Our universities were established as engines of progress. Today, however, we face problems highlighting a disconnect between academia and everyday life. These problems arise not from a lack of intellect but from a misalignment with society’s needs, as teaching and learning have long been measured solely by academic metrics—the length of dissertations, the complexity of theories, and the splendor of research—rather than their real-world impact.

The challenge before us is clear: our universities must move beyond theory to practical impact, bringing the “gown” into the “town”—and now, into cyberspace—where knowledge is applied and ideas ignite change. In his seminal book, The School and Society, John Dewey emphasizes the need for education to evolve in tandem with societal changes, cautioning against outdated teaching methods that fail to prepare students for future challenges.

The true measure of education is its impact on the town. How many university projects directly tackle local challenges like power, healthcare, water access, food security, or transportation? If universities do not first serve their own communities, their achievements risk remaining confined to ivory towers. Our research must offer tangible solutions, while graduates must be equipped to address real issues, from policy refinement to sustainable transportation. If the town does not feel the impact of our “gown”, our education is incomplete.

Our universities are more than centres of learning; they are the backbone of our communities and nation. Their value lies not in certificates but in real-world impact. Institutions must go beyond academic debates, producing research that shapes policies proactively rather than reacting to crises. They should serve as policy hubs, not just locally but globally, proving that when education meets innovation, solutions follow.

Sir Ken Robinson emphasized the significance of creativity in education, asserting: “Creativity is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.” It is time for our curricula to leap. Agriculture students must master drone mapping for pest control. Medical schools should integrate telemedicine and AI. Law faculties must adopt blockchain for land registry reforms. Engineering students must embrace robotics, and so on. When the gown mirrors the town’s needs, productivity follows.

When we bridge the gap between academia and society, universities can drive national progress while contributing meaningfully to global knowledge. The question before us is simple: Will our universities shape the future or merely react to it? The answer lies in our collective commitment to innovation, sustainability, and purpose-driven education. But to shape the future, we must first understand how education itself has evolved.

The Evolution of Education: Preparing for the Future

Historically, education has been the bedrock of human civilization, evolving alongside societal needs. From the oral traditions of ancient Africa, where griots preserved history through storytelling, to the grand libraries of Alexandria, knowledge has always been the currency of progress.

The evolution of education has always mirrored societal needs. In ancient times, learning was an elite privilege, with Socrates, Plato, and Confucius imparting wisdom to select disciples. The Industrial Revolution (1760–1840) introduced mass education, designed to produce factory workers for a structured economy. The 20th century brought standardised testing and mass schooling, a model that still dominates universities today. But in an era of AI and rapid digital transformation, can this outdated system truly prepare students for the future, or are we training them for a world that no longer exists?

The evolution of work is evidence of how education must constantly adapt. Many jobs that once defined entire industries have vanished. Telephone switchboard operators of the 1950s and ’60s were replaced by automated systems, just as video store clerks disappeared with Netflix and digital streaming. Typists became obsolete with word processors, and newspaper typesetters lost relevance to digital publishing. Kodak, a giant in the photography industry, exemplifies this shift; it employed 145,000 people in 1988 but filed for bankruptcy in 2012 after failing to adapt to the digital revolution.



Also, the way Nigerians consume news has undergone a seismic shift. Decades ago, families gathered around their television sets at 9 pm to watch the NTA Network News, waiting for the official version of events. Today, social media delivers news instantly—often unverified and sensationalised. This has fuelled citizen journalism, blurring the line between fact and fiction. Traditional media houses like have adapted by embracing live streaming and digital platforms, but the transition has not been smooth. Misinformation spreads faster than ever, with AI-generated deepfakes compounding the crisis. A 2022 report by the Centre for Democracy and Development found that over 75 per cent of Nigerians had encountered false information online.

This, I believe, is because universities have not taken their place as the primary defenders of truth in the digital space. Journalism and mass communication programmes must evolve to train fact-checkers, digital forensics experts, and AI-literate media professionals.

