The Nation Newspaper

Tag: DON

  • Don urges Fed Govt on climate change

    Don urges Fed Govt on climate change

    The Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences and Director Centre For Cilmate Change and Environmental Research (CCCER) Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Prof. Temilolu Emmanuel Ologunorisa, has called on the Federal Government to rise to the dangers posed by climate change to protect Nigerians from future danger.

    He gave the advice in a paper he delivered at the 2014 Special Lecture Series organised by the School of Arts and Social Sciences, Adeyemi College of Education (ACE), Ondo.

    Speaking on a topic titled: Climate change impact, vulnerability and adaptation in Nigeria, Ologunorisa described climate change and its impact on the environment and social -economic  system as the most important challenge that confronts mankind.

    He identified extreme weather as one of the impact of climate change, noting that its effect has been attributed to the occurrences of flood, drought, heat, cold waves in different parts of the world in recent years.

    Ologunorisa also spoke on climate variability in arid and semi arid regions, stating that agricultural activities when affected by climate change in these regions, could result in a decrease in food production and cause adverse effect on the health of  the people.

    On global warming, the climate expert attributed it to factors which include emission of poisonous substance such as methane and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere.

    He also said vehicular emission of gases as well as waste products from industrial establishments and thermal power stations are some of the sources of carbon dioxide which pollute the environment.

    He warned if the situation was not addressed on time, its impact could cause mankind untold calamity, such as malnutrition in children and sudden deaths among adults as a result of increasing cases of cardio respiratory diseases.

    Describing climate change as a global problem, the university don urged the government to be on the alert to prevent the phenomenon from exerting its impact on agriculture, land use, energy, bio-diversity, health and water resources.

    According to him, since scientific findings revealed that about two-thirds of states, such as Borno, Bauchi, Adamawa, Sokoto, and Niger are prone to desertification, adding that there is urgent need to address the problem to prevent inhabitants of these areas from experiencing starvation and becoming refugees.

    He harped on the need to protect farmers in the south from experiencing the negative effect of climate change which may come in form of reduction in rainfall, outbreak of crop pests, diseases heat-stones, among others, adding  that  the move has become necessary to prevent food shortage and loss of their livelihood.

    The Provost of ACE Ondo, Prof. Olukoya Ogen, described the lectures as apt and vital to the development of the country and enrichment of people’s mind.

  • Why plant must be conserved, by don

    Victor Olumekun, a professor of Plant Physiology at the Adekunle Ajasin University in Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State has tasked Nigerians on conservation of plants to mitigate the effect of climate change and save the country from food crisis.

    Olumekun, who delivered the 8th inaugural lecture of the university titled: Mankind: Learning the art of survival under the tutelage of plants, said God uniquely created plants to serve mankind but human being failed to appreciate the usage.

    He said: “From food to medicines and even knowledge about the way to the future, every cure for every ailment known and unknown, synthesised and natural has been diligently stored by nature in plants. All we need to do is to discover. What we need to learn from plants is how not to self-destruct because it is only mankind that kills its own species.”

    The plants physiologist explained that evolution of diseases was connected to certain periods in the history of mankind, and identified plant conservation as the only way out.

    “Plants have been created to maximally fulfil their functions, such as teachers, sustainers and protectors of mankind. We need to take a serious look at how plants have solved most of our problems,” Olumekun explained.

    He urged people to stop misusing plant but must respect it for mankind’s survival. “The good news is that plants are our ‘guardian Angels’. They even help us to clear our mess by removing the excess carbon dioxide we produce. This is in addition to the fact that plants serve as purifiers of air. They are so used to cleaning up our mess even as they are not mobile,” he said

    He lamented human activities through industrialisation, saying it had resulted in massive exploitation of resources with effects on the integrity of the planet.

    After the lecture, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Femi Mimiko, officially welcomed the lecturer into the hallowed professorial hall of fame.

  • Don seeks quality control in pharmacy

    don at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Prof Mbah John Chika, has urged pharmaceutical firms to adopt quality control in their processes.

    He gave the advice while delivery the 89th Inaugural Lecture of the UNN.

    He said: “Quality controlin pharmaceutical practice must undergo the performance of simple chemical tests to accept the originality of identity and purity in pharmaceutical method. It is an important task in the pharmaceutical industry that is guiding quality protects the producers against compensation claims and effective products.’’

    Speaking on ‘’The control of impurities in the Quality Control of Pharmaceutical Dosage Form’’,  Chika defined ‘an impurity in a drug product as any component of the drug product that is not the chemical entity defined as an excipient in the drug products’.

