Professor of Botany, University of Lagos, Prof. James Dele Olowokudejo delivered his last academic assignment with an exit lecture tagged ‘exaugural lecture’ at 70 last Wednesday, saying that he would have served for four decades more.

Olowokudejo, who spoke at the Afe Babalola Auditorium, University of Lagos, said he was departing with a big bag filled with mixed feelings, experience of 45 years and lessons of a life time.

The lecture titled: “Plants, people and possibilities: Musings of a Graduate Assistant, Instructor, Advisor, Mentor and a distinguished Professor”, enlightened attendees of the benefits of plants to man.

Speaking on the relationship between plants and people, Olowokudejo  said plants affected humans not only by keeping them alive but providing wonderful sights, textures and fragrances that enrich existence.

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He said the destructive impact of the planet was beginning to take its toll as deforestation, desertification, erosion and pollution have become widespread.

“We are bleeding our planet to death as if there is somewhere else we can go. If we ruin and use up this Eden, there is no other world hanging in the sky that we can blithely move to.”

He said botanists had a huge role to play in human affairs and their raw material was the plant kingdom.

“The earth, its oceans, seas, rivers and lakes are the botanists’ garden, laboratory and herbarium, but new skills and positive attitudes are urgently required,”

Botany, Oluwokudejo said, if looked into properly could make more impact in the society by solving the problem of unemployment.

He advised academics to be guided by the ethics of the profession, adding that those who played politics would not last long in their academic journey.

Pupils in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), recently went beyond the common forms of known space research when they joined their peers from other countries to explore space plant science.

The experiment sponsored by YouthhubAfrica, in collaboration with the American Space Agency, Magnitude, launched the research known as Exo Lab Mission, which brings together Nigerian pupils and others for research, crop planting and monitoring from the International Space station.

In the experiment, students across the globe investigated the effects of microgravity on living things together, virtually.

The students from Government Secondary School (GSS) Garki, FCT, alongside other students worldwide are partaking in the pioneering research with the U.S. National Laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS), to monitor and grow red clover plants in the 1G environment of Earth as part of the ground control experiment and compare results to the flight experiment in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station.

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YouthHubAfrica’s programme manager, Olusegun Medupin explained that the programme is called the legume in space.

He added: “The aim of the programme is to get our students interested in science and science-related areas of endeavour. Presently, there is a planting going on in the ISS, they want to know if legume can grow in space, see if they can grow one there.  The same situation is set up in a controlled environment in GSS Garki and we compare the data.  The one  here sends its temperature, humidity and lightening into an online drive and the one in space does same for comparison.

“We are so happy that the school has taken it a bit further than we expected by checking if the crops can be reproduced on earth.

“Only two schools in Africa are participating in this programme. Why most schools cannot easily partake  is the fact that it is expensive. For instance, we purchased the apparatus needed between $2000 and $3000 and it needs to be bought in the US.”

One of the students partaking in the research, 15-year-old,  SS2 pupil of GSS Garki, Nwokedi Munachi explained, “The programme was hosted by Exo Lab. They asked a question, how does gravity affect living things and throughout all the researches that we have been carrying out, we realised that gravity actually affects it because if you notice, the growth on soil is more larger than when it is affected by gravity.”

The Book Launch Committee of ‘History and Development of Judiciary in Kwara State 1960-2020, has instituted N1,000,000 annual prize for the overall best graduating student of Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin. The endowment fund is to be for the next 20 years.

In a letter jointly signed by both the Chairman of the Committee and author of the book, Judge Adeleye Adegboye and Ahmed S. Abdulyakeen, and addressed to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Sulyman Age Abdulkareem, the committee stated that the “scholarship/prize winning award is being created in the name of the legal icon, incorruptible jurist and Retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Late Honourable Justice Saidu Kawu (CON), in appreciation of his uncommon and immeasurable contributions to the development of law and humanity in Kwara State in particular, and Nigeria as a whole”.

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In line with this, the cwommittee said it is ready to award the sum of N50, 000 to the Overall Best Graduating Student from the Faculty on a yearly basis.

The publication, History and Development of Judiciary in Kwara State Association 1960-2020, is in honour of the pioneer Chief Judge of Kwara State, Late Honorable Justice Saidu Kawu who was also the madawaki of Ilorin.

Rotary Club, Gbagada South has donated desks and chairs to Aiyedere Ajibola Secondary School in Ikosi-Ketu, Lagos.

