EKSU Chancellor Hails Ekiti's Technical Colleges, Urges Broader Investment

Dr. Tunji Olowolafe, Chancellor of Ekiti State University (EKSU), has praised the Ekiti State Government for setting up six technical colleges throughout the state. He described the move as a crucial base for giving young people hands-on skills needed in the future economy. His remarks came as Governor Biodun Oyebanji stated that Ekiti should stop spending too much time examining its possibilities and instead turn its potential into real prosperity. According to the governor, innovation, productivity and technology must play bigger parts in the state's progress. Oyebanji gave the keynote address at the Ekiti at 30 Future Summit, where he said the state needed fresh approaches to knowledge, enterprise and development as it prepared for its next stage of growth. He called the Ekiti Knowledge Zone a key project that could remove international obstacles in knowledge, technology and business, helping the state take a more active role in the global economy. Olowolafe, who presented the lead paper at the summit, also thanked previous governors, leaders and other stakeholders for what they had contributed to Ekiti's development over the last 30 years. He noted in particular the notable advances made in education. In his paper, titled The Path to Ekiti's Greatness: Opportunities, Choices, and Imperatives for the Next 30 Years, the Are-Ekiti-born academic said the state's solid education base gave it a major edge. That edge, he said, could be turned into practical skills, business activity, jobs and lasting wealth creation. Olowolafe, a medical doctor turned industrialist, said the six technical colleges would need to grow and be reinforced to satisfy rising demand for technical education among young people in all 16 local government areas. He urged updates to their curricula, more spending on equipment and infrastructure, and stronger human-capacity development so the colleges could keep pace with the modern economy. He named solar installation, welding, fabrication, machinery repair, food processing and other high-value technical trades as fields that could give young people practical skills for sustainable livelihoods. He also backed bringing in master vocational instructors from nations with advanced technical education systems to boost teachers' capacity and introduce students to international standards. He said that capacity must be broadened by updating the curriculum and recruiting master vocational instructors directly from countries with leading technical education systems, including Switzerland, Germany, Canada and South Africa, to train faculty and link colleges digitally with clients and employers around the world. The Pro-Chancellor of Miva Open University also promised to work with the state government to create upgraded, modern, solar-powered ICT centres in the six government technical colleges and to support the entry of foreign expertise into vocational training. He further suggested partnerships with international mining schools to turn EKSU's Geology Department into a world-class institution within five years. On artificial intelligence, renewable energy and the Ekiti Knowledge Zone, Olowolafe said Ekiti's education advantage had to be matched by an ability to use emerging technologies. He pointed to artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, automation and new energy systems as areas that would increasingly influence the global economy. He cited the Ekiti Knowledge Zone as a major technology-driven effort that could link young people and technology businesses in the state to global market opportunities. The entrepreneur said the project, conceived under former Governor Kayode Fayemi and being carried out by Governor Biodun Oyebanji, could allow young people to run technology-based businesses from Ekiti while serving clients in Nigeria and overseas. He said the Ekiti Knowledge Zone is now under way. He explained that once completed, it would give young people room to build technology ventures without leaving Ekiti, serve clients in Lagos, London and Singapore, and bring income back home. In his view, that is how education becomes wealth. Olowolafe, a healthcare investor, also argued that reliable energy was a vital enabler of education, healthcare, small businesses and industrial development. He proposed building renewable-energy-powered microgrids in all 177 wards of the state, saying such infrastructure could supply electricity to schools, health centres, workshops and small businesses while sparking local economic activity. He said working with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) could help speed up the plan. He also urged scientists and skilled artisans to create solar-powered cocoa-drying equipment to modernise and speed up cocoa processing, which he called a significant chance for wealth creation and foreign exchange earnings. On continuity, infrastructure and wealth creation, Olowolafe described the Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport as proof of the gains from successive administrations maintaining a consistent vision. He stressed that good road networks would be needed to complement that infrastructure and hasten the state's industrial development. He called for stronger engagement between government and citizens in identifying and tackling local development needs, pointing to the Gbemisola Olowolafe Memorial Community Secondary School in Are-Ekiti as an example of what effective stakeholder involvement can achieve. He said the goal was to make the school a world-class institution able to accommodate 600 students and offer education grounded in science, technology, languages, arts and sports. The Chairman of the Tunji Olowolafe Foundation added that the GOMTECH ICT centre next to the school was already offering training in artificial intelligence, coding, graphic design and Mandarin. The EKSU Chancellor also noted some of the university's digital programmes since his appointment in 2024, including Project Digi-Teach EKSU, which aims to equip all 650 lecturers with digital teaching competencies. He said the same approach guides work at Ekiti State University, where he was appointed Chancellor in 2024. Through Project Digi-Teach EKSU, he said, all 650 lecturers are being brought to full digital teaching proficiency, and the Trading Room has grown into a Senate-approved diploma program focused on financial markets. He added that high-speed Starlink internet had been installed at 12 locations across the campus.