The Nation Newspaper

Tag: DON

  • How music improves health, by don

    A professor of African Music and Composition of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Christian Onyeji, has urged Nigerians to listen to music to enjoy long life.

    Onyeji gave the advice while delivering the 102nd inaugural lecture of the UNN at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium.

    The don, who spoke on the topic: Composing art music based on African indigenous musical paradigms, said music not only entertains, but also provides a physical massage, which can induce emotional and spiritual healings. “Relaxation of muscles and emotional stresses through dancing, singing and playing of instruments, makes music performance a source of management of physical fitness,” he said.

    Onyeji urged young musicians to be creative by developing a composition pattern that would reflect the African customs and idioms. According to him, Africa could forge a new music identity by harnessing the creative potentials of indigenous music of different cultures.

    He added: “The politics of global musical identity must not be ignored by African musicians if African music must have a place on the global platform for good music.”

    Onyeji said his researches into music composition using indigenous African paradigm led to the development of three music genres, including research composition, drummistic piano composition and Nsukka choral school.

    He explained that the research composition pattern identified the ethnic distinctive feature of an indigenous music and applied the creative features in the composition of modern music. “The essence is to ensure that the art composed music captures the spirit of the music in literary form,” he said.

    The drummistic piano composition pattern, according to him, transfers the technique of African drumming to piano. He said the basic tenet of the composition pattern was to synthesise the creative and performance idioms of traditional African drum to the piano.

    Onyeji said the Nsukka coral school was to harness the creative potential of African music for the development of a Nigerian creative voice based on perceived performance relationship between human voice and African musical instruments.

    He recommended the three genres for music composers based for applications.

  • How to be politically aware, by don

    How to be politically aware, by don

    Students have been enjoined to take part in politics to enable them contribute to national development.

    •Prof Oni
    •Prof Oni

    Dean, Faculty of Science at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Prof Iyiola Oni gave the charge last Tuesday during an orientation marking the 2016 Freshers’ Week of the Social Science Student Association (SOSSA).

    Oni urged students to embrace right attitudes for the engagement in politics and developments. He said students should be concerned about how to build good characters through their conducts to ensure a violence-free campus.

    Oni advised members of the audience not to engage in violence, alcoholism, thuggery and cultism while in politics.

    The Deputy Dean, Dr Franca Attoh, said the most difficult thing for students after admission was to remain in school and graduate with outstanding results. She said students’ aim to graduate with good results should not prevent them from taking part in extra-curricular activities.

    Attoh urged the students to take interest in politics and participate actively in Students’ Union activities. She said: “If you take part in politics, you will be able to give adequate information to your colleagues and other relevant authorities. In that way, you will make the faculty and the university great. But, your academics must not suffe.”

    Students’ Union Government (SUG) Speaker Adeonipekun Adeyanju said students should not see their colleagues in politics as unserious, noting that students’ unionism was imperative in the quest for a better campus.

    He said: “Politics is too important that we cannot but contribute to it by actively participating in it. Playing politics will consequently make us great and make significant impacts in the lives of our fellow students and the school.”

    In his own submission, the chairman of the Progressives, a campus ideological group, Sirajudeen Adebakin, a 400-Level Psychology student, pointed out that politics would help students build a reputable personality.

    He noted that the essence of participating in politics was to add values to the people, fight oppression and build a better society.  “Politics in school will help us good personality. When we participate, we must not let it bring us down academically,” Sirajudeen said.

     

  • Nigeria’s education achieves only 50% of goal, says don

    Nigeria’s education achieves only 50% of goal, says don

    A lecturer in the Biochemistry Department of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Dr Jerry Orhue, has called for a review of the Nigerian curriculum for failing to achieve the purpose of education.

    Orhue made the call at the 2016 Speech making and Prize giving programme of Doregos Private Academy in Ipaja, Lagos State.

    Education delivery in most schools in Nigeria, according to Orhue, only achieves 50 per cent of its goal because of lack of transfer of skills.

