AGO-IWOYE, OGUN STATE— The Vice-Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Professor Ayodeji Agboola, has actually asserted that the survival of the Nigerian university system depends upon its transition from producing job applicants to supporting a new generation of innovators.
Speaking on Friday, March 27, 2026, at the first Future Tech Conference, themed “Next Frontier: Building Africa’s Digital Future,” the Vice-Chancellor admired the event as a landmark achievement completely conceptualised and performed by the trainees.
Professor Agboola explained the initiative as a “transformative shift,” signalling that the university’s long-term method to internalise an entrepreneurial frame of mind is beginning to bear fruit.
The Three-Pronged Strategy: Education, Employability, Company
The Vice-Chancellor exposed that the institution has actually moved far from the standard model of “producing graduates for non-existent jobs.” Rather, OOU has adopted an extensive three-pillar framework developed to make sure that every student leaves the school with a competitive edge in the international digital economy. The “EEE” Structure:
- Education: Providing a strong theoretical structure in core disciplines.
- Employability: Equipping trainees with 21st-century useful skills, certifications, and soft abilities.
- Company: Mentoring trainees to transform local challenges into business services, efficiently ending up being task developers.
“We realised that there is no way anybody can become an employer of labour without being competent,” Agboola mentioned, keeping in mind that this vision, which started four years ago, recently earned the university a competitive grant from the African Union Commission.
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Student-Led Development and Copyright
The conference featured high-level discussions from the students themselves, showcasing the depth of digital literacy on campus.
Ayomide Oduneye, a 400-level Chemical Science student, led a session on Web3 and Decentralised Technologies, while 500-level Law trainee Agbolade David supplied critical insights into Copyright (IP) protection for young tech founders.
External market leaders, including Luther Lawoyin, CEO of PricePally, and Paul Jatau, challenged the individuals to move from complaints to services, prompting them to see Nigeria’s distinct difficulties as a fertile ground for scalable ventures.
Facilities Boost: Campus-Wide Fibre Optics
In a major statement concerning the university’s digital backbone, Teacher Agboola disclosed that OOU would be completely powered by fibre-optic internet connectivity by the end of April 2026.
The project, being executed in partnership with Globacom, will extend direct fibre links to all school buildings.
A Mindset of Solutions
The Vice-Chancellor expressed surprise and pride that the trainees arranged the prominent conference individually, involving stakeholders like the Minister of Communications, Development, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani.
He stressed that the goal is to sustain this momentum up until the OOU brand name ends up being associated with technology-driven advancement in Africa.
The event concluded with a call to students to utilize the incoming high-speed facilities to develop “future-proof” companies that can complete from Ago-Iwoye to the global market.