… as SSU Unveils Innovation Agenda

By Musa Ubandawaki, Sokoto

SOKOTO — The Chancellor of Sokoto State University (SSU) and Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Hameem Nuhu Sanusi, has urged Nigerians to embrace entrepreneurship, innovation and self-reliance as essential drivers of economic growth and national development.

Speaking at the convocation lecture held as part of the university’s combined 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th convocation ceremonies on Friday, the monarch said Nigeria must move beyond an overreliance on academic certificates and cultivate an entrepreneurial culture capable of creating jobs and wealth.

He said the country could only compete effectively in the global economy if its citizens developed the capacity to think creatively, identify opportunities and build sustainable enterprises.

According to him, encouraging entrepreneurship among young people is key to unlocking Nigeria’s human and natural resources and positioning the country for long-term economic growth.

Sanusi also urged women to take greater advantage of educational and entrepreneurial opportunities, stressing that their active participation is crucial to national development.

“What a man can do, a woman can do better. If you educate a woman, you educate an entire community,” he said.

The Emir noted that women now constitute a significant proportion of graduates from Quranic schools in Jigawa State, describing the trend as encouraging for the country’s future.

Representing Governor Ahmed Aliyu at the event, the Sokoto State Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Dr. Jabir Sani Maihula, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to strengthening education and entrepreneurship at all levels.

He said the administration would continue to invest in tertiary education to ensure graduates acquire practical skills that would enable them to become employers of labour rather than job seekers.

Delivering the convocation lecture, renowned technocrat and entrepreneur Umar Buba Bindir challenged students to deploy innovation, research and creativity to tackle poverty and drive economic development in Sokoto State and Nigeria.

Bindir argued that the state’s economic potential lies in its abundant human and natural resources, urging students, researchers and policymakers to focus on developing practical solutions capable of generating employment and industrial growth.

He encouraged undergraduates to identify Sokoto’s comparative advantages through research and transform their findings into commercially viable enterprises, particularly in agriculture, which he described as a sector with enormous untapped potential.

According to him, universities should serve as engines of economic development through research, innovation and entrepreneurship, noting that deliberate investment in these areas could transform both Sokoto State and Nigeria.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of Sokoto State University, Prof. Mohammed Bello Yerima, said the institution was repositioning itself to produce graduates equipped with entrepreneurial and innovation-driven skills.

He disclosed that proposals for new academic programmes in Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Entrepreneurship and Engineering had been submitted to the National Universities Commission (NUC) for approval.

Yerima said the planned programmes are designed to equip students with skills required to meet the demands of the modern economy and promote innovation-driven development.