Idara Jerome, Uyo
The South-South Development Commission (SSDC) is seeking to reposition universities in the region from institutions largely associated with academic instruction into active laboratories for solving the South-South’s development problems.
The move emerged Monday, at a strategic meeting between the Commission and Vice-Chancellors of federal universities in the region at the University of Uyo, where the need to connect academic research directly to government development programmes took centre stage.
The University of Uyo Vice-Chancellor, Professor Christopher Nyong Ekong, said the region could not afford to underutilise its intellectual resources.
Ekong called for stronger funding of research, centres of excellence, scholarships and skills-development programmes, particularly in areas linked to challenges peculiar to the South-South.
He stressed that educational investments should produce expertise capable of returning to communities to solve local problems rather than remaining confined to academic institutions.
The SSDC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Usoro Akpabio, reinforced the position, declaring that universities should be “among the first places we look for solutions, not the last places we have to visit for consultation.” She said the Commission intended to tap the knowledge, facilities and expertise available in the universities as part of its regional development strategy.
The forum therefore shifted attention towards practical areas of collaboration, including research, innovation, enterprise development, skills acquisition and youth empowerment. University representatives used the engagement to showcase their institutional strengths, research capacities and facilities that could be deployed to support the Commission’s programmes across the region.
The meeting, held at the Council Chambers of the University of Uyo on Friday, September 11, 2026, ended with a commitment to build a structured partnership between the SSDC and the universities.
The engagement was followed by an inspection of projects and facilities at the university’s Permanent Site, underscoring the Commission’s interest in moving the proposed collaboration from discussions to practical development interventions.
