Ensure Nigeria key into dynamics of global technological advancements, VCs task Tinubu

The vice chancellor of the Osun State University (UNIOSUN) and his counterpart in the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Professor Odunayo Clement Adebooye, Professor Olusola Kehinde, respectively over the weekend, charged President Bola Tinubu to ensure that the nation quickly key into the evolving global technologies.

They said with the rate at which advanced countries are exploring 21st-century technological innovations to expand their frontiers in economic and infrastructural development, Nigeria must not be allowed to be shoved aside.

The duo of Adebooye and Kehinde gave the charge, in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, while speaking on the sidelines of the 13th valedictory service and award ceremony of Lariken International College.

Adebooye, who majors in plant physiology and its application to food chemistry, said: “With the advent of robotic engineering and Artificial Intelligence (AI), which have been developed and embraced by Europe, Asia and other continents, President Bola Tinubu should create enabling environment for our country in terms of research and technological advancement so that Nigeria as a nation will not lag behind.”

According to the UNIOSUN VC, “If someone had told you some decades before now that you can have live conversation with people in faraway Europe, Asia, you might probably not believe. Now, we talk of robotic engineering and AI, but other technologies have been invented after these two feats and more are still coming on stream.

While contending that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government should adequately fund research in tertiary institutions, Adebooye added that embracing and adopting new technologies will go a long way to change the narrative of poverty, economic challenges and infrastructural deficiency in Africa, most especially in Nigeria.

He, however, enjoined the graduands to eschew religious and ethnic diversities, which he noted, had been used to polarise Nigerians, adding that “you are all potential leaders of the nation in the nearest future.”

Apparently corroborating the position of Adebooye, the vice chancellor of FUNAAB, Professor Olusola Kehinde, maintained that the political leadership should create conducive atmosphere for the technological growth of the country so that “we will not be overtaken by other nations, even in Africa regarding developments in critical sectors.

Earlier in his address, the director, Lariken International College, Mr Idowu Jiboku, stated: “The challenges our nation faces today are not solely due to a lack of brilliance, but rather a scarcity of individuals with unwavering values and high moral standard.

“This, our institution is dedicated to nurturing individuals who become solutions rather than contributors to these challenges. Our school’s ethos of hard work, integrity, respect and godliness is not a mere slogan; it is a way of life ingrained in every student who enters our gates,” he averred.