Vice President Shettima urges institutions of higher education to drive economic development, moving beyond their traditional role as hubs of academic knowledge.

Vice President Kashim Shettima has emphasized the need for Nigerian universities to transition from merely producing graduates to driving innovation, industrialization, and enterprise in order to achieve sustainable economic growth.

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Represented by Minister of Education Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa at the launch of the Manu-Tech UniPod at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Shettima described the facility as a pioneering effort to reposition tertiary institutions as catalysts for economic transformation.

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The Vice President noted that the initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritizes education, innovation, industrialization, youth empowerment, and economic diversification as key drivers of national development.

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Shettima stressed that Nigeria can no longer afford to separate education from production, research from enterprise, or knowledge from national prosperity, emphasizing that future universities must produce innovators, inventors, entrepreneurs, and employers of labor.

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The Manu-Tech UniPod is designed to bridge the gap between university research and industry by integrating artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, agro-processing, digital design, industrial automation, and entrepreneurship into a single innovation ecosystem.

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This project complements ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening STEM education, technical and vocational training, digital transformation, research capacity, and innovation, according to Shettima.

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Describing Aba as one of Africa's foremost manufacturing clusters, the Vice President noted that the innovation hub will connect the city's entrepreneurial ecosystem with cutting-edge university research, creating new opportunities for commercialization, investment, and exports under the African Continental Free Trade Area.

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Shettima commended Governor Alex Otti for his commitment to education, healthcare, security, technology, and industrial development, describing him as a performing governor who is building a sustainable development ecosystem.

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The launch of the Manu-Tech Innovation Pod marks the beginning of a national movement where education powers industry, innovation drives prosperity, and knowledge transforms the nation, according to Shettima.

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Governor Alex Otti described the Manu-Tech UniPod as a major milestone in Abia's drive to become Nigeria's leading hub for innovation, manufacturing, and enterprise, noting that sustainable development thrives on strategic partnerships.

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Otti applauded the collaboration between the Federal Government, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund for establishing the innovation center, which will equip about 500,000 students and researchers with technological and entrepreneurial skills.

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The National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme will transform research findings into commercially viable products and services, according to Otti, who expressed confidence that the UniPod would redirect university research towards solving real-life industrial challenges.

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The governor announced plans to deepen the state's partnership with UNDP through the expansion of the Jubilee Fellows Programme, the Aba Export Growth Lab, energy investment initiatives, and industrial competitiveness programmes.

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According to Otti, the hour of big dreams and great ambitions has arrived, and he urged students and entrepreneurs to leverage opportunities provided by the UniPod to build globally competitive businesses.

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United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa, described Abia as a rising innovation hub capable of shaping Africa's future, noting that the Manu-Tech UniPod is part of an initiative designed to mobilize $1 billion to support 10,000 African startups.

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Eziakonwa said the initiative aims to scale at least 1,000 high-growth ventures and create millions of jobs across the continent, declaring that Africa will not wait for the world to develop it, but rather Africa will develop itself.

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The UN official paid tribute to the late Dr Michael Okpara for laying the foundation for industrial development in the old Eastern Region and praised Governor Otti for creating an enabling environment for innovation through investments in education, healthcare, infrastructure, security, and workers' welfare.

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Eziakonwa urged students to think boldly, collaborate fiercely, and create purposefully, expressing confidence that the next globally transformative innovation could emerge from Abia.

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UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms Elsie G Attafuah, described the innovation hub as a major step towards positioning Abia as Nigeria's leading innovation-driven industrial state, noting that the Umudike facility forms part of a national innovation ecosystem.

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Attafuah said the ecosystem began with the AI UniPod at the University of Lagos and the Mine-Tech UniPod at Nasarawa State University, and will steadily build a nationally connected innovation ecosystem that transforms talent into enterprise and industry into national competitiveness.

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According to Attafuah, Aba's entrepreneurial culture and manufacturing heritage make Abia the ideal location for Nigeria's first manufacturing-focused UniPod, and she commended Governor Otti for providing visionary leadership.

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UNDP is finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Ministry of Education to transform Nigerian universities into centers of innovation and enterprise, according to Attafuah, who revealed that the organization plans to expand the network from the current seven UniPods to over 50 across Nigeria.

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Vice-Chancellor of MOUAU, Prof Ursula Akanwa, said universities should no longer be judged merely by the number of graduates or academic papers they produce, but by the industries they create, technologies they commercialize, and solutions they provide to society.

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Akanwa described the Manu-Tech UniPod as a new partnership between knowledge and enterprise, between research and manufacturing, and between the aspirations of young people and the future of Nigeria's economy.

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Prof Akanwa pledged that the facility would drive agro-processing, reduce post-harvest losses, strengthen the leather and textile industries, support SMEs, and empower young innovators and women.

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TETFund Executive Secretary, Arc Sonny Echono, represented by Dr Suleiman Zingina, said the UniPod initiative is designed to transform Nigeria's tertiary institutions from certificate-awarding centers into innovation-driven engines of economic growth.

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The initiative, implemented under the National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme, seeks to accelerate research commercialization, entrepreneurship, digital human capital development, and the transition to a knowledge-based economy, according to Echono.

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The event attracted members of the Abia State Executive Council, including the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, as well as other dignitaries such as former Deputy Governor Ude Okochukwu and Pro-Chancellor of Abia State University, Rt Hon Agwu U Agwu.