Former Minister of Aviation and Chancellor of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, Osita Chidoka, has urged Nigerian universities to become engines of continuous excellence, curiosity and innovation, a philosophy he described as the “Mekaria Spirit,” meaning doing more and doing better.

This was disclosed in a statement by his Special Assistant (Media), Ikechukwu Okafor. Delivering the convocation lecture at the fifth combined convocation ceremony of Paul University, Awka, on Friday, Chidoka challenged African universities to redefine their purpose in the Intelligence Age by producing leaders equipped with curiosity, grit and ethical grounding to build inclusive, data-driven societies.

“The future belongs to the curious, the courageous, and the continuously improving. Mekaria is not a slogan; it is a mindset of disciplined curiosity, moral courage, and unrelenting excellence. It is the spirit that built civilisations, discovered continents, and transformed institutions,” he said.

Recounting his early experience of arriving in Abuja for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) with just N20 in his pocket, he said earning the NYSC Honours Award through hard work and integrity helped shape his philosophy of Mekaria.

Chidoka stressed that Africa must leapfrog the Industrial Age and seize the opportunities of the Artificial Intelligence era, arguing that universities must become “the infrastructure of innovation and civilisation.”

“If our universities produce citizens who can think, build, and serve, Africa will not just catch up, it will leap forward,” he added. Addressing the graduands, he reminded them that “the future belongs to the curious, the courageous, and the continuously improving,” adding that “the 21st century will not reward those who wait for change; it will reward those who create it.”

He urged them to “be curious enough to ask new questions, be courageous enough to take new risks, and be disciplined enough to do more, do better.”