Today, AI and automation are reshaping industries. Reports from the World Economic Forum estimate that 85 million jobs will be displaced by AI by 2025, but 97 million new roles will emerge in fields like AI ethics, cybersecurity, and sustainability. Just three years ago, prompt engineering (the skill of instructing AI such as ChatGPT) was unheard of—now it’s a lucrative profession. Yet, many universities have not fully adapted.

By 2030, industries will demand AI specialists to drive automation, data privacy consultants to tackle AI ethical concerns, climate adaptation experts to address environmental crises, Virtual Reality designers to shape the metaverse, biotechnology engineers to merge AI with medicine, and digital well-being coaches to mitigate social media’s psychological effects. Yet, how many Nigerian universities are equipping students for these roles, and how many lecturers are being retrained to understand these shifts?

Education must be lifelong. In my own experience, when I was in school, we had only a handful of computers. We used typewriters, not laptops. Today, I am still learning, still evolving. If we expect students to prepare for the future, our educators must also be students themselves. As Alvin Toffler wisely said: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Education is not merely about acquiring knowledge; it is about applying it to shape the future. If our universities fail to adapt, we risk producing graduates unprepared for the world they will inherit.

This is not only applicable in Nigeria; around the world, universities are redefining their roles by aligning research with community needs, and here are a few examples:


MIT’s D-Lab: At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the D-Lab initiative has reached over 30 countries, developing low-cost technologies that empower rural communities. By training students to devise sustainable solutions—from solar-powered irrigation systems to low-cost medical devices—MIT has demonstrated that academic excellence and community impact can go hand in hand.

Stanford and Silicon Valley: Stanford University is not only a hub of academic innovation but also a critical driver of economic development in Silicon Valley.

With its StartX accelerator, Stanford has helped launch over 200 startups whose collective venture capital funding exceeds $10 billion. This integration of entrepreneurial spirit with academic research has transformed local communities and set a global benchmark for service exports.

University of Cape Town (UCT): In South Africa, UCT’s Water Research Commission works directly with local municipalities to improve water management. Their projects have directly benefited over a million people by developing strategies to combat water scarcity and improve sanitation—illustrating the direct social impact of focused, community-oriented research.

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs): In India, IITs have created incubators that have catalyzed more than 500 startups, generating billions of dollars in revenue. Their approach has not only enhanced local agricultural productivity through smart farming techniques, but also positioned India as a major exporter of technical expertise and services.

Wageningen University: In the Netherlands, Wageningen University’s cutting-edge agricultural research has been instrumental in boosting yields for smallholder farmers globally, underscoring the power of targeted research in solving real-world food security challenges.

These examples make it clear: when universities adapt their “gown” to meet the needs of their communities, innovation flourishes, and local challenges become opportunities for transformative change.

(The Gown in Cyberspace: Education Without Borders [The Digital Awakening])

In 2025, technology enables a child in Aba to watch a robotics lecture from MIT on a solar-powered tablet—a powerful bridge between global innovation and local opportunity. Yet, many of our universities still rely on outdated methods and curricula. This is not merely a technological gap; it is an urgent call to harness the digital revolution.


Over the past two decades, digital learning initiatives have significantly expanded global education access. According to a UNESCO report, the number of students enrolled in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) surged from zero in 2012 to at least 220 million in 2021. Additionally, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 1.5 billion students worldwide have transitioned to online education. In its report, the World Economic Forum (WEF) identified Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literacy as one of the foundational literacies essential for the 21st century. These statistics are not just numbers—they outline a roadmap for our collective future. As science fiction author, William Gibson once said, “The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.”

The time has come to stop trailing behind and start leading; we must rise to our full potential, transform education, and ensure that every Nigerian youth has the power to shape the future.

We must transform our educational institutions by integrating real-time data analytics, virtual labs, and interactive platforms, ensuring our graduates are prepared to lead in an interconnected world. Our classrooms should evolve into innovation hubs where ideas seamlessly bridge theory and practice. We must empower our youth not just to adapt to the future but to create it. This is our awakening—a decisive moment to harness the boundless potential of education.

