SCIENCE MEETS ENTERPRISE
Being the Text of an Address Presented by Governor Alex C. Otti, OFR, at the Official Launch of the Manu-Tech University Innovation Pod at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike on Monday, July 6, 2026
Protocol
- Development is team sport. It invites the active support and participation of multilateral partners with access to the global circuit of resources that drive progress. Beyond finance, economic growth requires an extensive outlay of intellectual and technical capital that are difficult to come by. Therefore, a society still struggling to find its feet on the development track will inevitably need help to move the needle in the right direction. More fundamentally, the place of partnership has become almost indispensable in the new development outlook where the pursuit of accelerated growth has to be moderated with keen attention to the demands of balance between the appetite of the hour and an awareness of our obligation to the next generation.
- Our dear State, Abia, is on a conscious development journey. Expectedly, we have carefully sought out partners to accompany us as we seek to transform the economic and social realities of our people. I am glad that our faith and efforts are yielding tangible results as today’s event demonstrates. Let me on this note, welcome with a deep sense of gratitude, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Senator Kashim Shettima Mustapha, GCON, ably represented by the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, to the official launch of the Manufacturing Technology (Manu-Tech) University Innovation Pod (UniPod) here at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. May I also welcome the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Architect Sonny S.T. Echono, and other senior officials, representatives of project partners and organs of the Federal Government who have graciously joined us from different parts of the world for this important function. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, may I crave your indulgence to welcome to Abia with profound gladness, Her Excellency, Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator of the UNDP, Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa and Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Africa. I would like to use the privilege of this landmark occasion to congratulate Ms Eziakonwa one more time on her recent strings of appointments within the United Nations and its development arms. We wish you well in the faith that your enduring commitment to the development of communities around the continent and beyond would yield bountiful fruits over the course of your service. On behalf of the Government and people of Abia State, I welcome Her Excellency to Umudike where beyond the commissioning of the UniPod, she would also begin her official mission to Nigeria, interfacing with stakeholders to identify areas of support across relevant frontlines. Very special guests, friends and partners, we are delighted to have everyone around as we shift the gear in the relentless push to broaden the horizon of progress for our people.
- Permit me, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, to continue on a note of sincere gratitude, now to the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, and its very effective team in Nigeria led by Elsie Attafuah, for their generous investments in initiatives and ideas that accelerate the rapid development of communities — activating factor assets and empowering individuals to dream and dare. Over the last 3 years, we have found them to be reliable partners which explains our expanding body of joint ventures projects targeting entrepreneurship development, job creation and similar initiatives aimed at opening new layers of economic and social opportunities for our women and young people in particular. The siting of the Manu-Tech UniPod in Abia speaks eloquently to the institutional faith UNDP and the Federal Government of Nigeria have reposed in our dear State and the potential it holds as an engine of growth and economic prosperity in the region.
- As I had earlier stated, development does not happen in isolation, it is engineered by vision and sustained by partnerships; this is succinctly demonstrated in the National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme, NIDTPP, a joint initiative with the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund and the UNDP. The partnership is built to transform tertiary institutions into technical hubs for the development of talents as key assets for accelerated national development. The Manu-Tech University Innovation Pod is an offshoot of the NIDTPP initiative. The projection, as you may have heard is that over the next few years, 500, 000 students and researchers will be equipped with the technological skills to transform their rich intellectual output into products and services that meet consumer expectations in regional and global markets.
- For anyone who understands the entrepreneurial potential within the communities around Abia, especially Aba, the NIDTPP may hold the most important key to the next frontier of our economic evolution. With an end-to-end laboratory that includes structures for rapid product development, industrial scale acceleration, renewable energy integration and more, there can be no overstating what will happen in the years ahead as new markets open in Africa and around the world for our entrepreneurs now linked to business intelligence and quality research outcomes by smart students and seasoned intellectuals. I am positive that in a few years from now, industrial products from Aba will gain distinct reputation for excellent finishing, polished branding and other metrics that open the doors of new opportunities. What is more, Aba would outsell its competitors from other regions for reasons of our traditional ingenuity and the availability of skilled and unskilled labour at reasonable wages. On account of what I know about our people and their hunger for success, I can say without equivocation, that we are about to witness a new age of widespread prosperity firmed on the marvel of innovation and the miracle of creative thinking.