    He added that any extraneous material in a drug is an impurity even if it is inert or has superior pharmacological properties.’

    The don emphasised that the control of impurities in pharmaceutical compounds was necessary to ensure the drugs’ quality and safety.

    In an opening remark by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof Benjamin Ozumba, represented by his deputy on Academics, Prof Polycarp Chigbu, emphasised the importance of research to man.

    The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Polycarp Chigbu, praised the don for his quality of research, imploring stakeholders to uphold the cardinal points of hard work, industry and devotion to duty.

     

  • Don canvasses courts, alternative disputes resolution

    Effective courts and concurrent provision of alternative disputes resolution will assure the future of Nigeria, a law professor at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Mohammed Akanbi, has said.

    Akanbi, son of the pioneer Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC), Justice Mustapha Akanbi (rtd), added that such a provision would help parties to a just ending without some of the drawbacks that litigation can entail.

    The teacher, who is also a former Chairman of the Ilorin Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), said this in Ilorin, Kwara State capital at the 152nd inaugural lecture of UNILORIN. The lecture was titled: “Contending without being contentious: Arbitration, arbitrators and arbitrability.”

    He said: “The undoubted potential that arbitration can offer in the quest for justice indicate that the process has a glowing future in Nigeria.”

    He recommended a comprehensive reform of the civil justice system in Nigeria to facilitate early resolution of cases.

    He said: ‘’For arbitration to be effective, courts still have a fundamental role to play. However, the delay in case resolution in the Nigerian courts causes considerable waste of time and resources of the parties.

    “The benefits of a reformed civil justice system in arbitration practice in Nigeria include introduction of an effective case management system; education of judges in the basic knowledge, philosophy and benefits of the arbitration and serving as a confidence booster to an arbitration agreement because parties will be secured in the knowledge that the judicial intervention will not be used to frustrate the arbitration agreement.

    “Considering the poor state of our court system in Nigeria today, it is all the more vital that we resolve disputes in a better way. We must have a justice system that is flexible and accessible and that delivers timely, effective and affordable outcomes. Arbitration is a key to achieving this.

    “In commercial transaction, conflicts will always be inevitable. However, since commercial pragmatism and not legal accuracy is the preference of men of commerce, parties must learn to contend without being contentious. What is needed, however, is not an idealistic embrace of a novel fad that will replace the courts, but the best utilisation of appropriate procedures that will facilitate the fair and efficient settlement of commercial disputes in Nigeria.”

     

  • Fight corruption, uplift engineering, don advises

    The Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Prof Adekojo Waheed, has said corruption must be fought headlong for engineering to experience more breakthroughs.

    He spoke at the second lecture/first induction of the College of Engineering, Bells University of Technology (BellsTech), Ota.

    Waheed, who decried corruption in all facet of life, noted that if bureaucratic bottlenecks that had hindered flow of  funds to appropriate quarters are removed, disciplines, such as engineering would henceforth enjoy free flow of funds which could facilitate its operations.

    Said Waheed: “Government and the society should rise up to fight against corruption. This should include direct remittance of funds to the account of executing companies and more serious actions and sanctions should be meted out to those found guilty of corruption.  Middle level engineering personnel should also undergo regular training; policies and governance should be enhanced, appropriate research and development should also be carried-out.

    Speaking on the topic: Challenges of engineering practice in Nigeria emerging economy, Waheed said: “Another way forward for the engineering profession to move on, is enhancing quality assurance measures towards guaranteeing top quality job delivery.

    Waheed listed challenges militating against the engineering practice to include inadequate engineering education and re-training.

    “There is poor funding, poor attitude of employers, inadequate equipment, students population explosion without commensurate facilities, lack of high-quality manpower, inadequate industrial training, poor remuneration for practising engineers and lack of appropriate government policy,” he said.

    He said there was also insufficient engineering research, dearth of engineering material-producing industries, and poor quality assurance measures, among others.

    He said Nigeria has abundant human and natural resources that can make her a truly great nation, adding that Vision 20:2020 is achievable.

    “As a matter of fact, Nigeria’s potential are far greater than what we are seeing presently. The greater potential will manifest when the professionals, especially in engineering and technology take their appropriate lead that would bring the technical and engineering know-how to boost the productive and productivity capacity of the nation economy,” he noted.

    He listed other professions that influence status to include Accounting, Architecture, Dentistry, Dietetics, Education, Engineering, Law, Mathematics, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Psychology, Science, Statistics, Surveying, Teaching, and Veterinary Medicine.

