*Arc. Sonny Echono, Executive Secretary of TETFund and Guest Lecturer, announces donation of N2 billion take-off funding commitment for the N10 billion President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Centre of Excellence in Intercultural Dialogue and Youth Empowerment during a recent event at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect
The historic Oduduwa Hall of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria, was filled to capacity, as students, staff, researchers, media professionals, distinguished guests, and top officials of the Tertiary Education Fund (TETFund) gathered for the OAU @ 65 Special Lecture on “Driving National Development Through Research and Innovation” recently.
ConsumerConnect reports the remarkable event featured a documentary by Zvi Efrat titled, “Scenes from Africa’s Most Beautiful Campus”.
Arc. Sonny Echono, FNIA, OON, Executive Secretary of TETFund
Through an architectural and historical lens, the presentation traced the vision behind the development of Obafemi Awolowo University.
It also offered a powerful reminder that great institutions like “Great Ife”, as OAU is fondly called by students and friends of the University, are built on bold ideas, thoughtful planning, and long-term thinking.
The gathering equally witnessed the presentation of citation of Arc. Sonny Echono, FNIA, OON, Executive Secretary of TETFund, a distinguished public servant and Guest Lecturer on the occasion.
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Arc. Echono’s remarkable accomplishments in advancing education and national development inspired admiration across the Oduduwa Hall venue even before he took the podium, the University noted in a recent statement via its verified social media account.
‘Research, innovation, and development projects must move beyond conception’
In his presentation, the Guest Lecturer challenged a familiar narrative, stating that Nigerians and Africans are not short of ideas.
According to him, the real challenge lies in “implementation”.
He further emphasised that research, innovation, and development projects must move beyond conception.
They must be properly executed, monitored, evaluated, and improved upon if they are to create meaningful and lasting impact.
He also stressed the need to create an enabling environment for academics to focus on teaching, research, and mentoring the next generation.
Echono: OAU is breeding ground for experts in various fields of human endeavours
In his lecture to mark the 65th Anniversary of Obafemi Awolowo University, Arc. Echono hailed the foremost institution as a centre of excellence that has lived up to the ideals of its founding fathers, breeding experts in various fields of human endeavours worldwide.
ConsumerConnect gathered he equally noted the University’s continued investment in research and innovation systems would generate practical solutions suited to local realities in the economy.
The Executive Secretary of TETFund as well paid glowing tributes to the pioneer and successive Vice-Chancellors of OAU for sustaining the legacies of the University’s founding fathers.
‘A symbol of commitment and purposeful leadership’
For consistently living the ideals of the Founders of the University for over six decades, Echono said: “The Great Ife has remained a symbol of commitment and purposeful leadership.
“Expectedly, the University has lived to the ideals of its founding fathers as the breeding ground for erudite scholars, legal luminaries, successful businessmen, diplomats, accomplished technocrats and administrators, including its legion of Nigerian National Merit Award inners, who are contributing to national development, and have continued to uphold the reputation of the university.”
In regard to research and innovation, Echono opined that research and innovation remain key drivers of national development
According to him, nations that have achieved sustained economic growth and technological advancement have done so through deliberate investment in knowledge generation, scientific inquiry, and practical innovation.
He explained that in the modern global economy, development does not depend on natural resources, but on the human capacity to create, apply, and commercialise knowledge.
Echono restated: “Research and innovation remain key drivers of national development. “Nations that have achieved sustained economic growth and technological advancement have done so through deliberate investment in knowledge generation, scientific inquiry, and practical innovation.”
TETFund donates N2bn to drive partnership with ‘Great Ife’ legacy
The University revealed that Arc. Echono, in a powerful demonstration of TETFund’s commitment to higher education across Nigeria, announced an initial N2 billion funding commitment to the N10 billion President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Centre of Excellence in Intercultural Dialogue and Youth Empowerment on OAU campus, in Ile-Ife.
The prestigious institution of higher learning affirmed the donation has provided a strong foundation for the eventual launch of the legacy multibillion Naira Centre of Excellence.
The University also noted: “This came with a promise of TETFund’s commitment to continue to partner with the Great Ife legacy.
“For many students in attendance, it was more than an announcement. It was a reminder that great ideas deserve investment.”
Underscoring the strategic importance of translating ideas into real impact in the economy, OAU said: “That innovation deserves support. And that the future belongs to institutions willing to build boldly.”
Besides Echono’s incisive lecture and announcement of TETFund’s initial N2 billion funding commitment to the establishment of the new world-class Centre of Excellence, students of the Department of Communication and Media Studies and the Faculty of Science also presented gifts to him in appreciation of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund Tetfund’s role in facilitating the Communication Department’s building and its commitment to research and innovation over the years.
The University noted that amid the celebration of the OAU @ 65, the particular event in the series of activities reaffirmed a powerful truth that “the future is not merely imagined. It is researched.
“It is funded. It is implemented. It is evaluated. And together, we are building it.”