From Amedu Joseph, Lokoja
Professor Emmanuel Olufemi Ekundayo of the Federal University, Lokoja, has admonished Nigeria and other African countries to embrace biotechnology as it offers opportunities for economic diversification and sustainable development.
Professor Ekundayo made the call while delivering the 34th Inaugural lecture series of the University at its Adankolo Campus in Lokoja.
According to Professor Ekundayo “With rich biodiversity, a growing youth population, and increasing demand for food and healthcare, the continent has the potential to build bio-based industries that create jobs and reduce import dependency”
A Professor of Biotechnology in his lecture titled: Biotechnology: The Science, The Products, And The Business: Harnessing Indigenous Bioresources For National Bioeconomy, affirmed that Key opportunities lay in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, agricultural biotechnology for climate-smart farming, and bio-based enterprises that convert local biomass into fuels, fertilizers, and specialty chemicals.
“Developing a successful biotechnology business sector in Africa will require strategic investment in capacity building, supportive policy environments, technology transfer, and partnerships between academia, government, and industry. Local entrepreneurship, when supported by incubators, venture capital, and regulatory clarity, can position biotechnology asa driver of innovation-led economic growth.
“Biotechnology as a business is the bridge between laboratory discovery and societal impact. It encompasses not only the commercialization of products but also the creation of economic value, jobs, and industries. While the global North has made biotechnology a cornerstone of its knowledge economy, Africa and Nigeria in particular must now rise to the challenge of embedding biotechnology into national development strategies.
“Harnessing this potential requires not only science but also business acumen, policy innovation, and investment in the bioeconomy. Entrepreneurship in biotechnology holds vast potential to transform economies and societies by addressing pressing global challenges in health, agriculture, and sustainability. While challenges remain particularly in developing regions supportive ecosystems, access to capital, and the harnessing of local resources such as Africa’s biodiversity can enable biotechnology entrepreneurs to create impactful solutions. Ultimately, biotechnology entrepreneurship is not merely about starting businesses , it is about translating science into innovation that bridges the gap between discovery and societal needs”
He noted that despite progress, biotechnology development in Nigeria and Africa faces substantial challenges such as inadequate infrastructure for advanced molecular biology and bioinformatics research, limited funding and weak links between research, industry, and commercialization, insufficient human capital development, with many skilled professionals emigrating, weak regulatory frameworks and limited public awareness of biotechnology products, and dependence on imported reagents, equipment, and technologies, which hinder sustainability.
To transform biodiversity into biotechnology for solutions, Africa must:
“Invest in homegrown research and innovation. Governments and private sector actors must fund research based on local priorities.
“Educate and train Biotech leaders: Strengthen tertiary education, research mentorship, and global exposure.
“Promote collaboration and knowledge sharing: Regional partnerships (e.g., AUDA-NEPAD, African CDC) should support crossborder biotech platforms.
“Protect and Regulate biological resources: Implement the Nagoya
Protocol, safeguard intellectual property, and establish benefit-sharing mechanisms.
“Bridge Science, Policy, and the Public: Scientists must become advocates explaining and contextualizing their work for communities, policymakers, and young minds”
Professor Ekundayo commended the remarkable Strides that the Federal University Lokoja has made in introducing the Undergraduate Programme in Biotechnology and for the unwavering support the Department has received from the Vice-Chancellor and the University Management.
“We have sown a viable seed, one with the potential to grow into a world-class centre for innovation and product development.
“The business of biotechnology is about transforming lives, industries, and nations. For Africa and Nigeria in particular, biotechnology offers a pathway to diversify economies, strengthen health systems, improve agricultural productivity, and enter the global knowledge economy. To achieve this, we must commit to deliberate investment, enabling policies, and visionary leadership that can turn science into sustainable business, and business into societal progress”
In his welcome address, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Lokoja, Professor Olayemi Akinwumi disclosed that the inaugural lecture series provides an opportunity for the audience to gain insights into the lecturer’s field of study, their contributions to knowledge, and how such work impacts society.
“At Federal University Lokoja, we consider the Inaugural Lecture series as one of the important avenues through which we project the intellectual wealth of our staff to the nation and the world.
“It is also a means of boosting research activities within our university; stimulating collaboration, innovation, and creativity.
“Through this platform, we have continued to strengthen our reputation as a growing centre of academic excellence and a contributor to national development.
“This lecture marks a historic moment for the Department of Biotechnology, as Professor Ekundayo becomes the first academic from the department to deliver an Inaugural Lecture. In doing so, he is opening the door for others to follow, thereby setting a worthy precedent for his colleagues and younger academics in the discipline.
“On behalf of the Management, Senate, and the entire University community, I wish to heartily congratulate Professor Emmanuel Olufemi Ekundayo for this bold step; a step that marks the fulfillment of an important and mandatory academic obligation”
