…Gives the institute six months within which to demonstrate measurable improvement
By Saidu Abubakar
The Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Prof Adamu Ahmed, on Monday came hard on the National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) for performing below expectation.
Prof Ahmed explained that NAPRI performance in recent years had fallen far below expectation in research output, innovation, and national relevance.
Public Affairs Directorate, Office of the Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (AHW) said in a statement that Ahmed was speaking on Monday, 13th October, 2025 when he addressed staff and management of NAPRI while inaugurating a committee raised to overhaul the place.
He described the decline as unacceptable, as it was both an institutional embarrassment and a national disservice.
The Vice-Chancellor read a riot act to the management and staff of the institute by placing them on six months notice within which to demonstrate measurable improvement in performance, productivity, and institutional reputation.
He said the university expected within this period to see visible changes in research activities, staff engagement, linkages with government and industry, and income generation.
“We have taken decision to declare a state of emergency on NAPRI because the situation in the institute can no longer be ignored or tolerated. This decision is not driven by sentiment but by necessity”, he stressed.
He also said the institute was one of the most strategic and historic institutions within the Ahmadu Bello University system, and indeed within the agricultural research landscape of Nigeria.
Prof Ahmed further stressed that NAPRI was too strategic to fail as it occupied a central position in Nigeria’s food security and livestock development agenda.
He said with the creation of the Festival Ministry of Livestock Development and the launch of the National Livestock Reform Programme, NAPRI should be naturally at the forefront.
According to him, it should be at the forefront in generating research breakthroughs, producing new technologies, supporting national policies, and training experts to drive sustainable livestock productivity.
“Instead, what we see today is inertia and poor internal coordination. The institute’s facilities are underutilised, and its visibility almost erased from the map of national relevance”, he highlighted.
He warned that NAPRI must either rise to reclaim its place as a national leader in livestock research and innovation, or risk being restructured entirely, the statement added.
“Time is running out. The nation is watching. The university is watching. And history will not forgive us if we allow this once-proud institute to continue to decline under our leadership”, Prof Ahmed declared.
The seven-member committee inaugurated to strategically reform the animal research institute is being chaired by Prof JKP Kwaga of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
The committee was charged to examine the root causes of the institute’s poor performance, identify factors responsible for its stagnation, and chart a comprehensive pathway to recovery and excellence.
It was also mandated to engage all relevant stakeholders, review existing structures and programmes, and recommend urgent reforms in administration, staffing, funding utilisation, and research direction.
