Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development, Prof. Anthony Kila, has challenged the promoters of the proposed University of Mbaise to build an institution that produces problem-solvers, innovators and responsible citizens, rather than simply awarding academic degrees.
Kila, who is also the Director of the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies, made the call while delivering a keynote address at a colloquium organised by the Mbaise Peoples Congress.
The colloquium, themed “Education as the Bedrock of Development of a People, Society and a Nation: The Case of the University of Mbaise,” focused on the role the proposed institution could play in the long-term development of Mbaise and Nigeria.
Kila noted that the idea of establishing the University of Mbaise had moved beyond discussions to actual implementation, following the groundbreaking ceremony held on January 3, 2025, at Ife-Ezinihitte, Imo State.
He described the transition from talking about development to taking responsibility for it as an important milestone for the Mbaise people.
“For years, communities have gathered to complain about what government has not done. But development begins when a people stop asking only, ‘Who will do something for us?’ and begin to ask, ‘What are we prepared to do for ourselves?’ That is the transition,” he said.
The professor, however, warned that the university would amount to little more than a real estate project if its focus was limited to buildings, lecture halls and certificates.
“A university is not a collection of lecture halls. If all we build is a collection of lecture halls, we have built real estate. A university begins when we build minds,” he said.
Education beyond certificates
Kila argued that education must not be reduced to the ability to pass examinations or obtain certificates.
According to him, while a certificate confirms that someone passed through an institution, genuine education should demonstrate that the individual acquired better judgment, useful skills, curiosity, discipline and the capacity to solve problems.
He stressed that the word “as” in the theme of the colloquium was particularly significant because education must serve as the foundation for agriculture, industry, technology, healthcare, finance and governance.
“If we educate people and they have nowhere to apply what they know, we have produced frustration. If we build industries without educating the people who will run them, we have produced dependence,” he said.
Kila therefore challenged the proposed university to go beyond asking what courses it could offer.
“A university must not simply ask: ‘What courses can we teach?’ A university must ask: ‘What problems can our graduates solve?’”
He likened education to the foundation of a building, noting that although a foundation may not attract attention when a structure is sound, its weaknesses eventually become visible.
He said the quality of education might not immediately be reflected in economic statistics, but would become evident over time through the quality of doctors, teachers, engineers and, most importantly, citizens produced by the society.
Development is about becoming better
Kila also urged Nigerians to rethink their understanding of development, arguing that development should not be measured simply by the accumulation of wealth, institutions or political positions.
“Development is not merely having more. Development is becoming better,” he said.
He noted that having more universities without meaningful learning, more graduates without jobs, or more political appointments without improved public services should not automatically be regarded as development.
Rather, he defined development as increasing the ability of people and institutions to create value, solve problems and improve human welfare.
He said the ultimate test should be whether a child born in Mbaise today has greater opportunities and possibilities than one born there two decades ago.
Harnessing Mbaise’s human capital
Speaking on the Mbaise community, Kila observed that the people already possess substantial human capital spread across business, medicine, academia, technology and other fields around the world.
The challenge, he said, was to organise and convert individual achievements into institutional strength.
“The question is no longer whether Mbaise has intelligent people. We have enough evidence to settle that argument. The question is: Can we organise our intelligence? Can we convert individual success into institutional success?” he asked.
He described the Mbaise diaspora as an extension of the community’s intellectual capital and urged the university to serve as a bridge between Mbaise at home and Mbaise people around the world.
He also called for the institution to remain closely connected to its host community, describing it as both a “mirror” that understands its society and a “window” through which the community can engage with the wider world.
Five pillars for the University of Mbaise
Kila identified five principles which, he said, should guide the development of the proposed university.
First, excellence. He urged the founders not to establish the institution merely because Mbaise deserved to have a university, but to build one that could compete among the best on the continent.
Second, problem-solving. He said graduates should not be trained only to seek employment but also to create businesses, jobs and solutions.
Third, technological intelligence. While acknowledging the growing influence of artificial intelligence, he said education must continue to teach people how to think critically and determine whether information generated by machines is useful or accurate.
Fourth, community engagement. He proposed that the university establish laboratories and research programmes focused on real challenges confronting society, including agriculture, water, energy and healthcare.
Fifth, character. Kila stressed that academic intelligence without integrity could be dangerous.
“An intelligent thief is still a thief. A brilliant corrupt official is still corrupt,” he said, arguing that the university must produce people who are knowledgeable, useful, responsible and ethical.
Beyond the university
The don also called for the development of a broader educational ecosystem around the university, covering primary and secondary education, teacher development, vocational training, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning.
He explained that the success of the University of Mbaise would depend partly on the quality of students entering it and, therefore, the entire educational system feeding into the institution must be strengthened.
Kila further urged Mbaise to approach the university as a generational investment rather than a project designed to deliver immediate returns.
“When you build a university, you are making an investment in people you may never meet,” he said.
He suggested that the institution’s success should be measured over decades by the number of companies created by its graduates, jobs generated, patents developed, farmers assisted through research and, ultimately, the number of people whose lives and character were positively transformed.
“The university is a responsibility”
Concluding his address, Kila cautioned against treating the University of Mbaise as a symbol of prestige.
“The University of Mbaise should not be built merely because every respectable community wants to say, ‘We have a university.’ A university is not a trophy. It is a responsibility,” he said.
He emphasised the enduring value of education, noting that wealth and property could be lost or transferred, but a quality education equips individuals with the capacity to recreate opportunities and build new sources of wealth.
For Kila, that is the real meaning of education as the bedrock of development—and the standard by which the University of Mbaise should be judged.
