The University of Benin has secured named backing for an on-campus AI Centre from two of the highest-profile figures in Nigerian business and technology philanthropy, at the launch of a new trust fund designed to consolidate long-term investment in the federal university’s development.
Tom Ilube, CBE — the Nigerian-British technology entrepreneur best known for founding the African Science Academy and the African Gifted Foundation — pledged support specifically for AI education at UNIBEN. Hakeem Belo-Osagie, chairman of Metis Capital Partners and former chairman of Etisalat Nigeria, committed to backing the development of an AI curriculum and the establishment of the AI Centre itself. The two commitments give the AI Centre a founding profile that lands closer to serious African tech-philanthropy than the usual university-appeal boilerplate.
The pledges were made at the launch of the University of Benin Trust Development Fund (UNIBENTDF), a new financing platform for the institution’s development agenda, and land as UNIBEN attempts to formalize its position in Nigeria’s expanding AI capacity conversation. Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, unveiled his vision for a National AI Trust last month, framing it as the first institution of its kind in the world. UNIBEN’s on-campus AI Centre, if it moves from pledge to operating institution, would sit inside that emerging national architecture — one of a small but growing number of federal-university-anchored AI capacity nodes on the continent, alongside the Inter-University Council for East Africa’s regional AI network launched in April.
The AI Centre is one of several priority projects the trust fund is targeting alongside student accommodation, ICT infrastructure, renewable energy, road rehabilitation, transportation, scholarships, internships and research support. The launch attracted commitments from government agencies, corporate donors and alumni.
Beyond the AI-specific pledges, the largest single commitment came from the University of Benin Faculty of Law Class of 1985, which pledged a ₦1 billion auditorium project for the Faculty of Law. The Niger Delta Development Commission committed to a 650-bed modern student hostel and internal road rehabilitation. First Bank of Nigeria pledged to establish and equip a modern ICT Centre, and Premium Trust Bank committed to providing coastal buses to improve on-campus mobility. A consortium of business, agriculture and financial organizations expressed interest in investing ₦2.5 billion in a modern commercial abattoir on campus.
Former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, SAN, chaired the launch event, and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede — Nigerian banker and chairman of Access Holdings — served as chief launcher, pledging to mobilize resources toward a legacy project. Regional Development Minister Abubakar Momoh committed solar-powered lighting for the Ekehuan Campus, building on an existing installation at the Ugbowo Campus. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, through the Muyibat Folasade Idewu Foundation, committed a 200-bed hostel for law students. NQA & Conformity Assessment Nigeria Limited pledged annual internship opportunities for engineering students and graduates.
Alumni supporters included former Delta State Governor James Ibori, CON; Nduka Obaigbena, CON, chairman of THISDAY; Osagie Okunbor; Dr Lee Ikpea, CON; and Pius Malaka. The Edo State Government reaffirmed continued backing for the university’s development programmes.
UNIBEN said all donations and pledges from the launch will be consolidated and managed by the trust’s board for the implementation of priority projects across infrastructure, research, innovation and student welfare. Whether the AI Centre pledges convert into a functional teaching-and-research institution — with staffing, compute, curriculum and industry links — will be the test of whether the trust structure delivers something operationally different from the appeals-based fundraising Nigerian universities have long relied on.
