Nwodo charges ESUT to help grow Nigeria’s economy

From Chidi Nnadi, Enugu

The President General of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, has advised the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) to harness its potentials to help grow the Nigerian economy.

He gave this advice Thursday during the homecoming of the alumni of the Faculty of Management Sciences of the university organised to mark the 32nd anniversary of the faculty. He said ESUT ought to be an example of the Stanford University in California.

“California is the sixth largest economy in the world because it has something like ESUT which is used the way ESUT is not using its own. Stanford University in California developed digital technology and established Silicon Valley in California. Ten years ago, the richest companies in the world were oil companies; today, the richest companies in the world are the Internet companies, it is the goggle, it is the facebook, apple, because the world has changed.

“It is a knowledge driven economy. There is a gentleman called Echeruo, who has made more money for the goggle just by developing an application. This Faculty of Management Sciences ought to be the hub that should change the existence of our economy. They should be an example of the Stanford University,” he said.

Also speaking, the Director of Public Affairs of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Tony Ojobo, who got an award at the ceremony promised to take the request for the digitilation of ESUT back to the management of NCC to know the area they would intervene.

He said that they already have some programmes for tertiary institutions such as the advanced digital awareness programme for tertiary institutions where laptops are provided to the faculties and students to enable them have access to the Internet.

Ojobo said that there was dire need for ICT facilities for education in the university, saying that a lot of schools today are highly digitalised with most of them having smart boards and lectures delivered via the Internet.

Also the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo who received an award at the ceremony said that his bank has been collaborating with ESUT and already has a branch on the Agbani campus.