UNILORIN ‘ll pursue invention marketing vigorously-Saka
By Abubakar Imam
The Director of the Laboratory to Product Centre (LABTOP), University of Ilorin, Prof. Mohammed Jimoh Saka, has assured stakeholders of the readiness of the University to ensure that inventions emanating from the institution are given aggressive publicity for the benefit of their initiators and humanity at large.
Prof. Saka gave this assurance last Tuesday (February 17, 2026) while speaking at a workshop, organised by the Centre, themed “From Lab to Industry: Using Digital Media to Promote Research Products for Commercialisation.”
The Director, who teaches at the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, said that the University would go all out to use various media channels and other means of mass communication to ensure that relevant stakeholders within and outside Nigeria get to know of such inventions to accelerate human development.
He explained that while the Centre would continue to encourage researchers to ensure the commercialisability of their inventions, adding that both the conventional and social media platforms operating within and outside the University would be massively explored to assure maximum publicity for such products.
Prof. Saka assured all that no inventions would be allowed to gather dust on the shelf as he said that the industry would be promptly notified to ensure the much needed collaborations.
He added that the Centre has reached out to all the Departments and Units across the University on the need to be promptly informed of their inventions either recorded by individual staff members and students or by a group of such.
Prof. Saka, therefore, sought the support of the management and staff of UNILORIN Bulletin, the UNILORIN 89.3 FM, the UNILORIN TV and the UNILORIN Social Media platforms on the tasks ahead.
In his contributions, the Manager of the UNILORIN Social Media, Mr Lukman Temitope Omoniyi, commended the Centre for coming up with the workshop, which he described as not only apt but also timely.
Mr Omoniyi, whose efforts earned the University an award from the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) last year, urged the Centre to always identify commercialisable innovations.
He also urged researchers to embrace digital tools for the proper documentation and projection of their inventions.
A major highlight of the programme was the display of an invention by a distinguished alumnus of the University and a member of the pioneer set of graduates of the Department of Geophysics, Mr AbdulGafar Tosin Jimoh, to the delight of participants.
The event was attended by the Head of the Department of Geophysics, Prof. Saminu Olatunji; the Deputy Director of LABTOP, Dr AbdulRazaq Daibu and another Deputy Director of the Centre, Dr Omolayo Olarinoye; a youth corps member attached to the Centre, Mr Chinenye Okeke, as well as students from various Departments of the University.
