BY AKUREGA, IORHEMBA MOSES
The “Town” and the “Gown” refers to the symbiotic interaction between the university and the local people of a city. This interaction is considered symbiotic because of the benefits the “Town” derives from the products of the “Gown” usually the brain child of the dons in the “Gown.” Although developed countries of the west geek of the evidence of these interactions, Nigeria and most other African nations continue to suffer from burrowing poverty, gliding hunger, debilitating diseases, epileptic power supply as well as dearth of social amenities such as good transport systems, functional hospitals, potable water, affordable housing, and well equipped and functional schools.
Conversely, the countries of the west are considered developed because they have been able to overcome these lacks and wants largely because of conscientious researches almost always carried out by the eggheads in their tertiary institutions especially universities. The findings of such studies are applied to the resolution of the identified societal problems. This is why Dr. Otti insists that “what determines a nation’s progress is not its mineral resources, ethnic or tribal affiliation, geographic location but its people’s quality particularly its academics.”
Cutting-edge technological innovations produced by the “gown” have engendered improvements in such vital areas of human existence as: communication; health; education; and commerce. Technology is the main fillip behind the evolution and existence of nano-economics, digital entrepreneurship, B2B and B2C E-commerce industry.
Technology is changing the interactions between the business and the prospects, the consumers are today able to access various tools to estimate prices and find alternatives. This is why Jasmin Ali asserts that customers today use a variety of technological platforms to learn more about services and brands. She further notes that businesses can today service customers via distinctive channels like social media platforms, personal assistants, chat-bots and more, thanks to new genres of communication occasioned by technology.
Technological advances occasioned by researches of the “Gown” has advanced by leaps and bounds and brought about changes in every industry. The Healthcare industry is no exception. Thanks to advanced technology in healthcare, today, patients have access to some of the best and cutting-edge treatments. Also, patients can have access to unlimited minimally-invasive procedures that are less painful and result in better recovery. More significantly, technology has provided the healthcare community with advanced tools to improve patient care. In their study on the impact of health information technology on patient safety, Alotaibi and Federico found that using Electronic Health Records (EHRs), physicians can easily access the complete medical histories of a patient and make an informed decision.
Physicians can even use apps to identify possible medication errors and help a patient’s safety. The world would still be twirling under the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic if university dons had not formed teams like the one at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom to produce vaccines that have been used to fight the virus to a stand still. In an academic discourse, Dr. Mechizedek Onobe and Dr. Desmond Onyemechi Okocha argue that the “Gown” holds the answers to all the challenges of the world if researches are properly deployed to the issues of the “Town.”
However, Dr. Otti is perplexed that with over 200 universities, Nigeria has not started solving her challenges. He quips, if power has become an albatross to us, what solutions have our eggheads proffered? Why have our universities not designed, marketed, and implemented alternative energy sources? Why must we wait for Bill and Melinda Gates to fight malaria? These posers should serve as a wakeup call to our universities to retailor their efforts and researches towards finding lasting solutions to societal challenges as part of their mandate and contributions to national development.
Given the myriad of economic, health and infrastructural challenges facing and threatening our existence, there is a compelling need to rebuild the link between the gown and the town. Indeed, there is an urgent need to bring the gown to the town.
