Today, a powerful story unfolded at the University of Ibadan. The commissioning of the Innovation Lab for Policy Leadership in Agriculture and Food Security (PiLAF) building wasn’t just the unveiling of brick and mortar, it was the unveiling of a bold vision for Nigeria’s agricultural future.
Representing the Vice Chancellor, Professor Kayode Adebowale, Professor Ayodele Jegede called PiLAF a strategic intervention that aligns perfectly with the university’s mission to drive national development through research, innovation, and knowledge. He described the project as one that will not only advance academic excellence but also deliver real-world impact by shaping agricultural policies that respond to the realities of farmers, processors, and food systems in Nigeria. He ascertained that this building must become a nerve center of policy ideas and action that will drive the country closer to sustainable food security.
Commitment to collaboration and impact echoed through the words of Engineer Dialo, who represented Dr. Adebowale Akande, the Executive Adviser to the Governor of Oyo State on Agribusiness and a Director at IITA. He affirmed IITA’s readiness to work side by side with PiLAF, stressing that food security cannot be achieved in silos. It takes partnership. It takes a shared vision. It takes spaces like PiLAF to bring it all together.
Professor Adeola Adenikinju, Principal Investigator of PiLAF, shared the heartbeat behind the project. He spoke of PiLAF as more than an initiative, it is a platform where researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders converge to craft evidence-based solutions to one of Nigeria’s most pressing problems: access to affordable, safe, and sufficient food. He emphasized that this is not policy for policy’s sake, it’s research that reaches the people, data that drives change, and leadership that lasts.
Professor Olusanya Olubusoye, a senior advisor to the project and a symbol of academic excellence, described PiLAF as a legacy in the making, a space built not just for now, but for the generations to come. A space where ideas will grow, leaders will emerge, and Nigeria’s food systems will be transformed from the inside out.
Today wasn’t just about speeches or ceremonies. It was about the future we are building together. A future where research is not shelved, but shared. Where agriculture is not left behind, but lifted up. Where policies are not imported, but informed by the people and for the people.
As the ribbon was cut and the doors of PiLAF swung open, what stood before us was more than a structure. It was a signal. A call to action. A promise that from this space, solutions will rise, solutions rooted in knowledge, grown through collaboration, and harvested for the good of every Nigerian.
We are PiLAF. We are building policy with purpose. We are working toward a food-secure future, and today, that future just came one step closer.