- With the launch of the UniPod, a new interest in qualitative research will develop as scientists, students and everyone connected to the university ecosystem begin to look beyond random and hurried publication of academic papers just to score points for the next promotion cycle. The expectation is that research efforts henceforth will be directed at answering questions with practical, everyday applications. To be clear, I do not expect that a singular UniPod will answer to every economic problem in our community but what is now beyond dispute is that something will shift in the way we conduct research in higher institutions. More importantly, the outcome of our research can effectively be used to drive economic growth across critical ecosystems; from agricultural and medicinal products to industrial goods and general services. On a broader scale, verifiable data will become readily available and accessible for those willing to evaluate the viability of a business proposal to determine long term prospects. In the long run, this UniPod will halt the incidence of rapid MSME mortality. With more businesses surviving and thriving in Abia and across the region, we shall likely begin to see the activation of hitherto dormant economic assets as investor confidence grows.
- We threw the full weight of the government behind the UniPod project because it aligns perfectly with the economic development outline of our administration. As we had consistently said, roads and other infrastructure investments are pathways to accelerated productivity and growth, not conclusive evidence of development in themselves. With consistently generous outlays in infrastructure development over the last 3 years, this project could not have come at a better time because the environment has been made conducive for profitable economic ventures. From improved security outlook and quality social infrastructure to a large population of skilled workforce, Abia has emerged as a prime destination for anyone seeking good return on investment. As we commission a network of laboratories designed to transform the general competences of the enterprise ecosystem in our State and across the region, we can only look to the future with great expectations because the seed of growth planted today will blossom into something phenomenal tomorrow.
- Special commendations, again, are due to the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund and the UNDP for the brilliance, efforts and willpower that gave birth to this transformational project. The location of this project in Umudike, a short distance to a dominant manufacturing hub in West Africa and home to Ariaria International Market attests to the sincerity of the project drivers and the commitment to its success. It is heartwarming to observe that economic rationality took precedence over all other considerations; this is why this venture will not only achieve its broad spectrum of objectives, its success will alter the pattern of relationship between the academia and industry because there can be no second-guessing what happens when science meets enterprise. I would like to commend the decision-makers here at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ursula Ngozi Akanwa, FCPA, for providing the broad system of support that led to the actualisation of the UniPod project. We are optimistic that the environment will remain conducive as we move into the next stage where researchers, innovators, investors, MSME entrepreneurs and big players in the industrial value chain begin to interact. Permit me to once again thank the UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms Elsie Attafuah, for her consistency in getting this project delivered. Ms Attafuah’s competence and commitment to effective project execution have been critical in all the projects we are partnering with the UNDP to drive. Today’s event, where we operationalise the Manu-Tech Unipod for long term service to the academic and business community, presents a special opportunity to appreciate Elsie and her team for their strong faith in the growth potential of our State.
- Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, this may also be an auspicious time to announce that following the operationalisation of the UniPod, we shall also be shifting the gear on other projects under our partnership framework with the UNDP. We shall kick off with the expansion of the Jubilee Fellows programme. This particular initiative is aimed at exposing recent graduates to the realities of the job markets by offering them placements in public and private organisations to sharpen their skills and improve their work experience. Participants will be paid regular stipends to support themselves. In the same vein, other projects like the Aba Export Growth Lab, energy investment initiatives, industrial competitiveness programmes and roll out of community innovation centres and similar strategic development ventures will come into great focus as we continue in pursuit of our shared programme of holistic development. Beyond the rich potential that each of these initiatives hold, the more interesting thing is that the door of partnership between the State and its network of multilateral organisations is only just opening. I would like to appreciate every institution that continues to put its faith and funds in this great State. Great commendations are also due to Pastor Caleb Ajagba, PhD, the Chief of Staff to the Governor and other senior officials of the Abia State Government who coordinated with the teams from Abuja, UNDP and Michael Okpara University of Agriculture to make this event successful. Thank you for the efforts and sacrifices.
- Let me conclude by reminding us that great ideas and structures in themselves would not yield the outcome we desire until the right efforts are consistently made. This UniPod as I had earlier pointed out, will not answer every question on manufacturing in the region, it will only open our eyes to see what is possible when the search for knowledge is paired with the appetite for real world problem-solving. The objective is not to build something perfect but to leverage the promise of technology to either scale what we already have, or create new products and services that excite target consumer groups in the local and wider markets. The prospect gets more exciting when the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is brought into the frame. AfCFTA opens for local businesses in Aba and across the region, access to about 1.4 billion consumers. If we make the most of the Manu-Tech University Innovation Pod here in Umudike, our challenge will no longer be about finding where or who to sell to, it will change to building the capacity to serve customers in 54 African countries and around other parts of the world. Evidently, the hour of big dreams and great ambitions has arrived. Let us make it count.
- Thank you for listening and may God bless you.
- On this note, let me respectfully invite the Honourable Minister of Education who is representing the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for a message from the Federal Government.