    The disciplines, he said, play significant roles in the provision of public goods and services, adding that the development, growth and well being of citizens of a nation depends largely on the contributions of her professionals in various fields across private and public sector.

    The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Isaac Adeyemi, congratulated the students who were also graduating.

     

  • Don counsels students on leadership

    An entrepreneur and researcher at the University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom, Mr. Moshood Bello, has called for next generation leaders.

    He said this at the annual reportorial conference of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit in Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos

    He challenged participants at the conference with the theme, “Good people, good managers, good leaders,” to develop their leadership skills to move the nation forward when the opportunity to serve comes.

    “Nigeria needs a set of new generation leaders, who are economically and morally upright, for the nation to move forward,” he said.

    The Amir (President) of the society, Kaamil Kalejaiye, urged members to have a change of attitude if truly they want to be good managers.

    He emphasised the need for Nigerian youths to redefine what their roles are in nation building, making reference to countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Sweden and Brazil where youths are regarded as pivotal.

  • Mothers may hold secret to maths success, says don

    Mothers may hold secret to maths success, says don

    Teaching Mathematics from home at an early stage may just be the secret to ending the phobia for the subject, a Professor of Mathematics, Olabisi Ugbebor, has said.

    Delivering an Inaugural lecture titled: “The Role and Interplay of Measure Theory, Mentoring and Multi-Dimensional Research in the Making of a Mathematician” at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Prof Ugbebor said the low enrolment of students for Mathematics programme could be addressed by encouraging parents to start teaching elementary mathematics to young children at home.

    She said through that the subject would not be viewed as it is needed to classify, number, measure and count items.

    “A mother apportions time by classifying chores, measuring quantities for cooking, estimating her budget, choosing a number to regulate temperature in cooking and baking, and numbering her daily activities in chronological order, in order not to miss out any, or do the right thing at the wrong time. She also measures proportions in making baby feeds, animal feeds, and in cooking,” she said.

    Mrs Ugbebor, who has Ph.D in Mathematics and the National President, Nigerian Women in Mathematics, also called on the government and other stakeholders in education to integrate remedial mathematics courses into the national curriculum for students, who are not properly taught the subject at the foundation stage.

    She said the call became imperative in view of the poor performances of students in internal and external examinations in mathematics and related subjects across the states of the federation.

    Professor Ugbebor, who holds Pastor Enoch Adeboye Professorial Chair in Mathematics at the University of Ibadan (UI),  said Mathematics is wrongly viewed as a tough subject only for men.

    “Mathematics is one of the “hard sciences” that has been stereotyped masculine. However, a number of women have made inroad into the field and have excelled,” she said.

    To encourage women, the don said some positions should be dedicated to professor emeriti so that they may be highly visible to younger women as role models and mentors.

    Speaking on some of her research outputs, Prof Ugbebor said she has worked out how to lessen the burden of voters during election. She said the solution is contained in a paper she submitted to the Senate Committee on Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), which she believed has been passed to INEC Chairman, Prof Atahiru Jega for implementation during the 2015 General Election.

    Using a Queuing simulation-optimisation methodology, she said, the waiting time of voters could be reduced at the polls.

    “In many places, insufficient ballot papers and poll officials, in combination with lengthy voting time high voters’ traffic have caused long lines and disenfranchised voters who left without casting their votes. Although the underling simulation model employs a blend of queueing theory, discrete-event simulation, and optimisation, the procedure offers a simplistic methodology to be used by the typically non-technical electoral officers without getting him involved in the intricacies and complexities involved in the modeling process,” she said.

    She also recommended that childhood marriage be stamped out so that more female professors can be produced in the country.

     

  • The sheriff meets the don

    The sheriff meets the don

    There was no comedy of errors, even if it almost pillaged your ribs. On the surface, you thought it was a comedy. If it was, it amounted to a sour and dark drama. Never mind that the one whose name was sheriff was supposed to be the don. The real sheriff acted as though he was neither don nor sheriff.

    But then there were no errors. We had what might have been a great and historic mistake. If it was a mistake, it cost his country dear in terms of prestige and moral respect.

    So it was that the sheriff, the real commander of the troops and the custodian of safety in the land soared on his aircraft out of town and out of country.

    The land broiled in pious carnage. He meant to do something about it and traveled to his counterpart in a neighbouring land where a sort of solution might be brokered. He had been under the gun as a weak and bumbling sheriff. Recently a white man with a clergy’s bona fides had accused a certain man of stocky build and defiant visage. His name was sheriff and he was fingered as one of the dons behind the carnage of dubious believers. Of course the clergy accused one of the real sheriff’s own chiefs. His own former chief under the gun for gun running had denied as well as the man whose name was sheriff.

