
..As Deputy Senate president commissions new buildings in BUK
By Maduabuchi Nmeribeh/Kano
Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has said the development of Knowledge Economy is crucial to Nigeria’s quest to join the league of developed nations.
Dangote spoke on Friday, as a Guest Lecturer at the 38th Convocation Lecture of Bayero University Kano (BUK).
The busuness mogul, who was represented by Engr. Mansur Ahmed, delivered a lecture entitled: “Role Of The Private Sector In Building A Sustainable Knowledge Economy In Nigeeia.”
According to him, for Nigeria to leverage and nurture a sustainable Knowledge Economy, the Federal Government must invest in education and skills development.
Dangote listed other factors that can grow Knowledge Economy in Nigera to include: promotion of research and development; digital infrastructure development; entrepreneurship and innovation support; circular economy integration; governnment policies regulation.
Others include: public private partnership (PPP); environmental stewardship; digital inclusion and accessibility; communuty engagement and social impact.
He further stated that: “by adoptung these recommendations, we can lay the foundation for a sustainable Knowledge Economy that prioritizes environmental sustainability, social inclusion, and innovation.
” The successul implementaion of these strategies requires a collaborative à effort from all stakeholders, with a shared commitment to the principles of a knowledge-driven snd sustainable future.”
Dangote, however, observed that: “A major challenge in transiting to Knowledge Economy for Nigeria is the quality of the Nigerian worker,” opining that: “The quality of human assets matters a lot in the operations of a firm.”
According to him: “Our educational system which produces most of the human assets working in various firms in Nigeria needs to be modified to yield the desires results.
” The system as presently constituted produces graduates who may have excellent qualifications but lack the necessary skills to perform optimally in a knowledge driven economy.
“We have thousands of graduates on yearly basis but selecting those with the required skills is often a tough task. The educational system should incorporate findings from the research instutitions in their programmes as well as relevant management skills that would equip students for excellence after their studies.”
He insisted that: “Knowledge gap among workers is a major limiting factor that hinders many firms operating in Nigeria from achieving the desured results.”
According to Dangote, the Nigeria’s Knowledge Economy value chain play a crucial role in shaping its economic landscape.
He added that for Nigeria’s Knowledge Economy to thrive, the nation must invest hugely in education and research, information and technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, human capital develoment, intellecrual property (IP) protection, industry-academia collaboration, creative industries, global connectivity.
In his welcome address, the Vice Chancellor of BUK, Prof. Sagir Adanu Abbas, noted that in BUK, Dangote is a trademark that rings a bell, courtesy of the Dangote Business School singlehandedly built and donated to the University by Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
He added that: “Established about a decade ago, Dangote Business School has produced thousands of postgraduates.
“Indeed, the establishment of Dangote Business School has added a lot of value to the Bayero University, Kano with the School moving on from strenght to strenght and making a name beyond the shores of Nigeria.”
Former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), A.B. Mahmoud (SAN), chaired the Convocation Lecture.
Meanwhile, Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, before the Convocation Lecture, commissioned the newly constructed School of Post Graduate Studies and Development Office buildings of BUK.
Senator Barau, had donated hugely for the construction of the two buildings in the University.
He would be confered with a Honouary Doctorate Degree by BUK on Saturday.
Senator Barau, during the commissioning, called on all stakeholders to support the government in addressing the challenges facing the education sector of the country.
He commended the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Sagir Adamu Abbas, for his unwavering resilience in ensuring the infrastructural development of the institution as well as sustaining the academic excellence of BUK.
According to him: “All over the world, it is not possible for all publicly funded universities to have the full complement of funds for all their needs and so every publicly funded university must look inward and find other ways of sourcing funds for their infrastructural and other requirements.
”It is for this reason that I commend the Vice Chancellor, Prof Sagir Adamu Abbas for going out of his way to source funds for the infrastructural development of the university and create an enabling environment for academic excellence in the university.”