Date: 2018-11-01

FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestLinkedInWhatsApp Vice Chancellor of Kwara State University (KWASU) Prof Abdulrashed Na'Allah has blamed Nigerian universities for the country's stunted growth.

Prof Na'Allah said this in Malete, Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State when he declared open a seminar on the engagement of political parties in the state.

The seminar was organised by the Faculties of Humanities, Management and Social Sciences.

Governorship candidates of Labour Party, Comrade Issa Aremu, National Rescue Movement (NRM), Dr Kehinde Popoola and United Nigerian Democratic Party (UNDP) Prince Sunday Soladoye attended the seminar.

All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq was represented by Abdullateef Alakawa.

The professor of Comparative Literature said: "I can boldly say that our universities have failed this nation because we are not bringing up ideas to the politicians.

"We should study the realities of this country and put proposals on the table from ideological point of view to the politicians. Task all political parties on what we can do to make our community develop.

"Nigerian universities, wake up and provide leadership for this country. All we do is to blame politicians as if they should be responsible for everything.

"Today we have Boko Haram crisis. Did the university community predict this? Did we predict the farmers-herdsmen crisis that we have today? Did we study and present ideas to the nation on how some of the challenges can be overcome?"

Na'Allah said the seminar would hold regularly henceforth as part of the institution's contribution to national development.

"This is a programme that is startling off this year and by the grace of God it will remain part and parcel of the institution. "This university is determined to be centre of our democracy starting from our community here. There is no reason for the existence of the academics but to be the engineer of democratic development. We are not satisfied with our current political development because this is not the dream of our founding fathers. They had greater vision for this nation. They had greater expectations. In 1960 when Nigeria gained independence there was excitement all over the regions of the country. Everybody saw Nigeria as a nation that will be second to none in Africa – a nation with abundant resources. That time the goal was to be the nation of the world.

"Now look at the Nigeria where we are today, you see we are far behind. Nigeria needs to fly to catch up with the rest of the world.

"This nation must work. But you cannot catch up if all we do is to chat and war war without being proactive."