While progress is underway, several high-potential areas require urgent attention from our universities. Here are a few critical areas where we must drive change:

(Gender Equality in Education: Empowering Women, Empowering Nations)

As we set our sights on Agenda 2075, it is time to rethink our approach to quotas in higher education. For the past five decades, admissions in Nigerian Universities have largely been determined by geography, a system that, while addressing regional disparities, has done little to harness the untapped potential of our female students. Instead of geographic quotas, we must prioritize gender parity to increase women’s participation in governance and leadership. Our quota system should serve as a tool for empowerment, ensuring that women—already the backbone of our homes as chief executive officers—step confidently into boardrooms and decision-making centers.


Research led by IDRC partners in South Africa and Ethiopia reveals critical disparities in STEM fields across African universities. Studies from 60 institutions in eight nations highlight that women are more likely to drop out of STEM programs and face persistent microaggressions. Meanwhile, many institutions lack or fail to implement gender-focused policies. UNESCO data tells us that female enrollment in tertiary education in sub-Saharan Africa is around 40%, while only 24% of academic staff are women—a gap that further widens at the professoriate level. In Ghana, for example, only 8% of professors in public universities are female, and the African Evidence Research Database shows that just 32% of researchers are women.

Yet the returns to investing in women’s education are compelling. A 2018 World Bank report notes that the private returns to education are 12% for women compared to 10% for men, and in post-secondary education, 17% for women versus 15% for men. These statistics affirm that education is not only a sound investment but a catalyst for societal transformation. When women are given equal opportunities, they bring unique insights and approaches that drive innovation, address local challenges, and foster inclusive governance.

The current constitutional review—an effort I am proud to be at the forefront of—seeks to redress these imbalances in a meaningful and lasting way. As the sponsor of the Seat Reservation Bill, I have championed legislative action to increase women’s representation in governance, ensuring that they are not just participants but key decision-makers in shaping our nation’s future. Alongside this, other targeted initiatives are being pursued to dismantle systemic barriers that have long sidelined women in leadership and education.

However, the success of these measures depends on more than just policy—it requires a societal shift in mindset. It depends on our ability to energize and empower women equally and equitably. We must move beyond the “other room” mindset and embrace a boardroom mentality for women. They must not be confined to supporting roles; they must be in the rooms where policies are shaped, economies are driven, and the future of our towns, our technologies, and our nation is decided.

Our collective future hinges on harnessing the full potential of every citizen. As we prioritize gender parity in education, we create a dynamic, innovative society where we can thrive through the transformative power of inclusive, forward-thinking leadership.

Mining and the Future of Education: Unlocking Nigeria’s Wealth Beneath the Ground)

To build a truly prosperous nation, we must align our educational priorities with the resources that define our economic potential. One such opportunity lies beneath our feet. Nigeria is abundantly blessed with solid minerals, yet for decades, our education system has focused more on theoretical disciplines than on harnessing the country’s vast natural wealth.

The North Central region holds significant deposits of tin, columbite, tantalite, and barite, all critical for modern electronics and industrial applications. The North West is home to gold, granite, and limestone, offering vast potential for the jewelry and construction industries. In the North East, gypsum, kaolin, and bentonite remain largely untapped, despite their importance to cement production and pharmaceuticals. The South West boasts reserves of bitumen, feldspar, and lithium—minerals essential for road construction and battery technologies, while the South East is rich in lead, zinc, coal, and also shares in the oil and gas reserves that have historically defined the nation’s economy. The South South, beyond its dominance in oil and gas, possesses large deposits of limestone, clay, and rare earth elements, which have yet to be fully explored.

Despite this natural endowment, Nigeria remains a net importer of many refined mineral products. The mining sector, despite its vast potential, contributed only 0.3% to Nigeria’s GDP in Q3 2022, according to KPMG—an increase from the 0.2% recorded in Q3 2021, but still far below its capacity to drive economic transformation. The gap between what we have and what we gain from it highlights a crucial flaw in our educational system. Few universities dedicate faculties to mining, mineral processing, or extractive metallurgy. Research into value addition, refining, and sustainable mining practices remains minimal. If our goal is to make education in 2075 more impactful and productivity-driven, then it must align with the needs of the nation, ensuring that the abundant resources beneath our feet become a catalyst for industrialization and economic prosperity.



https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/04/sustainable-and-human-centred-education-the-mandate-of-our-universities/