The Vice-Chancellor of the African School of Economics, Pan-African University of Excellence, Abuja, Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, has called on universities to rise to the occasion by addressing pressing global and national challenges through strategic collaboration and purposeful scholarship.
Prof. Adedimeji made the call during his keynote address titled “Ideas Rule the World”, delivered at the fourth Public Lecture of the university.
The main lecture, “The 21st Century Nigerian University: Pitfalls and Pathways”, was delivered by Prof. Moses Ochonu of Vanderbilt University, USA.
Drawing from a University of Lincoln study, Prof. Adedimeji highlighted ten grand challenges of the 21st century, including shifting economic power, global interconnectedness, lack of foresight, technological disruption, migration and mobility (manifesting as the Japa phenomenon in Nigeria), conflict and war, civic disaffection, widening inequality, environmental degradation, and shifting social norms.
He emphasised that functional, responsive university education remains central to overcoming these multifaceted issues, urging higher institutions to work collectively rather than in isolation.
Using a metaphor of the eagle and the tortoise, Adedimeji explained that just as an eagle soars high and breaks a tortoise’s shell by dropping it from a great height to access its content, Nigerians must learn to convert obstacles into opportunities. However, unlike the eagle that hunts alone, he noted, universities must pursue collective efforts.
“I, therefore, call for concerted efforts of the Triple Helix government, academia, and industry/society – in giving the university its pride of place by doing the right thing at the right time,” he said.
“It is said that one can travel fast alone, but only far together.”
In his lecture, Prof. Ochonu critically examined the challenges plaguing Nigerian universities, condemning what he described as the erosion of the cosmopolitan ethos of higher education and the rise of provincialism and academic inbreeding.
He proposed the adoption of a Student Bill of Rights to empower students and advocated for recognition of teaching excellence as a strategy to enhance the quality of instruction.
The event attracted key stakeholders in the higher education sector, including the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abdullahi Yusuf Ribadu, and the Secretary-General of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU), Prof. Andrew Haruna, both of whom delivered goodwill messages.
Also in attendance were vice-chancellors, university representatives, academics, and members of the public who actively participated in the discussion and contributed diverse perspectives on the future of Nigerian universities.