    Speaking on the topic: “In Pursuit of an Impactful Culture of Creativity and Innovation in Education”,    Orhue said: “Contemporary education system in Nigeria has only focused on just 50 per cent of the goal of education.  Knowledge is good, and it is said that ‘knowledge is power’, but knowledge that cannot translate into solution to societal challenges is not only defective, but outright impotent.”

    Lack of skill, he said, was retarding national development and would continue until the education system is revitalised to breed citizens who can be creative and innovative.

    To rebuild the education system, he said teachers must be retrained and motivated through public recognition.

    Orhue also said the curriculum must encourage enquiry-based learning and science fairs.  He said doing so would give students the opportunity to seek solutions to challenges and test their solutions.

    By exposing the pupils to international programmes and collaborating with various organisations, Orhue said the system would produce better students.

    The school’s executive director, Mr Benardinho Doregos, said the school, in its 20 years of existence, has made efforts to groom pupils, who are creative and entrepreneurial through its science fairs and other programmes.

    Over 100 prizes were presented to pupils and teachers, who distinguished themselves in academics and other areas of school life at the event.  The star of the day was Bruce Omogbolahan, the school’s head boy, who carted away 56 awards for being the overall best while in SS2.  Other star prize winners are Folarin Pelumi, who got 32 awards (SS1), and Bello Abubakar, who got, 30 (JSS2).

    The school’s administrator, Mrs Olufunmi Ogunsi, in her speech, said the school excelled in various areas in the past year.  She congratulated the prize winners for their achievements.

    “I am very proud of our award winners today and they should be proud of themselves.  I, therefore, congratulate them as well as our parents, who are a veritable part of this process as they have contributed immensely to these achievements,” she said.

  • Don: water chemical contaminants may increase harmful breast milk

    •’Govt should seek substitute for
    chlorine as water purifier’

    BREAST milk may be the best meal for infants, but a professor of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, Oladele Osibanjo, has warned that the milk of many mothers in Nigeria may be harmful owing to high level of chemical contaminants in surface and ground water sources.

    Osibanjo, who gave the warning in a keynote address he delivered at the first International Chemistry Conference, which opened at the Julius Berger Auditorium, University of Lagos (UNILAG), yesterday, also urged the government to stop using chlorine to treat drinking water in Nigeria.

    Addressing the theme of the conference, “Chemical Sciences: Solutions to Global Challenges”, and the topic: “Chemicals and Waste Contaminants in Water – Challenges to Sustainable Development”, Osibanjo said mothers who do not protect themselves from chemicals may be giving their babies contaminated breast milk.

    “WHO always says mothers’ breast milk is the best.  I have put a caveat – provided the mothers’ breast milk is not contaminated.  I am, therefore, asking for NAFDAC number for mothers’ breast milk. Because we are all exposed to chemicals.  So, don’t assume your breast milk is clean.  If you are somebody who doesn’t protect yourself, we need to test your breast milk,” he said.

    Osibanjo, quoting a World Bank study, said not only mothers but over 60 per cent of Nigerians were at risk of water related diseases because of dangerous chemicals like lead, mercury and others that leech into water through refuse, agricultural pesticides, electronic-waste and effluence from industrial activities – 90 per cent of which he said are not properly treated before being dumped.

    He noted that fish and cattle ingest these chemicals through the water and they end up in the food people consume.

    Osibanjo, who noted that micro-organisms could be destroyed by cooking, said dissolved chemicals can cause cancer, birth defects, diminished intelligence, and impair the immune system.

    Given that water is consumed by all, irrespective of socio-economic background, Osibanjo said the government must make efforts to ensure that clean water is available for all in line with the Sustainable Development Goal Six on water.

    Osibanjo, who teaches at the University of Ibadan, called for government policies that would protect the environment and address waste disposal issues, treatment of effluence and pollution of water sources.

    He advised government to find an alternative to chlorine in purifying water because of the harm it causes.

    He said: “I was always amazed when I read government said it spends billions on water projects.  If you don’t solve the root cause, it is a waste.  If you don’t manage waste properly, you dump them into rivers and pollute ground water you are not solving the problem.  You are just building structures that will not solve the problem.  And then I want to say that the Sustainable Development Goal Six on Water is very critical for Nigeria and other developing countries, and for chemists because there are a lot of hazardous substances in our water.  We need to identify and quantify them; do this analysis so that we know the risk people get exposed to.

