The Senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has charged Nigerian universities to devise ways of accessing the performance of their graduates in order to ascertain their contributions to the society.

Abe gave the charge while speaking after receiving the ‘Pillar of Education Award’ at the 30th Annual Convention and International Conference of the Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists (SONTA), held at the University of Port Harcourt.

The senator said there is the need for universities to go back into the society to look at the value their products are adding to the society and also identify those that are not useful to the society.

He said: “Our universities must be very careful not to turn into isolated ivory towers that are totally disconnected from the societies that they serve, today the universities need to go back into its society to look at what the society is making of their products, which of the products are these universities making that are actually useful to the Nigerian community. What is the value that these products are adding to our societies as they come in.

“We have millions of unemployed graduates who have been trained in our society, that is not a sign that something is wrong with the graduates, it is a sign that something is wrong with our university system that keeps bringing out people who are not adding value and contributing to the society.”

Abe, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on FERMA, urged the universities to expand the scope of training in Theatre Arts and Entertainment because it opens up limitless opportunities for youths in the country.

The senator said: “The society like any other manufacturer should be able to go back to look at those who are using your goods, the quality of goods that you are providing and the value that those are adding to our society.

“I believe that if we do that we will find out that theatre, entertainment and the like, is one of the things that are actually making waves in our society and we will then concentrate more in improving the quality of those graduates that are actually adding value.”

Dignitaries at the event included Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information; Professor Ndowa Lale, Vice Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt; Professor Ozo-Mekuri, Vice Chancellor, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education; Professor Charity Angya, Former Vice Chancellor, Benue State University, Makurdi; Professor Femi Shaaka; and Dr. J. E. Yesiebo, among others.

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