The Federal Government has launched a major innovation drive aimed at transforming Nigerian universities into engines of industrialisation, technology development, and economic growth with the unveiling of the Mine-Tech UniPod at Nasarawa State University.
This is according to a statement issued by Mrs. Boriowo Folasade, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education.
The high-profile initiative, unveiled on Friday on behalf of Vice President Kashim Shettima by the Minister of Education, Maruf Tunji Alausa, is being hailed as a bold move to reposition Nigeria’s tertiary institutions from “certificate factories” to innovation powerhouses capable of driving industrial competitiveness and wealth creation.
According to the Federal Government, the Mine-Tech UniPod was developed through a strategic collaboration involving the Federal Ministry of Education, United Nations Development Programme, Tertiary Education Trust Fund and the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
Speaking at the unveiling, Alausa described the UniPod as “a transformative intervention” designed to convert Nigerian universities into innovation ecosystems capable of producing entrepreneurs, industrial solutions, and globally competitive talent.
He stressed that Nigeria could no longer afford to depend solely on raw mineral exports, insisting that the nation’s vast mineral wealth must be driven by technology, local processing, and value addition.
“Our mineral resources can only be fully maximised through value addition, local processing, and technology-driven industrialisation,” the minister declared.
The UniPod is expected to serve as a cutting-edge research and innovation hub, equipped with specialised laboratories focusing on mineral intelligence, materials processing, geospatial innovation, and environmentally sustainable mining technologies.
Officials said the facility will integrate artificial intelligence, digital mapping systems, and green mining solutions into industrial problem-solving, positioning Nigeria to compete in the rapidly evolving global mining and technology landscape.
In what observers see as a clear signal of the Federal Government’s industrial ambitions, the administration also reaffirmed plans to replicate similar innovation hubs across the country to strengthen skills development, deepen university-industry partnerships, and accelerate research commercialisation.
The government believes the initiative could unlock a new era where Nigerian universities become direct contributors to economic productivity, job creation, and technological advancement rather than remaining isolated academic institutions.