    “Our government spends a lot on chlorine to disinfect water.  It is not the best disinfectant for water.  We now have to look at the issue of green chemistry – sustainable chemistry, to see what are the alternatives and how do we test them.”

    The university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Rahamon Bello, hailed the institution’s Chemistry Department for organising the conference, especially at a time it has become expensive for academics to travel outside the country on conferences.

    “As the foreign exchange becomes a problem, going for conferences elsewhere may be difficult.  But if we can organise something like this locally, it has a particular advantage of ensuring that those present exchange ideas and also share their experiences with their colleagues,” he said.

    Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for the conference, Prof. Oluwole Familoni, said the programme was organised for both lecturers and students to showcase their contributions to society through chemistry.

  • Help varsities deliver their mandate, says don

    Stakeholders in the education sector have been urged to help universities deliver their mandate to the community and consequently foster national development.

    Emeritus Prof. Peter Adeniyi made the call during the sixth convocation lecture of Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji- Alakeji, Osun State.

    Adeniyi, who spoke on the topic: “University governance, community service and national development,” said for sustainable growth to take place in any society, there must be deliberate emphasis on quality education.

    To this end, he said universities must be well established.

    He said: “Our universities must be built on sound traditions, and on continuous march towards excellence in all facets of institutional governance.

    “We should study and understand the secrets that continue to propel great institutions across the globe, and uphold their ideas in a way that will ensure that our universities are not only transformed to great citadel, but made to meaningfully contribute to national development.”

    To achieve this, Adeniyi recommended the establishment of a special science and technology scholarship programme; building of a national research capacity to translate vision into reality; and establishment of a referent national autonomous research council of Nigeria.

    However, the professor condemned the manner in which the government and its agencies established universities in the country.

    He insisted that poor implementation and establishment of universities pose a greater challenge to development in the country, urging government and its agencies to take actions before things got out of hand.

  • How Africa can achieve food security, by don

    How Africa can achieve food security, by don

    How to achieve food security in Africa was the subject of discussion at a symposium organised by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) International Centre of Biotechnology at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Enugu State.

    Prof Umezulike Opara,was the keynote speaker at the event with the theme: Sustainability science in the advent of Agenda 2030.

    Opara, who spoke on From rising to arisen: Harnessing the potential of science to transform Africa and the world in 2063, said African leaders should be concerned about increasing cases food insecurity on the continent despite its huge human and natural resources.

    According to him, there is a prediction that by 2018, the number of hungry people in the world would likely go down except in Africa. He attributed the cause of food  insecurity in Africa to the continent’s inability to use science and technology to its advantage.

    Opara said: “Africa can compete favourably with other continents in the areas of human and natural resources and land mass, but it has continued to suffer the handicap by inadequate application of science and technology to solve its problems.”

    Opara called on African scientists to rise to the challenge of solving the continent’s problems instead of relying on help from outside.  The don said more food could be made available to Africans through the introduction of post-harvest biotechnology, which can minimise waste and improve the chances of developing new products.

    While advising African leaders to invest on researches, Opara urged scholars and researchers to engage in multi-disciplinary research to fast-track food production and economic development.

    Lucy Hoareau, a programme expert at UNESCO headquarters, said the body remained committed to tackling food insecurity and diseases in Africa. She said that the Biotechnology Centre in UNN was meant to develop human capacity required to drive UNESCO’s mandate in Africa.

    She encouraged women to show interest in science to enable them contribute to the effort to tackle poverty, food insecurity and diseases in Africa.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Benjamin Ozumba, said the UNESCO Category II Biotechnology Centre was established, following an agreement between UNESCO and the Federal Government in 2012.

    The mandate of the centre, he said, is to carry out research on food security, bio-resources conservation and tropical disease, with the focus on using indigenous resources to tackle the challenges.

