By Victoria Okpanachi
The Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Studies, Federal University Lokoja, Professor John Olatunji Alabi, has said entrepreneurship remains the road map to drive Nigeria’s economy and transform its educational system.
Prof. Alabi stated this recently while delivering the 46th Inaugural Lecture of the Federal University Lokoja (FUL), where he spoke on the theme, “Entrepreneurial Leadership through Entrepreneurial Education and Empowerment: Building an Entrepreneurial Economy in a VUCA World.”
The inaugural lecturer advised that governments must provide enabling policies, universities must produce innovative graduates, industries must play an active role as partners, financial institutions must support enterprise growth, while entrepreneurs must embrace continuous learning, resilience, ethical leadership and technological adaptation.
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Prof. Alabi said Nigeria cannot achieve sustainable economic growth without building entrepreneurial leaders who can create value and sustain enterprises.
According to him, entrepreneurial leadership should provide the catalyst, entrepreneurial education and empowerment should build the required capacity, while an entrepreneurial economy should be the outcome
The Professor of Entrepreneurship and Corporate Strategy explained that Nigeria is not lacking entrepreneurs, but lacks the system that helps businesses survive, grow and contribute meaningfully to the economy.
He listed youth unemployment, weak link between universities and industries, over-dependence on government jobs, high failure rate of small businesses and mismatch between skills taught and skills needed as major obstacles facing the country.
Prof. Alabi also urged universities to go beyond classroom teaching and connect students to incubation centres, innovation hubs, digital skills and practical business creation.
Presenting his Alabi Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Framework, he stressed the need to educate for innovation, empower for enterprise and lead for transformation.
In his remark, the Vice Chancellor of Federal University Lokoja, Professor Gbenga Solomon Ibileye, said the lecture was a challenge to all universities to ensure entrepreneurship education moves beyond examinations to producing real entrepreneurs.
Prof. Ibileye, who was the pioneer Director of Entrepreneurship Studies in the University, said entrepreneurship must be seen as a tool for leadership and economic development, not just as another subject in the curriculum.
