Tunji Olowolafe has called on Nigerian universities to rethink how they develop researchers, validate knowledge and turn academic discoveries into practical solutions, outlining three strategies for strengthening research and innovation during the 65th anniversary celebration of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife.
Dr. Olowolafe, Founder of the Tunji Olowolafe Foundation (TOF), delivered the message while speaking on the theme, “Promoting Research Excellence and Innovation in Postgraduate Studies: Charting the Future.” He argued that universities must make research more accessible, examine established beliefs through scientific investigation and create stronger links between academic work and economic development.
He described postgraduate education as a critical part of national development, calling it the intellectual engine room where emerging scholars should question established ideas, investigate difficult problems and produce evidence that can guide society’s decisions.
His first proposal focused on expanding access to research and strengthening science education from an early age. He urged Obafemi Awolowo University to develop its Staff Schools into benchmarks for African education, with greater emphasis on science, technology and artificial intelligence.
As an example of the approach, he highlighted the work of the Tunji Olowolafe Foundation through the Gbemisola Olowolafe Memorial Community Secondary School in Are-Ekiti. The school opened in September 2025 with 100 students and has since grown to more than 170. It also has an ICT centre where students receive training in artificial intelligence, coding, graphic design and Mandarin. Through a Starlink connection, Mandarin instructors teach students live from Beijing.
“The postgraduate researchers of 2040 are sitting in primary classrooms today,” Olowolafe said, stressing the importance of building scientific and technological skills before students reach university.
He also questioned whether a conventional four-year university degree should remain the only route into postgraduate research. He encouraged universities to consider prior learning and demonstrated professional expertise as possible routes, provided academic standards are maintained.
The need for more flexible learning, he argued, is particularly important given the pressure on Nigeria’s university admission system. Citing the 2025 admission cycle, he noted that only about one million of the two million candidates who sat the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) secured admission. He called for greater investment in digital learning, arguing that universities should be able to expand access without depending entirely on additional physical infrastructure.
The Foundation is already supporting this direction through Project Digi-Teach, an initiative providing digital proficiency training for academic staff at Ekiti State University (EKSU).
His second strategy centred on the relationship between scientific research and traditional knowledge. Olowolafe urged Nigerian researchers to avoid automatically dismissing indigenous practices or accepting traditional claims without investigation. Instead, he called for evidence-based research that examines such knowledge objectively.
He pointed to the work of Chinese scientist Tu Youyou, whose investigation of traditional Chinese medicine led to the discovery of artemisinin, a treatment that has become important in the fight against malaria. Her research earned her the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
“She neither rejected tradition nor accepted it. She tested it,” he said.
For Olowolafe, the same commitment to evidence should also apply to the study of national history. He encouraged universities to examine difficult and sensitive subjects, including the Nigerian Civil War, through rigorous academic investigation rather than allowing established narratives to go unquestioned.
His third strategy addressed the commercial and practical value of university research. He argued that academic institutions should do more to ensure discoveries move beyond research papers and laboratories to produce solutions that industries and communities can use.
He called for universities to reconsider their academic promotion systems so that researchers receive recognition not only for publishing journal articles but also for securing patents, developing commercial products and solving practical industrial problems.
“Research is complete only when it leaves the laboratory and improves lives,” he said.
Olowolafe also pointed to the technology businesses established by OAU graduates, including Flutterwave and Moniepoint, as evidence of the university’s contribution to Nigeria’s entrepreneurial and technology sectors. He challenged the institution’s global alumni community to increase its financial, institutional and mentorship support for research by tenfold.
Alongside his proposals, he announced a series of commitments by the Tunji Olowolafe Foundation to strengthen research and postgraduate education at OAU. The Foundation will install a solar power system for the Postgraduate College, provide a virtual learning and oral defence facility, and modernise the College Boardroom.
It will also consider funding pilot research studies on a case-by-case basis and support training in grant writing and donor compliance. These activities will be undertaken in collaboration with the university’s Central Office of Research and Advancement Office.
“Our ambition must go beyond providing infrastructure to building institutions that can generate knowledge and attract global research funding. By strengthening the capacity of our universities, we can expand opportunities for our people and position Nigeria to compete more effectively in the global knowledge economy,” he added.
The commitments form part of the Tunji Olowolafe Foundation’s wider work in education, digital learning and institutional development. Its proposed support for OAU combines investment in physical facilities with efforts to improve research skills, access to academic resources and the ability of universities to attract external funding.
For OAU, the proposals place postgraduate research, technological education and stronger university-industry relationships at the centre of discussions about its next phase of development as the institution marks 65 years.