    Now, many have said he did not know how to run anything except sit idle in office, sign juicy contracts and enjoy the sweet languor of high office. Maybe he wanted to prove everyone wrong. But the story of his meeting turned more a drama than solution, if ever there was one.

    Picture did not lie. Not this time. The sheriff of safety sat with the man named sheriff who should be named don, according to accusations. Neither betrayed an air of discomfort at the other’s company. In between them sat the host. So, what happened? Was the sheriff supping with the enemy? That was the question. The media and the civil society quaked with questions.

    The answer was as puny as the logic of the picture. The sheriff of safety did not anticipate the presence of the sheriff who was don. They merely met at the airport lounge. The counterfeit sheriff did not take part in the real dialogue.

    If this was no comedy, if it was no error, the best it can be was a mistake. And what a mistake it was. But was it that the sheriff of safety and his team, after a normal full term in office, did not know the implication of a photo op with the enemy? As a writer once said, could he not have told the don not to appear with him, or even his host that this protocol presaged disaster back home?

    But speaking of protocol, did the sheriff of safety not have an advance party that certified the coast was clear, and the big boss would be safe in limb and name. Well, he was safe in limb. But more important than limb, his name was soiled. He visited because many of his subjects had lost limbs and name because the sheriff as don stood accused.

    Even while on the aircraft after landing, they could have told the host to ask the sheriff of accusation to leave. If that did not happen, what else could we believe? That both sheriff the real and sheriff the false were false together in the right to fight against terror?

    It is in tradition that sometimes a leader can work with an enemy as leverage to defeat the enemy. In crime, it is standard practice. Even that is not done in the incriminating flare of the public camera. It is brokered out of sight, like in a studio’s dark room. After victory, the picture blooms to public gratitude. Even the sheriff and his team deny this. So what can we make of this than that a man who is accused of burning the country is a friend of the man charged to defend it. The friend of our enemy is our leader. What paradox.Why had the sheriff of safety not punished anyone for not alerting him? Does it not show that he was comfortable with this don as sheriff?

    The case is not helped by the story that the same sheriff was allowed to play don in his home town when about 200 troops guarded him from airport to his home. This was a few days after the so-called chance meeting.

    So who gave him the soldiers? Does it show that the man has been legitimated by sheriff the leader? No one gets so many troops on his command without authority, an authority as high as the former chief who was under the gun for gun running.

    So were people right then to say that the border blurs between the sheriff’s government and the carnage engine going on in the northeastern territory in the guise of a god. Are we witnessing a conspiracy of silence or a naivety of conspiracy? Somebody needs to explain to the people of the land. Anxiety chokes the residents as days dovetail into weeks with blood and death.

    In this war, residents are yet even to get an answer where an aircraft belonging to the head of clergies is caught with enough money to train a thousand poor kids into geniuses of true transformation. But the sheriff of safety is in league with the heavenly messenger. They say it was meant to get arms to tackle the carnage demons. What happened to e-finance championed by sheriff’s government? But some said the aircraft story was not a mammon against demons, as they claim. It was a case of demons stealing mammon in the name of God and country. The clergy who had heralded his entry into the aircraft league had announced it as a chariot of evangelism. Now, how did it become a carrier of filthy lucre?

    It might be that the sheriff of safety does not know much about how to keep his people safe, and that would be a grave allegation. But that will be a trifle charge compared to when we say he knows how to do the job, but he does not want to do it but undo it.

     

    Mbu the lion versus Amaechi the leopard

    Recently, the former police commissioner said he was a lion that caged a leopard. He was referring to his tour of duty in Rivers State where he made a travesty of the calling of a police officer. He referred to Governor Rotimi Amaechi as a leopard. It was good comedy, except the former CP just confessed he was the slave of Dame Jonathan and that as CP, he was playing politics. It is a pity that after that shameless effusion he gets nods instead of knocks from his bosses. But what concerns me is his abuse of the metaphor of the animal kingdom. The lion, as we know, guards its territory. Others scurry away when it marches, roars and bares its savage incisors. In Mbu’s violation, it is the lion that vacates the territory for the leopard. What kind of lion shrinks away from a leopard if not an empty and counterfeit one?

  • Don decries lack of true leadership in Southeast

    Prof. Chinedu Nwajiuba of Imo State University has decried the dearth of true leadership in Igbo land since after the times of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. Michael Okpara, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu and Dr. Sam Mbakwe.