    “The centre will be equipped with the state of the arts facilities for cutting edge researches, and it will serve as a hub for biotechnology research, not only in Nigeria but for Africa,” he said.

    He reiterated the commitment of the university to achieving the mandate of the centre, promising that his administration would do all within its powers to ensure that the centre achieve its as envisioned by UNESCO.

  • Don laments texting culture in formal writing

    Don laments texting culture in formal writing

    •UBA rewards 12 essayists

    From the way she exuded confidence in the documentary about the 12 finalists of the UBA Foundation National Essay Competition, aired during last Monday’s awards, it was no surprise when Emediong Uko was finally announced winner of the competition.

    The 15-year-old pupil of British Nigerian Academy, Abuja, wrote the best of 3,326 essays received for the competition on the topic: “What matters to you most in Life?”  She also impressed the judges made up of professors of English with her second essay, “If you were to help someone, who would it be and how would you go about it?”

    Her efforts earned her N1 million educational grant, which she can claim once she gains admission into any university in Africa, a laptop, and trophy.

    Emediong who dedicated her award to children of Akwa Ibom State, from where she hails, said she felt accomplished winning the competition.  She explained how she approached the two topics.

    “The first essay was ‘What matters to you most in life’ and I wrote about success, because that is what matters to me most in life. That is what got me to be among the 12 finalists. Then the second one, ‘If you were to help someone, who would it be and how would you go about it?’ took more inspiration because I wrote about an experience on my way here; from a child beggar I saw. I said, this is definitely someone I would like to help in future. I wrote that I would give her an education, because it is the key to opening most doors. And I said I would further my education to become a doctor so as to help other people.”

    Starish Enonuya of The Lagoon School, Lekki, Lagos was the unexpected second placed winner.  She was so surprised she was among the top three that she shed tears of joy as her name was called.

    “I am just really happy,” said the 14-year old, who dissolved into tears again during an interview.

    Starish got N750,000 educational grant, while third placed Eze Ugochinyere of Living Word Academy School, Abia, got N500,000.

    Chief Judge, Prof Ime Uko of the University of Uyo, said the top three proved their worth in the second round, showing that they really wrote the first essays themselves – unlike some  of the remaining seven finalists, whose entries she believed might have been improved by others.

    She called on schools to discourage text message culture in formal writing, and teach pupils to properly reference materials from the internet.

    “We found that a lot of the SMS texting tradition have actually become aspects of formal writing among young English language users, which is really a pathetic situation.  There has to be a way that the system will evolve strategies for English teachers to be able to distinguish between the formal and the informal usage so that young writers will know what is expected of them.  We also need to have our young learners know how to utilize internet sources. We found sources lifted and they were repeated in many scripts and it was a problem. Internet materials are supposed to enrich one’s base, not to be used the way young people are now using it,” she said.

    In his speech, Group Managing Director (GMD), Phillips Oduoza, explained that the digital age of technology called for increased interest in reading culture among youths, which he said inspired the essay competition.

    He noted that the competition, started in 2011 in Nigeria, is now held in Ghana and Senegal.

    Counselling the pupils to read, Oduoza said: “Reading is essential to broaden your knowledge and horizon and most importantly youths should maintain self-discipline and ensure that they determine their career path and get mentors to assist them in their goals.”

     

     

     

     

  • Don decries unpaid N87m debt

    Don decries unpaid N87m debt

    A don at the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, Dr. Oludare Fagbohun, has urged the Federal Ministry of Education to prevail on the National Mathematical Centre (NMC) to pay the N87 million owed him for the supply of mathematical kits to 104 unity schools.

    Fagbohun, an inventor with seven patent rights, said yesterday that all efforts to recover the money proved abortive.

    He said the distribution of the kits followed a directive issued to the NMC by the Federal Government through a reference letter marked FME/StepB Project 1371/c.2 dated September 23, 2009.

    The Electrical/Electronics Engineering lecturer urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the transaction.

    The non-payment, according to him, had thrown him into what he called “endless debt servicing” since 2010.

    Fagbohun said: “I have been paying endless interests on the bank loan used in the execution of the project.

