How Architect Sonny Togo Echono Is Rewriting the Future of Nigeria’s Tertiary Education
By; Aaron Mike Odeh
On receiving the baton of leadership from the former executive secretary of TETFund in March 2022, Arc Sonny Togo Echono said in his speech that, “deploying the tools of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), to improve curriculum development with renewed focus on human component on infrastructure is vital for achieving the ideals of knowledge economy”. He had hit the ground running since 2022 to date with his actions which has clearly demonstrated his promise on taking charge that Nigeria’s higher education system could no longer depend on outdated tools, traditional methods and analogue processes. He has moved quickly to modernise, ensuring that ICT became the centrepiece of his reform agenda, and today, the results speak for themselves.
One of the most ambitious achievements of this period is the establishment of 72 specialised ICT experience centres across our universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. These centres will focus on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, robotics, software development and other future-driven skills. They are designed to prepare our young people to compete in a rapidly evolving global digital economy. Six of these centres will be opened for use in first quarter of the year 2026, an additional nine will be coming onboard in later, year 2026.
Through the Tertiary Education, Research, Applications & Services
(TERAS) platform, Institutional digital transformation also received unprecedented support. TETFund has provided beneficiary institutions with cloud hosting of its repositories, learning-management systems, digital libraries & databases, software services, research applications, mobile data access packs to aid learning and teaching and more. This unified digital infrastructure is now the backbone of modern teaching and research across the country. The platform is equally driving TETFund’s internal reforms to digitise its processes, strengthened TETFund monitoring systems, and enhanced transparency — ensuring faster, more accountable deployment of ICT and other resources across institutions in the country. These reforms have improved value for money and accelerated the completion of ICT and other projects nationwide. In the area of ICT capacity building, TETFund delivered one of the largest digital-skills training programmes ever implemented in our tertiary sector. Over 20,000 lecturers have been trained in essential ICT competencies through the ICDL certification programme. Additionally, more than 2000 scholars have undergone advanced training in artificial intelligence and emerging technologies through the TETFund sponsored Virtual Institute for Capacity Building in Higher Education (VICBHE) programme. More programmes and projects, like Learn2Earn, OVIS and others are underway and through these efforts Arc. Sonny Echono is strengthening our educators’ ability to deliver technology-enabled learning, conduct digital research, and engage global knowledge networks.
These achievements underscore the role of ICT in driving a knowledge-based economy. The results achieved from the year 2022 to date represent not only a transformation of infrastructure, but a transformation of mindset. For the first time, our tertiary institutions are embracing digital technology as a foundation for teaching, research and innovation.
Under Arc. Sonny Echono’s leadership, TETFund has laid a foundation that will serve Nigeria for decades to come. A foundation of stronger institutions, skilled manpower, modern laboratories, digital campuses and innovation ecosystems capable of producing world-class graduates and globally relevant research.
When Architect Sunday Sylva Togo Echono assumed office as the Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) in March 2022, the mood around Nigeria’s tertiary education sector was cautious, even weary. Public universities were groaning under infrastructural decay, research output had dipped, scholarship schemes were riddled with inefficiencies, and the narrative of “underfunded, overstretched and underperforming” had become a tiresome chorus. Today, that narrative is shifting—rapidly and decisively. Under Echono’s strategic, reform-driven leadership, TETFund has undergone one of the most ambitious transformations in its history, repositioning itself from a mere disbursement entity into a development powerhouse shaping the future of Nigerian knowledge production.
This is the story of achievements so far-reaching and structural that observers describe them as earthshaking.
He is also applying a New Vision which is excellently Building Projects to Building Minds. Before Echono, TETFund was widely associated with physical structures—lecture halls, hostels, studios and laboratories. While these remain indispensable, Echono introduced a bold shift: education development must be driven by intellectual capacity as much as infrastructural expansion.
His philosophy emphasizes Strategic, outcome-based funding, not routine allocations, Human capital development, not just capital projects but, Research competitiveness, not academic isolation, however with International partnerships, not local limitations. This shift has transformed TETFund from a bank-like funding institution into a strategic national development agency.
Institutional Re-engineering were not left out,this makes TETFund to match policies formulations with practical actions, which no doubt has place renewed hope agenda of Tinubu Government as the most educational enhanced administration in Nigeria.
One of Echono’s earliest moves was to overhaul internal systems for efficiency, transparency and accountability. Under his direction, the Fund introduced stronger procurement checks, digital monitoring systems, tighter project-tracking frameworks, and more predictable disbursement schedules. Perhaps equally significant was the cultural shift: TETFund staff were re-oriented to adopt service-centric mindsets and delivery benchmarks. The results became visible quickly:
Delays in project releases reduced
Universities began receiving allocations with clearer timelines
Administrative leakages reduced
Reporting systems improved. For many vice-chancellors, rectors and provosts, the Echono era marked the first time TETFund operations resembled the discipline of a development agency.
