The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, has called on academics to prioritize research that addresses local problems. He also urged the government to increase investment in research, emphasizing its importance for the country’s future.
Echono made these remarks on Wednesday during the keynote address at the 2024 Research and Innovation Fair held at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State. The event’s theme was “The Rise of Research in Driving Sustainable Development.”
Represented by former OAU Vice Chancellor Prof. Michael Faborode, Echono stressed the need for research to translate into innovation and products that can impact the nation. “The academics need to work more on products and policies that can impact our lives. Research by itself is not enough. It is when research becomes innovation and products that it can impact the nation. Our research must be geared towards solving our local problems in a way that will be compatible with international expectations in terms of quality and meeting the global standard,” he said.
Echono emphasized the necessity for the government to prioritize investment in research and to leverage the potential of the youth. “Research is the only way for us to be able to make progress in this country, not food palliative or protest. Let us harness the huge potential and energy of the youths. Our youths should not use their knowledge for Internet fraud,” he added.
Highlighting the importance of funding, Echono stated, “We are not investing enough in research in Nigeria because we don’t seem to appreciate the value of research. We just believe things happen but development doesn’t happen like that. What we are enjoying today is a product of one research or the other. The government must realize that these things have to be funded. If you don’t fund research, you cannot get the products of research and you cannot continue to depend on other countries, otherwise, we will continue to be an import-oriented country and a consumer of innovation and technology, and no country can move forward with that.”
In a goodwill message, Osun State Commissioner for Education Dipo Eluwole expressed the state government’s intention to leverage research to boost food security in the state.
