For decades, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, has produced groundbreaking research across agriculture, medicine, engineering and the social sciences. Yet, like many Nigerian universities, much of that knowledge has remained trapped within academic journals and laboratories, far from the farmers, industries and communities it was meant to serve.
That gap is what the university now says it wants to close.
On Tuesday, the management of ABU announced the constitution of a 12-member committee tasked with developing a blueprint for research commercialisation and knowledge transfer, a move aimed at converting the institution’s research outputs into socially relevant and commercially viable products.
The committee is to be chaired by Professor Mohammed Faguji Ishiyaku, a renowned plant breeder and former Executive Director of the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), whose work in crop development has earned international recognition.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adamu Ahmed, approved the committee, citing the need to institutionalise a framework that promotes structured knowledge transfer, innovation management and market delivery of research outcomes.
While acknowledging ABU’s strong record of research excellence including discoveries, technological breakthroughs and patents, Professor Ahmed admitted that the university’s impact beyond academia has remained limited.
“The translation of these research outcomes into societal relevance, including commercially viable products and services, has been modest,” he said.
From ideas to impact
Under its terms of reference, the committee is expected to conduct a comprehensive review of ABU’s existing research ecosystem, including current policies, intellectual property holdings, patents and technologies with the highest commercial potential.
It will also examine national and international best practices in research commercialisation, technology transfer and innovation management, with a view to adapting workable models to Nigeria’s context.
Beyond policy review, the committee is mandated to design clear pathways and a roadmap for moving research outputs from the university into industry and the wider economy. This includes recommending modalities for industry partnerships, spin-off companies, licensing arrangements and public-private collaborations.
The task also extends to proposing institutional structures such as a dedicated technology transfer office, startup hub or incubation centre to drive implementation beyond paper recommendations.
A broader policy challenge
The move comes amid growing national concern that Nigerian universities generate knowledge without sufficient mechanisms to convert it into economic value or public benefit. Experts have long argued that weak links between academia and industry have contributed to underdevelopment, unemployment and poor innovation uptake.
By setting a four-week deadline for the submission of the committee’s report, the university appears to be signalling urgency, though observers note that implementation, rather than committee work, will ultimately determine success.
Other members of the committee include Professor Baba El-Yakub of the Department of Chemical Engineering; Professor S. A. Apinega of Commercial Law; Professor Muhammad Nasiru Shuaibu of Biochemistry; and Professor M. S. Abubakar of Pharmaceutics and Drug Development.
Also appointed are Professor Joe Azi of Industrial Design; Professor Auwalu Haruna of Finance; Professor M. K. Aliyu of Archaeology; and Professor Hussaina Makun of the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI).
Dr Farouk Mohammed of Pathology and Professor Emmanuel Balogun of Biochemistry are also members, while Mr Sunday Dennis Adeleye of the Centre for Disaster Risk Management will serve as Secretary.
As Nigerian universities face increasing pressure to justify public funding through measurable impact, ABU’s initiative may serve as a test case for whether research institutions can move beyond knowledge creation to knowledge utilisation and whether policy intentions can translate into real-world change.