Deepening Research Capacity: Raising the Knowledge Economy
No reform under Echono has been more transformative than his aggressive push for research development. He recognized that Nigeria’s climb into global competitiveness depends on research output, innovation, and knowledge production.
Key interventions under his leadership include:
Expansion of the National Research Fund (NRF). Establishment of sector-driven R&D clusters. Strengthening of institutional research directorates. Support for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) innovation projects. Enhanced supervision and funding compliance mechanisms. Echono championed a vision in which Nigerian universities become hubs of solution-driven research, contributing directly to national development—agriculture, security, manufacturing, health innovation and digital technology.
TETFund Goes Global: Partnerships That Expand Nigeria’s Academic Frontier. A major highlight of Echono’s tenure is the unprecedented internationalization of TETFund’s work. Through strategic collaborations with top global universities, research institutes and international development partners, TETFund now offers: Foreign postgraduate scholarships, joint research programs, Academic exchanges,
Capacity-building for lecturers.
New pathways for local institutions to gain global relevance were also put in place through formulations of global standards policies.
These partnerships have placed Nigerian scholars in leading institutions in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa. Echono’s foreign engagement roadmap is deliberate: global exposure, graduate return, local application, and national impact.
Even when some scholars defaulted and absconded abroad, Echono confronted the issue head-on, not as a scandal but as a governance challenge requiring firmer structures. His transparent approach earned respect across sectors.
Rebuilding Human Capacity: The Heart of TETFund’s New Mandate
If buildings symbolized TETFund’s early years, people symbolize Echono’s tenure. His administration massively expanded academic training and staff development initiatives. Thousands of lecturers have benefitted from:
Overseas Master’s and PhD sponsorships has well been given topmost priorities under his leadership. Local postgraduate scholarships, Academic conferences
Workshops and professional certification trainings,
ICT advancement programs,
Echono understands a crucial truth: no educational system can outgrow the quality of its teachers. His strategic investments in human capital are helping rebuild a once-depleted academic workforce.
He also deployed his administrativr prowess as a technocrat in Tackling Systemic Challenges With Unusual Candour, unlike many public officials who sidestep uncomfortable issues, Echono has displayed a rare openness. He has openly acknowledged challenges such as:
scholars absconding abroad, project delays in certain institutions,
funding sufficiency constraints, and
bureaucratic bottlenecks.
He treats these not as embarrassments but as opportunities for reform—introducing tracking systems, stronger monitoring units and stricter compliance frameworks.
This transparency has boosted public trust and positioned TETFund as one of Nigeria’s more accountable agencies.
Stakeholder Recognition: A Leadership Marked by Results through inclusivity were also considered with special focus on the academia, the media, civil society and professional bodies, Echono has earned wide commendation. Awards and institutional recognitions which consistently highlight
his visionary leadership,
his structural reforms,
his procurement discipline, his investment in research and human capacity, and
his commitment to transparency.
For many educational stakeholders, the Echono era which is still ongoing, represents a watershed—the return of purpose, credibility and direction to tertiary education intervention in Nigeria. This is very true because, Visible Impacts of his landmark achievements are noticeable on Campuses Where It Matters Most.
Beyond policy speeches and administrative reforms, the most powerful evidence of Echono’s achievements lies on campuses nationwide. Under his stewardship: Abandoned projects have been revived, Research laboratories have been equipped, ICT infrastructures have been upgraded, Lecture halls and hostels have been completed, Academic staff motivation has increased, Research grants are more accessible, Scholarship systems run more efficiently For students, lecturers and institutions, these improvements translate into better learning environments, stronger research ecosystems and greater academic opportunities.
The place of Balanced Lens: Achievements and the Road Ahead were not left out as well.
Even with remarkable milestones, Echono readily acknowledges that reforming Nigeria’s tertiary sector is a marathon, not a sprint. The challenges ahead include: Sustaining funding stability,
Ensuring trained scholars return and services. Expanding industry-academia partnerships, Securing greater autonomy for institutions, Deepening digital transformation.
Yet his administration has laid a strong foundation—arguably one of the strongest since TETFund’s creation.
As I conclude, let me throw light on the Legacy Taking Shape methods applied by Architect Sonny Togo Echono as Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETHFUND in the last three years.
Architect Sonny Togo Echono’s leadership represents one of the most structurally significant moments in TETFund’s history. His bold reforms, global partnerships, research-driven strategies, and people-centric interventions have not only strengthened the agency but redefined its purpose.
What is unfolding under his leadership is more than administration; it is a legacy of transformation—one that may shape Nigeria’s tertiary education landscape for generations.
As TETFund evolves into a true national development catalyst, Echono’s earthshaking achievements stand as proof that visionary leadership, disciplined execution and unwavering commitment can breathe new life into a sector once dismissed as stagnant.
Aaron Mike Odeh, A Public Affairs Analyst, Media Consultant and Community Development Advocator, Write from Post Army Housing Estate Kurudu Abuja
