The Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia, has called for a radical shift in Nigeria’s educational paradigms to promote contextual learning, inclusivity, and resilience through digital and integrative approaches.

Delivering the 19th Inaugural Lecture of Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu, titled “Motion Without Movement: A Retrospective Introspection on Curricular Sedimentation in Digital Ontology,” Professor Onyia emphasized the urgent need for a value-based education system rather than one built on compliance models.

He argued that Nigeria’s educational system must embrace ethical and transdisciplinary knowledge to reform learning and promote critical thinking, cooperation, and inclusivity. According to him, digital transformation should not merely modernize bureaucracy but should drive genuine transformation through ethical leadership.

“Educational systems must redefine themselves as spaces of real development, places where hegemonies are upended, and change is nurtured,” he stated.

Professor Onyia further highlighted that curriculum sedimentation, a situation where knowledge becomes fragmented due to outdated curricula, hinders meaningful progress in education. He urged leaders to rethink education to make knowledge creation more social and dynamic, transcending the “numbing ways of thinking” that have long perpetuated inefficiency in Nigerian schools.

He also recommended moral and transdisciplinary school reforms, integrating research insights from the past two decades to build inclusive and unified learning environments.

In his opening remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of Godfrey Okoye University, Rev. Fr. Prof. Christian Anieke praised Professor Onyia for his deep and insightful analysis of the lecture theme, noting that professors of the university are selected through rigorous evaluation of their research and academic excellence.

The Chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees, Prof. Bartho Okolo commended the inaugural lecturer for demonstrating professional depth and urged education stakeholders to implement his recommendations.

Similarly, the Chairman of the Inaugural Lecture Committee and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Sergius Udeh lauded Professor Onyia for maintaining the university’s high academic standards despite his demanding official schedule.

The event, which attracted distinguished personalities including the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe (Agbogidi), vice-chancellors, heads of tertiary institutions, and principal officers of Godfrey Okoye University, underscored the university’s continued commitment to academic excellence, research, and thought leadership.