open access repositories in academic and research institutions ‎ for the realization of nigeria’s vision 20: 2020‎

the generation, acquisition, utilization and application of knowledge/ information is an indispensable factor for growth and development. nigeria’s vision 20: 2020 is a blueprint designed for the development of the country with emphasis on making it one of the top developed economies by the year 2020. however, the observation and analysis of the vision’s objectives and thematic areas shows that knowledge/information (its generation, acquisition, utilization and possible application) were not accorded the due attention as a tool for the vision’s success. added to the above statement is the fact that the research findings and intellectual output of higher education institutions (heis) and research-based institutes in the country mostly in the form of grey literature (i.e. unpublished technical/research reports, manuals, theses and dissertations, monographs, etc) gather dust in their institutions of origin, with little or no visibility, thereby affecting accessibility, utilization and application. this paper therefore examines the role of institutional libraries in developing open access repositories; infrastructure and facilities for developing open access repositories; and  advocates for a national policy for the development and management of open access repositories in institutions, where the research findings and intellectual outputs of these institutions will be domiciled, which will be easily accessible online for utilization and possible application in various sectors of the economy for the realization of vision 20: 2020.