Nwifuru and Ebonyi State development: A pact made with Tripple Helix

It was Henry Etzkowitz and Loet Leydesdorff who, in 1995, espoused what would become the gold standard for understanding the relationship among academia, governance, and enterprise. In what has become known as the Tripple Helix Model, the authors enjoins key actors to recognise that impactful innovation can only emerge from the interaction and flow of knowledge from knowledge-generating institutions, businesses, and Governments.

Francis Ogbonnaya Nwifuru, the executive governor of Ebonyi State, has emerged not just as one of the students of the Tripple Helox Model, but also as an ardent practitioner of the model. A close observation of Governor Nwifuru’s development-driven governance style in Ebonyi State indicates that he understands that the ability of a leader to crossover from fantasising on idealistic programmes to implementing realistic sustainable programmes and projects is the most critical factor in validating the capacity of the leader.

Having realised that the academia, which includes the universities, research institutions, and other educational bodies involved in knowledge creation and dissemination, plays a fundamental role in generating new knowledge through research, experiments, and intellectual development, Governor Nwifuru appears to have declared a state of emergency in the educational sphere of the state.

Consequently, it did not come as a surprise to people who know Governor Nwifuru as one who has sworn to make governance work for Ebonyi people when he formulated the Ebony State Foreign Scholarship Programme. However, this programme surprisingly came as a surprise to those who are used to only the ‘brick and mortar’ philosophy of governance. This set of people does not understand that sustainable development of any people can only come with effective development of human capital. Hence, when Governor Nwifuru awarded foreign scholarships to 204 Ebonyi men and women to study various impact-oriented courses in various universities across the world, these people interpreted this move as a waste of resources; they do not realise that this is a step towards building resources for the human capital needs of Ebonyi State in the immediate and intermediate future.

But they will have their epiphany! And their epiphany will come to them in the next year when those 204 Ebonyi men and women return back with skills, technology, and cutting-edge knowledge in engineering, ICT, medical, and physical sciences for utilisation in our universities. By then, these 204 Ebonyi men and women will come to Ebonyi to transform the scientific discoveries and technological advancements they garnered in the various knowledge citadels into innovative products, services, and processes for Ebonyi State.

And given that Governor Nwifuru has gone ahead to prepare for the collaboration with the government, this knowledge transformation will spur the rapid industrialisation of Ebonyi State and imbue it with a significant competitive edge as various entrepreneurs leverage the cutting-edge research and expertise to disrupt markets in several sectors. Just imagine the immediate and remote impact on their families, the society, the state, and the country at large! Also, the 600 scholarship beneficiaries for various postgraduate programmes across many Nigerian universities will have a similar impact.

Having realised the sustainable impact of the various scholarship programmes, Governor Nwifuru has refused to be distracted by the nay-sayers and critics of parochial bent. Thus, he has also resolved to complete the ICT University in Oferekpe, the University of Aero Engineering in Onueke, and the academic institutions in other places that will absorb the beneficiaries of the huge investment in human capital.

Governor Nwifuru is building Ebonyi State to become a hub for skills, knowledge, and technology import and export. This is the Triple Helix Model in action—government facilitating practical education with industrial opportunities. He is intent on shaping the innovation ecosystem in Ebonyi State by formulating science and technology policies, funding research projects, and creating supportive environments for collaboration.

Besides empowering thousands of Ebonyians with grants to set up small and medium enterprises in recognition of enterprise development, the third pillar of the Triple Helix Model, Nwifuru has cleared the backlog of several unpaid pensions to retirees. Many Ebonyi retirees received millions of naira as part of their unpaid benefits since 1996. Governor Nwifuru did this to empower them to establish private businesses; the governor was clear on this.

The truism of the trite saying that health is wealth is also not lost on Governor Nwifuru. As such, the governor has equipped the Ebonyi health sector to ensure that an Ebonyian will always have a sound mind in a sound body. With so much achievement made by Governor Nwifuru in less than two years, every Ebonyi man should rest assured that finally, A DANIEL HAS COME TO JUDGEMENT.

Awuregu is a social, economic and political analyst. He writes from Abuja.