By Isaac Oluyi

For decades, industrial action has been a recurring feature of Nigeria’s university system. When negotiations between university-based labour unions and government or university authorities break down, strike has often become the preferred instrument for compelling action.

There is no doubt that trade unions have a legitimate role in defending the welfare, rights and working conditions of their members. In many instances, industrial actions have drawn attention to genuine challenges confronting Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, including inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, poor staff welfare and the implementation of agreements.

However, the frequency of strikes and their consequences raise an important question: Can we begin to look beyond strike and explore other ways through which university workers can contribute to solving some of the problems confronting our universities?

I strongly believe we can
This is where an entrepreneurial mindset becomes relevant.

An entrepreneurial mindset does not mean that university lecturers, administrators, technologists, librarians and other workers should abandon their professions to become businesspeople. Rather, it means developing the capacity to identify opportunities, solve problems creatively, mobilise resources, innovate and create value.

Nigeria’s universities possess enormous intellectual capital. The challenge is how to convert that capital into solutions that can strengthen institutions and contribute to national development.
From consumers of resources to creators of value

Our universities have traditionally depended heavily on government funding. While government has an important responsibility to adequately fund public universities, institutions must also explore innovative ways of mobilising additional resources.

The university workforce can play a major role in this.

Academic departments and research centres possess expertise that can be converted into consultancy, professional training, laboratory services, policy research, technology development and other services for government, industry and communities.

A university’s engineering department, for example, could work with local manufacturers to develop affordable equipment. Agricultural researchers could collaborate with farmers and agribusinesses to improve production. Information technology experts could develop digital solutions for public institutions and businesses.

Such initiatives can generate revenue while simultaneously demonstrating the relevance of the university to society.

Turning research into solutions
Nigeria does not lack brilliant researchers. What is often missing is a strong bridge between research and practical application.

Too many research findings end their journey in academic journals, conference presentations and university repositories.

An entrepreneurial research culture should encourage academics to ask an additional question: How can this discovery solve a real problem?

Research findings can potentially become products, technologies, services, policies or social enterprises. Universities therefore need stronger innovation, intellectual-property and technology-transfer systems to help researchers move promising ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace.

This can also strengthen university-industry relationships. Companies should not engage universities only when they need graduates to employ. They should also see universities as partners in research, innovation and problem-solving.

Turning challenges into opportunities
Our universities face numerous challenges, from inadequate electricity and internet connectivity to waste management, water supply, transportation and outdated equipment.

Government must provide the necessary infrastructure and funding. Nevertheless, some of these challenges can also become opportunities for innovation.

Unreliable electricity, for instance, could stimulate partnerships between universities, renewable-energy companies and researchers to develop sustainable energy solutions. Waste generated on campuses could become an opportunity for recycling and circular-economy initiatives. Outdated laboratory equipment could encourage collaboration between university researchers and local manufacturers to develop affordable alternatives.

The principle is simple: A problem should not only be seen as a burden; it can also be an invitation to innovate.

The unions as partners in transformation
The argument for an entrepreneurial university workforce should not be misconstrued as an attack on labour unions.Rather, university unions can become important partners in institutional transformation.

In addition to advocating for better salaries and working conditions, unions can encourage their members to participate in innovation, research commercialisation, professional development and industry partnerships.They could support staff innovation funds, mentorship programmes and initiatives that reward members who develop solutions to institutional problems.

Collective bargaining itself can also evolve. Discussions about staff welfare could incorporate mechanisms that encourage research grants, consultancy, intellectual-property development, professional services and other legitimate opportunities that improve both institutional revenue and staff welfare.

The goal should not be to weaken collective action, but to complement advocacy with value creation.

Creating a culture of intrapreneurship
Entrepreneurship should not be limited to business departments. Every member of the university workforce can contribute.

A librarian who develops an innovative digital information service is creating value. An administrative officer who digitises a cumbersome process is innovating. A laboratory technologist who finds a cost-effective way to maintain equipment is solving a problem. An academic who develops an online professional programme or attracts external research funding is creating institutional value.

University managements should therefore create an environment where initiative is encouraged and rewarded. Staff who attract external research funding, develop useful technologies, create industry partnerships, reduce institutional costs or generate new income should receive appropriate recognition and incentives.

Universities could establish innovation funds and annual challenges through which staff and students propose solutions to specific institutional problems. Promising ideas could receive seed funding, mentorship and access to university facilities.

Government still has a responsibility
There is a danger in placing too much emphasis on entrepreneurship: it could be misconstrued as suggesting that universities should commercialise everything or that government can withdraw from its responsibilities.That would be wrong.

Universities cannot and should not be expected to generate commercial income sufficient to replace public funding for basic research, infrastructure, staff remuneration, libraries, laboratories and other essential functions.

Government must continue to provide sustainable funding, honour agreements, support research and create an enabling environment for higher education.But universities also need greater resilience. Government support and institutional entrepreneurship should complement each other, not compete with each other.

Beyond the next strike
The real issue, therefore, is not whether strikes should exist. Where workers’ legitimate demands are ignored and negotiations fail, industrial action remains a recognised instrument of collective bargaining.The bigger question is whether we can build a university system in which many of the issues that trigger strikes are identified and addressed before they escalate into prolonged industrial disputes. Imagine a university where management, unions, students, alumni, government and industry regularly come together to identify institutional problems and develop solutions.

Imagine a university where a researcher who attracts significant external funding is celebrated not only for publishing papers but also for creating opportunities for students and colleagues.

Imagine a university where staff are encouraged to develop technologies, professional services and partnerships that generate value.Imagine a university where solving problems is as highly valued as protesting about them.That is the culture we should begin to build.

Conclusion
The Nigerian university system needs adequate funding, sound policies, effective governance and responsible industrial relations. But it also needs something that cannot be provided by government alone: an entrepreneurial mindset among its people.

Our lecturers, researchers, administrators, technologists, librarians and other university workers possess enormous knowledge and creativity. Mobilising this intellectual capital can help universities generate resources, develop innovations, reduce costs, strengthen industry partnerships and provide solutions to societal problems.

Moving beyond strike does not mean abandoning the legitimate rights of workers or weakening trade unions. It means complementing industrial advocacy with innovation and problem-solving. Perhaps, therefore, the question we should increasingly ask is not simply, “When will the next strike begin?”

It should be: “What can we collectively create to make the next strike unnecessary?”The transformation of Nigerian universities will require responsible government, visionary management, constructive unionism and, above all, a workforce willing to see challenges not only as reasons to demand change, but also as opportunities to create it.

That is the entrepreneurial university Nigeria needs.

Read the remaining part of thia article on www.guardian.ng

Oluyi is the Head, Directorate of Public Relations and Corporate
Affairs, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo.