Dangote spoke on Friday, as a Guest Lecturer at the 38th
Convocation Lecture of Bayero University Kano (BUK).
The business mogul, who was represented by Engr. Mansur
Ahmed, delivered a lecture entitled: “Role Of The Private Sector In Building A
Sustainable Knowledge Economy In Nigeria.”
According to him, for Nigeria to leverage and nurture a
sustainable Knowledge Economy, the Federal Government must invest in education
and skills development.
Dangote listed other factors that can grow Knowledge Economy
in Nigeria to include: promotion of research and development; digital
infrastructure development; entrepreneurship and innovation support; circular
economy integration; government policies regulation.
Others include: public private partnership (PPP);
environmental stewardship; digital inclusion and accessibility; community
engagement and social impact.
He further stated that: “by adopting these recommendations,
we can lay the foundation for a sustainable Knowledge Economy that prioritizes
environmental sustainability, social inclusion, and innovation.
The successful implementation of these strategies requires a
collaborative à effort from all stakeholders, with a shared commitment to the
principles of a knowledge-driven and sustainable future.”
Dangote, however, observed that: “A major challenge in
transiting to Knowledge Economy for Nigeria is the quality of the Nigerian
worker,” opining that: “The quality of human assets matters a lot in the
operations of a firm.”
According to him: “Our educational system which produces
most of the human assets working in various firms in Nigeria needs to be
modified to yield the desires results.
“The system as presently constituted produces graduates who
may have excellent qualifications but lack the necessary skills to perform
optimally in a knowledge driven economy.
“We have thousands of graduates on yearly basis but
selecting those with the required skills is often a tough task. The educational
system should incorporate findings from the research institutions in their
programmes as well as relevant management skills that would equip students for
excellence after their studies.”
He insisted that: “Knowledge gap among workers is a major
limiting factor that hinders many firms operating in Nigeria from achieving the
desired results.”
According to Dangote, the Nigeria’s Knowledge Economy value
chain play a crucial role in shaping its economic landscape.
He added that for Nigeria’s Knowledge Economy to thrive, the
nation must invest hugely in education and research, information and
technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, human capital develoment, intellectual
property (IP) protection, industry-academia collaboration, creative industries,
global connectivity.
In his welcome address, the Vice Chancellor of BUK, Prof.
Sagir Adanu Abbas, noted that in BUK, Dangote is a trademark that rings a bell,
courtesy of the Dangote Business School singlehandedly built and donated to the
University by Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
He added that: “Established about a decade ago, Dangote
Business School has produced thousands of postgraduates.
“Indeed, the establishment of Dangote Business School has
added a lot of value to the Bayero University, Kano with the School moving on
from strength to strength and making a name beyond the shores of Nigeria.”
Former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), A.B.
Mahmoud (SAN), chaired the Convocation Lecture.
Meanwhile, Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin,
before the Convocation Lecture, commissioned the newly constructed School of
Post Graduate Studies and Development Office buildings of BUK.
Senator Barau, had donated hugely for the construction of
the two buildings in the University.
He would be conferred with a Honouary Doctorate Degree by
BUK on Saturday.
Senator Barau, during the commissioning, called on all
stakeholders to support the government in addressing the challenges facing the
education sector of the country.
He commended the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof.
Sagir Adamu Abbas, for his unwavering resilience in ensuring the
infrastructural development of the institution as well as sustaining the
academic excellence of BUK.
According to him: “All over the world, it is not possible
for all publicly funded universities to have the full complement of funds for
all their needs and so every publicly funded university must look inward and
find other ways of sourcing funds for their infrastructural and other
requirements.
”It is for this reason that I commend the Vice Chancellor,
Prof Sagir Adamu Abbas for going out of his way to source funds for the
infrastructural development of the university and create an enabling
environment for academic excellence in the university.”
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