⬆️Professor Umaru Pate.
Professor Umaru Pate, Bayero University scholar delivers lead paper at MLA conference, shares insights on grantmanship, curriculum reform and the future of journalism education.
There are academic encounters that go beyond the formalities of conferences, lectures and institutional visits. They leave behind ideas to reflect upon, lessons to internalise and memories to cherish. Professor Umaru Pate’s recent visit to Fountain University, Osogbo, was certainly one such encounter.
Fountain University had the rare privilege of hosting the distinguished journalism scholar, former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Kashere, and current Director of the Centre for Journalism and New Media Studies at Bayero University, Kano (BUK), during the 3rd National Research Conference of the Muslim Lecturers Association (MLA), Nigeria, held from October 26 to 29, 2026. Professor Pate was a lead paper presenter at the conference.
My personal connection with Professor Pate predates this visit. Over the years, I had known him largely by proxy through his close association with my late PhD supervisor, Professor Lai Oso. That shared academic connection would eventually bring us into direct engagement when Professor Pate served as my external examiner during my PhD defence, further cementing his place in my academic journey. His visit to Fountain University therefore held a personal significance beyond the excitement of hosting a distinguished scholar.
His conference presentation, subsequent departmental visit, and interaction with students offered different but complementary windows into the depth of his scholarship, the breadth of his experience and his enduring commitment to the development of journalism and higher education in Nigeria.
Delivering his lead paper, titled “Bridging Knowledge, Innovation and Human Values for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in Africa,” Professor Pate challenged scholars to rethink the place and purpose of research in society. His central argument was both compelling and instructive: knowledge must not end on the pages of academic journals or gather dust in institutional repositories; it must find expression in solutions that make a tangible difference to human lives.
Drawing attention to Africa’s enormous potential alongside persistent challenges of poverty, weak infrastructure, insecurity, unemployment and climate change, he stressed the need to channel the continent’s intellectual and human resources towards addressing identifiable societal problems.
For Professor Pate, generating ideas is only the beginning. The journey from an idea to a meaningful innovation requires an enabling environment, adequate funding, rigorous testing, evaluation, adaptation to local conditions and, crucially, viable industries capable of transforming promising ideas into usable products and services. Without these supporting structures, even brilliant ideas risk remaining just ideas, never progressing into practical solutions.
He therefore called on universities to establish clear research priorities, strengthen research infrastructure and build purposeful partnerships with government, industry and communities. Scholars, he advised, must also look beyond government funding, develop research proposals that match their capabilities, manage resources judiciously and remain accountable to their institutions and funding partners.
Perhaps one of the most illuminating aspects of his presentation was his account of the practical dividends of grantmanship. Drawing from his own experience, Professor Pate demonstrated that research grants, when strategically pursued and responsibly managed, can transcend individual research projects to transform institutions and influence national educational policies.
He recounted how donor-funded initiatives facilitated the acquisition of world-class broadcast equipment for students’ training at BUK’s Faculty of Media and Communication Studies. He also shared his experience with a grant-supported initiative that contributed to the unbundling of Mass Communication programmes in Nigerian universities, an approach subsequently adopted by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and extended to other programmes and specialisations within the Nigerian university curriculum.
These examples brought his argument to life. They demonstrated that grantmanship is not simply about securing funds; it is about identifying opportunities, building the capacity to deliver, and translating financial support into enduring institutional value.
Yet, for all the possibilities that research and innovation offer, Professor Pate was emphatic that human values must remain their compass. He cautioned against compromising research integrity, stressing the need for honesty in data collection, analysis and reporting, respect for ethical procedures and sensitivity to the potential harm that research and technological innovations could inflict.
His message was clear: innovation must serve humanity, and the pursuit of knowledge must ultimately be measured by its contribution to the quality of human life. Research, he reminded his audience, is as much about the integrity of the process as it is about the value of the eventual outcome.
Beyond the conference auditorium, Professor Pate made time to visit the Department of Mass Communication, where he featured in a discussion programme on the university’s campus radio station. The conversation offered an opportunity to draw on his extensive experience to reflect on the changing media landscape, journalism scholarship and the future of journalism education in Nigeria.
He was particularly emphatic about the need to produce well-grounded graduates who are prepared not just for the media industry of today but for the realities of tomorrow. Technical competence and professional skills, he argued, are not enough. Journalists must possess a deep understanding of their immediate environment, Nigeria, Africa and the wider world. Such intellectual grounding is essential for journalists to interpret events, interrogate issues and provide the context necessary for meaningful public understanding.
His advice extended equally to those entrusted with preparing the next generation of media professionals. Journalism and Mass Communication educators, he stressed, must not become detached from the industry they teach. They need regular exposure to developments in media technologies, newsroom practices and emerging forms of content production and distribution. Equally important is a broad understanding of national and international affairs, which enriches classroom discussions and enables lecturers to connect theory with the realities of professional practice.
He also offered a particularly relevant observation for Fountain University. Recognising the university’s distinctive Islamic educational identity, he encouraged the Department to consider additional courses that would contextualise media training within the institution’s Islamic educational philosophy. He stressed the importance of equipping students with a sound understanding of the diversity of Islamic traditions and perspectives in Nigeria and their intersections with the country’s social and media landscape.
Such contextual knowledge, he suggested, would better prepare graduates to engage religious issues with the requisite depth, sensitivity and professional competence, especially in a media environment where religion, identity and public discourse frequently intersect.
Perhaps the most heart-warming part of the departmental visit was Professor Pate’s interaction with the students. Their enthusiasm was palpable as they eagerly introduced themselves, shared their aspirations and engaged him in conversation. What could easily have been a brief courtesy visit became a memorable opportunity for intellectual exchange.
It was particularly gratifying to watch the professor indulge their questions and requests for his contact details, which he willingly shared. Beyond the photographs and excitement of meeting a celebrated scholar, the students had an opportunity to experience something equally valuable: the accessibility of a senior academic who was willing to listen, engage and encourage the next generation.
Looking back, the visit was a reminder that the influence of scholarship is not confined to published works, conference presentations or institutional titles. It also resides in the conversations it inspires, the young minds it nurtures and the possibilities it opens for others.
Professor Pate’s visit brought together several important conversations about the future of higher education: how to make research relevant, how to turn innovation into practical solutions, how to secure and deploy research funding responsibly, and how to prepare graduates for a world undergoing profound technological and social changes.
For Fountain University, it was an opportunity to engage with a wealth of experience in journalism, communication scholarship and university administration. For the Department of Mass Communication, it was an especially valuable encounter with a scholar whose career offers lessons in academic excellence, institutional development and professional relevance.
And for those of us whose academic paths have, in one way or another, intersected with his, it was a pleasure to welcome him not merely as a distinguished conference presenter but as a colleague and mentor whose contributions to journalism and communication scholarship continue to resonate.
Some visits are recorded in institutional calendars; others leave an imprint on institutional memory. Professor Pate’s visit to Fountain University deserves to be remembered for both.
*Raheemat Adeniran is a Professor of Journalism and Communication Studies and leads the Research News Initiative at Fountain University