The Honourable Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has emphasised the need for Nigeria’s tertiary institutions to become incubators of creativity, industry and sustainable enterprise.
This, he said, aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which prioritises youth empowerment, economic diversification, and inclusive development.
Dr. Alausa stated this in his goodwill message at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, at a colloquium and inauguration of the Olufemi Okenla Entrepreneur Centre, a facility donated by the Olufemi Okenla Foundation.
Represented by the Lagos State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Sule, the minister noted that the country can no longer afford to produce graduates who seek jobs alone; but job creators, innovators, and problem-solvers.
At the colloquium themed: ‘The role of tertiary institutions in promoting entrepreneurship in Nigeria,’ the minister said that though the country is blessed with talent, it is still confronted by unemployment.
“As we commission this centre and engage in rich intellectual exchange through the colloquium, let us renew our commitment to empowering our youths – not just with knowledge, but with the tools to transform that knowledge into value,” Alausa stated.
He applauded the Olufemi Okenla Foundation for the gesture, assuring of the ministry’s support in advancing the noble cause.
The donor, Okenla, reminisced about how his entrepreneurial journey started as a pioneer student of the then Ogun State University (now OOU), and how he made up his mind to return someday to give back to the university.
Okenla disclosed that the centre was built at the cost of N350 million, while another N100 million has been set aside for the running of the facility till it can stand on its own.
He said by September, this year, the centre would admit its first set of students, 10 of them on scholarship, while another 10, who are members of the Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC), would be awarded similar scholarships.
Okenla also announced that N20 million seed money would be given to four brilliant students who graduated from the centre.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ayodeji Agboola, while commending the donor for the gesture, tasked other alumni to emulate Okenla and give back to the university.
The keynote speaker, Professor Olusegun Sogbesan, emphasised the need to redefine the purpose of higher education in Nigeria, adding that there was a need to make entrepreneurship studies a core academic discipline in universities.
Professor Sogbesan stated that every student should experience entrepreneurial training, launch a live project, and graduate with both a certificate and a practical business mindset.
According to him, entrepreneurship must no longer be a fall-back for those who cannot find jobs, but a first-class career path, anchored in deep, practical learning. He said: “If we continue to graduate students who can only write exams but cannot write proposals; if we continue to produce degrees that do not produce value; if we continue to teach our youths to wait for jobs instead of creating enterprises, then we are complicit in engineering their frustration and Nigeria’s stagnation.”