Presenting the items, the club’s President Uche Okwuego said it was part of the group’s objective to make life better. He recalled that from their needs assessment, they discovered that the school lacked the items, and that was why they stepped in to fill the gap.

The club’s immediate past president Yemi Ogunlade said it was one of his plans to donate the items to the school before his tenure ended but was constrained by time.

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District 9110 Governor Remi Bello said the donation was in tandem with the Rotary International President’s charge that clubs do more collaborations and partnerships, adding that this would help to enhance learning in the school. He noted that Rotary’s objectives are aimed at offering services to humanity, calling on people to give towards the cause.

“We are calling on you to give. Givers never lack,” he said.

The school’s Vice Principal (Academics), Mr. Gabriel Olugbade Ajibade, thanked the club for the gesture. He noted that he liked Rotarians for their zeal and for always caring for others. He recalled that the club had donated some items to the school in the past and that they were of benefit to the pupils.

Sapphire Youngsters, Nigeria’s first ever teenagers’ reality TV show set for self-development, actualisation of dreams of African child has debuted.

According to the organisers, Linus Zitelu Limited, the project is dedicated to self-realisation, development and actualisation of dreams of an African child, adding their vision and mission are for African teenagers to boost their self-esteem and capabilities in all facets of life.

In a statement by the company’s chief executive officer,Linus Dada, the show has been strategically set up to discover and showcase multiple hidden talents of Nigerian teenagers.

He said: “The Sapphire Youngsters Reality show is the first of its kind. It is a reality show that creates a world -class platform to discover, celebrate and support young talented teenagers in all fields of academic.

“We have seen over time in our society that smart youngsters who win academic competitions are not well recognized and are given meagre rewards while those who are talented in secular activities or promote immoral acts are celebrated and rewarded massively.

“This has continued to contribute to moral decadence and as well lower impact of children with great minds in our society today.

“Consequently, the long-term effect reflects in the nation’s socio-economy as these youngsters are not encouraged adequately to develop themselves in order to contribute significantly to nation building.

“Hence, the determination to create a world-class spotlight for teens and young adults to boost their self-esteem and showcase their intellects and talents to the world,” Dada said.

Explaining further on the purpose of the project, Dada said: “The Sapphire Youngsters Reality show is an academic Reality show that aims to discover smart and talented teens and young adults in various academic disciplines, celebrate them globally and support them financially to achieve their goal in life.

“This event will go a long way to change the perception of the youngsters in our society helping them to realize the importance of education, motivate them to perform exceptionally well in their various field of academics, provide the necessary support they need to actualized their dreams and consequently create a better society in the nearest future.”

With over 100 registered contestants, only 20 will qualify for the show after series of rigorous screening which has been scheduled to kick off next week.

The contestants will be screened by educationists, qualified guiding counselors and other related stakeholders.

The maiden edition is a 14-day contest with provision of a world-class platform and environment which enable housemates to showcase their intellects, skills, talents and other naturally gifted abilities to the world.

Winners of the contests will take home mouthwatering prizes which include brand ambassadorial and scholarship deals worth millions of naira.

By Grace Obike, Abuja

In preparation for the handover of the four million and eighty doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine donated by the government of the United States (US), delegates from the U.S., World Health Organisation have inspected the National Strategic Cold Store (NSCS).

National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer Dr. Faisal Shuaib said the vaccines would be deployed to states as soon as they were certified by the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

He spoke yesterday in Abuja at the inspection tour and press briefing held by NPHCDA, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

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He said: “There is a protocol that is globally accepted that even with the receipt of the vaccine, the regulatory authority in Nigeria which is National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has to certify that the vaccine meets our standard in Nigeria before it will be administered. NAFDAC has already taken samples and once it gives approval, we have already laid out a very comprehensive logistic deployment plan working with Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) to make sure the vaccines get to the sub-national levels as soon as possible.

“This is particularly important because we are already experiencing a third wave and there is no need for the vaccines to be at the national level while they are needed. So we will be rolling out immediately we get clearance.”

WHO Country Representative Dr. Anne Baptiste said the WHO was satisfied with Nigeria’s cold chain capacity and deployment plans.

She said: “The cold chain capacity that we saw is quite good and the deployment plan will be discussed by NPHCDA, as partners we are here to support them as much as possible. In terms of capacity, we think that Nigeria has enough capacity to deploy the vaccines.”