    He made the assertion during this year’s Odenigbo Lecture, where he spoke on “Expectation of Good Leadership” (Ochichioma,  Olileanya Ohanaeze) at the Odenigbo Podium at Assumpta Cathedral, Owerri. As customary, the lecture was delivered in Igbo language.

    Speaking, Prof. Nwajiuba reeled off virtues of good leadership to include humility, prudent management of resources, resourcefulness genuine commitment to the well-being of the people, respect for the led; discernment to recognise and sieve evil from good. He regretted that no Igbo leader has shown such laudable leadership qualities after the times of Zik, Okpara, Ojukwu and Mbakwe, until the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi came in and demonstrated to our people, once again, what true leadership should be.

    Speaking in Igbo on good economic management as part of what is desired of good leaders, Prof. Nwajiuba said: “ Kemgbe 1999 n’ala Igbo anyi nwere ike isi na o bu naani otu onye di ka onye chawaputara achawaputa na ndozi aku na uba oha ya bu Maazi Pita Obi, onye nke chiri Steeti Anambra. Otutu ndi mmadu agbaala ama otu O siri jide onwe ya, ka O si ekwu okwu. O na-aga njem, O dighi akpo otutu ndi mmadu aga…. Mgbe O chisiri, e mere ka anyi nu na O hapuru ego gbara okpurukpu nyefee onye nochiri ya.” (Since 1999, Mr. Peter Obi was the only real leader that came from Igbo land. His governance of Anambra State has continued to receive positive testaments from the people, especially the manner he guided the resources of the state through prudence and his civilised conduct. To crown it all, unlike what is obtainable, he left billions of Naira for his successor).

    On education, he lamented the failing standards, even as he praised Anambra State as an exception. Recalling that the state came first in 2013 and 2014 West African Senior Certificate Examination (WASCE) and the National Examination Council (NECO) examinations, he called on other states to return schools back to the missionary owners as Obi did and provide them with grants to rehabilitate the schools.

    Prof. Nwajiuba said the unprecedented improvement in the infrastructure in Anambra State during Obi’s administration would remain a testimony to his enviable legacy. He pointed out how Anambra under Obi utilised the money she received through the Millennium Development Goals to carry out beneficial and tangible projects. He advised other Southeast states to understudy and do the same for their states.

    Instituted in 1996, this year’s lecture was the 17th in the series. It started with Holy Mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Owerri Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Obinna.

    Those that attended the lecture included the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha; Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho; the Catholic Bishop of Aba, Most Rev. Dr. Vincent Ezeonyia; the Vice-Chancellor of Imo State University, Prof. Ukachukwu Ewuzie;  the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi who was represented by his former Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Patrick Obi, among other dignitaries.

    Highpoint of the event was presentation of awards to people who had supported the lecture series over the years.

  • Don laments bad education system

    A DON has attributed the problems facing the nation to bad education system.

    Uthman Ibraheem of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, said this during the 2013/2014 Recognition Day and third Biennial Role Model Award of Mimbar Children School in Ibadan.

    He said it was the bad system that breeds bad leaders, adding that the country needs sound education system to move forward and compete favourably with other developing nations.

    According to him, a sound education system would inculcate good moral behaviour in children and make them better citizen and leaders.

    He urged parents not to compromise sound education for their wards by enrolling them in schools that combine both religious teaching with western education.

    Ibrahim enjoined governments to provide incentives for both Christian and Muslim teachers in public schools so they can inculcate the fear of God in the pupils.

    On the occasion, a posthumous Role Model award was given to the late Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola-Alao for his contributions to the three core values of the school – knowledge, faith and leadership.

    Receiving the award on behalf of the family, Oyo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Alhaji Umar Alao, thanked Mimbar Children School for deeming it fit to honour his father, for his contribution to the development of humanity.

    Alao said the award was an inspiration for the Arisekola’s family to continue to toe the philanthropic line of their late father.

    Alao urged Nigerians to impact positively on people while alive and leave a good legacy that people would remember even after their death just like Arisekola-Alao did while alive.

    Director of Mimbar Children School, Mr AbdulSalam Akinlabi, said the award was given every two years based on the past contribution of any individual to the society and education in particular.

    Akinlabi said Arisekola-Alao had contributed immensely to knowledge, faith and leadership, urging people to emulate him.

    Other highlights of the event include prizes given to both outstanding pupils and teachers of the school.

    The first role model award was given to the late Secretary-General, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Dr AbduLateef Adegbite in 2010 and another University of   Lagos don Prof Saidat Mabadeje in 2012.