    “ I believe it is time for the Federal Government and anti-corruption agencies to look into my plight and unravel the truth.

    “The NMC, which had a patent right agreement for the production of the kits for four years, received 375 packs during the period and distributed over 210 packs to 42  unityschools.

    “The remaining 165 packs were sold to some states and the proceeds of the transactions diverted.”

  • Don urges entrepreneurs to invest in processing

    TO reduce agricultural losses and generate employment in the country, a Professor of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Zinash Delebo Osunde, has urged African entrepreneurs to invest in agricultural processing industry and mass production of equipments developed by researchers.

    Prof Osunde gave the advice while delivering the 40th inaugural lecture of the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMINNA) titled: “Agricultural Product Value Addition for Food Security, Job Creation and Poverty Alleviation.”

    She said that post-harvest losses can be reduced to the barest minimum when more entrepreneurs invest in improved post-harvest technologies such as processing, storage technologies and mass production of equipments developed by researchers.

    The don said that agricultural engineers have made tremendous impact in the development of indigenous processing and storage technologies which can be adopted by small scale producers.

    She underscored the need to bridge the gap between the equipment developers and end users.

    She further said that farmers need to be educated on causes and impact of post harvest losses in order to reduce post-harvest losses and make food available to Nigerians.

    Speaking at the lecture, the Vice Chancellor, Prof Musbau Akanji who congratulated Prof Osunde for delivering the inaugural lecture said the university would continue to foster closer relationship with state governments as well as governments of other countries.

  • Don urges young surveyors to shun corruption

    An Emeritus Professor of the department of Surveying and Geomatics, Rivers State University of Science and Technology(RSUST), Dagogo Jaja Fubara, has urged young surveyors to shun all forms of corrupt practices.

    Fubara spoke at the maiden national delegate training conference organised by Young Surveyors Network (YSN), for its members in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital,  tagged “Harvest of Ideas.”

    He noted that the profession was crucial and had been at the forefront of national development, especially in the areas of land as well as space and tracking of pipeline.

    He stressed the need for young surveyors to expand their knowledge for better service delivery.

    “I encourage them to read beyond the level of first degree which gives them naira and kobo, in other to be able to contribute to these areas earlier stated.

    “We need adherence to discipline and education to work according to World set standard of practice without compromising either quality of service or in honesty especially now that the Federal Government is taking the issue of the fight against corruption seriously.”

    The national coordinator of the group, Aro-Lambo Yusuf Agbola,  outlined the areas surveyors were needed for national development. He urged the government to create enabling opportunities for them to practise their trade.

    Agbola added that the train-the-trainers programme with the theme: “dynamic synergy of young professionals towards national development”, was aimed at better equipping young surveyors with today’s reality. He drew the attention of the government to the need to create the enabling environment for them to contribute their quota to the development of the country.

    He said: “Nigeria, like many other developing countries of the world, is faced with several challenges, such as, security, shelter, food security health, transportation, poor education infrastructure amongst others. It is important to note that all these are occurrences in in a place, therefore the surveyor on land expert is always needed to remedy any of this, whether on land, water of space.

    “It is rather disheartening to note that only a few less than 3,000 surveyors are on ground to render assistance to the country if called upon and this number includes both the old and young surveyors. In order to be relevant to national development, NYS Nigeria realised that acquiring the requisite skills by young Surveyors is the way forward; especially those needed for today’s interventions and those for future growth.

    “The need for developing and spreading skills among the young irrespective of their professional status is the instruments for moving the country forward since the older ones have the wisdom and the younger ones the vigour.

    “There is the problem of how to manage urbanisation, flood and desertification and surveyors have the tools to mitigate the problems.

    “We are not happy that after graduating as a surveyor, for lack of incorporation by the government, lack of job opportunities to practise what we study in the university, most of us end up in other sectors.

    “We are also drawing the attention of governments to the desires of young surveyors. Young surveyors in Nigeria want to be given their rightful place in the quest for national development.”

    The National Secretary of the group, Ajie U. Emmanuel, said synergy with other related profession was crucial for surveyors to achieve their desired goals.