Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima has declared that Nigeria’s universities must evolve from producing graduates to becoming engines of innovation, industrialisation, and enterprise to achieve sustainable economic growth. The Vice President made this declaration when he was represented by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, at the inauguration of the Manu-Tech UniPod at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike in Abia State. He described the facility as "the beginning of a national movement" aimed at repositioning tertiary institutions as core drivers of economic transformation. He noted that the initiative "aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which places education, innovation, industrialisation, youth empowerment and economic diversification at the centre of national development."
According to Shettima, Nigeria can no longer afford to separate education from production, research from enterprise, or knowledge from national prosperity. He emphasized that the universities of the future must produce innovators, inventors, entrepreneurs, and employers of labour. He explained that the Manu-Tech UniPod would bridge the gap between academic research and industry by integrating artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, agro-processing, digital design, industrial automation, and entrepreneurship into a single innovation ecosystem. Describing Aba as one of Africa’s foremost manufacturing clusters, the Vice President stated that the innovation hub would connect the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with cutting-edge university research, creating new opportunities for commercialisation, investment, and exports under the African Continental Free Trade Area. He commended Governor Alex Otti for his commitment to education, healthcare, security, technology, and industrial development, describing him as a performing governor. He remarked, "The launch of this Manu-Tech Innovation Pod is not the end of a project; it is the beginning of a national movement where education powers industry, innovation drives prosperity and knowledge transforms our nation,"
In his remarks, Governor Alex Otti described the Manu-Tech UniPod as a major milestone in the drive to make Abia State Nigeria’s leading hub for innovation, manufacturing, and enterprise. He applauded the strategic partnership between the Federal Government, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund for establishing the innovation centre. He stated that the National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme will equip about 500,000 students and researchers with technological and entrepreneurial skills to transform research findings into commercially viable products and services. Otti expressed confidence that the UniPod would redirect university research toward solving real-life industrial challenges, strengthen small and medium-scale enterprises, boost investor confidence, and accelerate economic growth. The governor announced plans to deepen the state’s partnership with the UNDP through the expansion of the Jubilee Fellows Programme, the Aba Export Growth Lab, energy investment initiatives, and industrial competitiveness programmes. Urging students and entrepreneurs to leverage the opportunities, Otti declared, "The hour of big dreams and great ambitions has arrived,"
Speaking at the event, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa, described Abia as a rising innovation hub capable of shaping Africa’s future. She stated that the Manu-Tech UniPod was part of an initiative designed to mobilise $1 billion to support 10,000 African startups, scale at least 1,000 high-growth ventures, and create millions of jobs across the continent. She declared, "Africa will not wait for the world to develop it; Africa will develop itself," Eziakonwa paid tribute to the late Dr. Michael Okpara for laying the foundation for industrial development in the old Eastern Region, while praising Governor Otti for creating an enabling environment for innovation through targeted investments in education, healthcare, infrastructure, security, and workers' welfare.
The UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms. Elsie G. Attafuah, described the innovation hub as a major step toward positioning Abia as Nigeria’s leading innovation-driven industrial state. She noted that the Umudike facility forms part of a national innovation ecosystem that began with the AI UniPod at the University of Lagos and the Mine-Tech UniPod at Nasarawa State University. Attafuah stated, "From Artificial Intelligence in Lagos, to Mine-Tech in Nasarawa, and now Manu-Tech in Umudike, we are steadily building a nationally connected innovation ecosystem that transforms talent into enterprise, enterprise into industry, and industry into national competitiveness," She added that Aba’s entrepreneurial culture and manufacturing heritage made Abia the ideal location for the facility, revealing that the UNDP is finalising a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Ministry of Education. She noted, "The UniPod must become a place where ideas are incubated, technologies are prototyped, startups are accelerated, intellectual property is protected, businesses are created and partnerships with industry are forged,"
The Vice-Chancellor of MOUAU, Prof. Ursula Akanwa, stated that universities should no longer be judged merely by the number of graduates or academic papers they produce but by the industries they create, technologies they commercialise, and solutions they provide to society. She described the Manu-Tech UniPod as "a new partnership between knowledge and enterprise, between research and manufacturing, and between the aspirations of young people and the future of Nigeria’s economy." She added, "Agriculture does not end on the farm. It extends through processing, manufacturing, logistics, markets and enterprise. Knowledge must travel beyond the laboratory into factories, businesses and communities where it creates wealth and improves lives," Prof. Akanwa pledged that the facility would drive agro-processing, reduce post-harvest losses, strengthen the leather and textile industries, support SMEs, and empower young innovators and women.
The Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, who was represented by Dr. Suleiman Zingina, stated that the UniPod initiative was designed to transform Nigeria’s tertiary institutions from certificate-awarding centres into innovation-driven engines of economic growth. He explained that the initiative, implemented under the National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme, seeks to accelerate research commercialisation, entrepreneurship, digital human capital development, and the transition to a knowledge-based economy. He added that seven University Innovation Pods and one Innovation Hub are already operational, while 12 additional innovation hubs are expected before the end of the year to enable students and researchers to transform innovative ideas into market-ready products. The launch event attracted prominent dignitaries, including the Chief of Staff to the Abia State Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, former Deputy Governor Ude Okochukwu, Pro-Chancellor of Abia State University, Rt. Hon. Agwu U. Agwu, and Pro-Chancellor of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Comrade Fidelis Edeh, among many others.
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