The place of research in the quest for national development cannot be overemphasised as development, more often than not, is borne out of constant generation of new knowledge. This is no doubt why scholars are held in high esteem as they are seen as the repositories of knowledge and expertise examining and questioning existing knowledge with the aim of fostering new skills and tools for addressing old and emerging challenges. Hence, the expectation that the eggheads in the various ivory towers, industry and other establishments would, sooner than expected, provide the much-sought after solution to the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sustainable Development Goal 9.5 also reinforces this assertion by calling upon countries, to encourage innovation and substantially increase the number of researchers, as well as public and private spending on research and development (R&D).
Our tertiary institutions must be encouraged to be at the forefront of proffering solutions to the various challenges of modern life. In this regard, the funding intervention by TETFund should be commended as it augments government’s efforts in terms of providing of much-needed research grants and infrastructure, among others. In as much as citizens would continue to task government to increase funding to the educational sector, it is also necessary to ask pertinent questions as to how these funds are utilised.
This is owing to the fact that much attention is being given to how little the government is spending as opposed to how the little the government has allocated is utilised.
In essence, for the nation to reap maximally from its huge investments in research and other essential components of tertiary institutions, we must hold beneficiaries of these grants and other infrastructural interventions accountable for the myriads of funds given to them for research and development. For every penny received there should be a concomitant, tangible and development-oriented research outcome.
A proper audit of research activities should also prove useful in the task of stratifying institutions according to their research competences especially as it pertains to addressing national developmental aspirations in such areas as ICT, power, food sufficiency, insecurity, public health, economic, industrialisation, oil & gas, among others. Similarly, the audit would also serve to place the various research outcomes in the public domain. Doing so, could prove beneficial as another veritable source of funding would be opened to the institutions thereby reducing their dependence on subventions from government.
Of course, it would rubbish government’s well-meaning efforts if its various organs continue to patronise foreign companies to serve their needs. As such, government should, by way of appropriate legislation, do the needful so that the citizens could live the Nigeria of their dreams
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