ABUJA, NIGERIA– The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau, has challenged Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions to aggressively commercialise their research study findings and technological innovations.
This method is targeted at boosting their internally produced profits (IGR) and considerably decreasing their heavy dependence on federal and state government financing.
Senator Barau provided the charge on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Abuja while receiving the management team of the North West University, Kano, led by its Vice-Chancellor, Teacher Amina Bayero.
Replicating International Finest Practices in Academia
In a main statement launched after the conference by his Special Advisor on Media and Promotion, Ismail Mudashir, the Deputy Senate President prompted Nigerian university administrators to shift away from standard scholastic ivory towers.
Rather, he advised them to imitate leading global institutions that systematically transform laboratory research results into commercially viable products and services.
Barau, who notoriously chaired the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund during the Eighth National Assembly, kept in mind that top-tier international institutions like Harvard, MIT, and Cornell do not rely entirely on state subventions.
Rather, they take advantage of robust intellectual property frameworks to sustain their operations and fund development discoveries.
“Do not leave developments in laboratories or bookshelves. Patent them and develop value from them,” Senator Barau charged the administrators.
“Top worldwide organizations leverage research study, collaborate with industries, and produce profits through innovation. I motivate you to adopt this model. Maintaining and developing a university requires the assistance, intervention, and cooperation of all stakeholders beyond the federal government.”
Shift From Natural Resources to Person Capital
The legislator highlighted that in the contemporary international economy, national competitiveness is no longer determined by physical natural resource endowments such as petroleum or strong minerals, however by the depth of a nation’s skilled labor force.
Characterizing human capital as the supreme factor of production, the Deputy Senate President restated the National Assembly’s commitment to enacting legislative frameworks that support institutional autonomy, ease patenting processes, and foster deep industry-academic collaborations.
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To support the immediate logistical operations of the North West University, Barau commended its management and revealed the personal contribution of a new operational Coaster bus to the institution.
Earlier in her remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Amina Bayero, described that the top-level go to was targeted at checking out strategic locations of partnership between the organization and the workplace of the Deputy Senate President.
Professor Bayero lauded Senator Barau’s long-standing interventions in the education sector, particularly citing his multi-million naira undergraduate scholarship plans, research study grants, and heavy infrastructural development jobs across various schools in the country.
The Vice-Chancellor noted that considering that the organization commenced operations in 2012, its fast growth into 10 faculties has produced a pressing need for diversified earnings streams.
She ensured that the university’s senate is currently examining its intellectual property policies to make sure that regional fabrications, agricultural innovations, and software application applications created by its 30,000-strong trainee body are effectively patented and positioned for industrial market uptake.