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Tag: gold medal

  • 2018 NAS Gold Medal co-winners honoured in Lagos

    The President of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Prof. Mosto Onuoha, has commended Nigerian scientists for excellent research prowess which has put the country in the forefront of global recognition.

    Speaking at the official presentation of the 2018 NAS Gold Medal for Life Sciences to the three distinguished Nigerian scientists who were co-winners for 2018, Prof. Onuoha said the achievements of the three co-winners were of local relevance to the problems of the African region and has internal resonance of high-level scientific knowledge.

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    The presentation, which was witnessed by the cream la cream of Nigerian academia, were given to Dr. Emmanuel Oluwadare Balogun, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Prof. Wasiu Lanre Adeyemo of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos; and Prof. Temidayo Olusade Ogundiran of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

    Prof Onuoha paid glowing tributes to the dons for their significant scientific achievements in using cutting edge and expertise of basis of cleft and palate (CLP) in sub-Sahara Africa describing it as “an original contribution to the understanding genetic disparity in cancer between people of African descent and other areas”.

    In his citation, Prof. Adeyemo was noted for his research accomplishment in the area of molecular genetics of the environmental etiology of cleft up and palate (CLP) and craniofacial defects.

    Professor Adeyemo’s research has also promoted collaborative activities between the University of Lagos, University of Iowa, University of Pittsburg, University of Dundee and other African universities.

    “Professor Adeyemo and his research group have taken several giant steps towards understanding the genetics causes of non-syndromic clefts in Nigeria and African populations.”

    Dr. Emmanuel Balogun was noted in his citation that: “His expertise cuts across the life sciences and focused on molecular Parasitology, Structural Biology and Genomics which was applicable for drug discovery studies against African-endemic tropical diseases.

    According to the citation, Dr. Balogun and his research group discovered that “midgut of mosquitoes contain a 45.kDA glycoprotein that is capable of killing trypanosomes, These have led to ongoing efforts in Germany towards producing transgenic tsetse flies containing the mosquito glycoprotein as a means of biological control of the endemic disease.

    Citation of Prof. Temidayo Olusade Ogundana showed that his research work has been focusing on breast cancer as a genetically heterogeneous disease with polygenic pattern of inheritance.

  • Nigerian Academy of Science picks Gold Medal Prize winner

    The Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) has announced the emergence of Dr. Emmanual Iyayi Unuabonah, an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Sciences, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, as the winner of the 2017 NAS GOLD MEDAL PRIZE.

    The Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) instituted a Gold Medal Prize in 2016, after 40 years of its existence, to be awarded to deserving Nigerian scientists who have made significant achievements in science of national relevance and global resonance, while the award is to be made annually, alternating between the life sciences and physical sciences.

    Announcing the winner at a media briefing in Lagos, Chairman of the Nigerian Academy of Science Prize Committee, Professor Gabriel Ogunmola, a past President of the NAS stated that Dr. Unuabonah emerged the pioneer winner of the prestigious prize after a due process of evaluation by a five-member physical science jury chaired by Professor Oye Ibidapo-Obe, FAS, a past NAS President.

    Professor Ogunmola said in picking Dr. Unuabonah for the prize, his numerous contributions in physical sciences were subjected to critical scrutiny, stating that his work that fetched him the award focused on the development of alternatives for the replacement of expensive zeolites activated carbon and membranes currently being used in the treatment of water and wastewater.

    According to him, the research work of the prize recipient has contributed significantly to the body of knowledge of modified hybrid kaolinite clay as

    absorbent of metal ion pollutants as is evident from his publication and patents, adding that “this innovation has the potential to be further developed into point-of-use system for ready treatment of water in rural communities”.

    In his remarks, the NAS current President Professor Mosto Onuoha decried the neglect of science studies in Nigeria, while calling on the federal and state governments to set up an endowment fund for the support of scientific research in ensuring that Nigeria joined developed nations in scientific advancement.

  • Table Tennis gold medal, a promise fulfilled – Oshodi

    Table Tennis gold medal, a promise fulfilled – Oshodi

    The President, Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, Enitan Waheed Oshodi says the victory over the Egyptian table tennis male team Sunday night was a dream come true.

    The Nigeria male table tennis team defeated their Egyptian counterpart 3-2 to clinch the gold medal at stake in the final watched by the DG NSC Mallam Al Hassan Yakmut, NOC President, Engineer Habu Gumel, Acting Chief de Mission, Peter Nelson  and  the Nigeria Tennis Federation boss, Engineer Sanni Ndanusa.

    Oshodi in a chat with SportingLife after the medal presentation at the Revolution Sports Complex ,Brazza having expressed his happinnes commended the players led by Segun Toriola described the effort of the team as awesome.

    According to an elated Oshodi, “When we came in board as NTTF, we promised that in two years I will regain the medal from Egypt and now it has happened, we have fulfilled our promise.You gave it to the boys Toriola and Quadri, they played wonderfully well to the admiration of everybody here, I think this was great”, he said.

    The former commissioner for Sport in Lagos continued,  “well, its not over yet because there are still five medals in the event and I hope to at least pick three more. We won’t allow this get into our head,the players return to training almost immediately so that our mission would be achieved.”

    Action resumes in the Male and female singles,doubles for male and female mixed doubles today at the same venue.

  • Gold medal for golden lies

    It must qualify as the most untruthful talk, not to say the most dishonest, in this political-campaign period ahead of the country’s general elections next month. Indeed, it is not an exaggeration to say that the speaker, President Goodluck Jonathan, deserves a gold medal for golden lies.

    Jonathan was in Ekiti State to sell himself and his second-term ambition to the people, and there was nothing wrong with that. The rally venue was the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, Ado-Ekiti. Jonathan was quoted as saying: We have been following politicians in the 70s and in the 80s. You will remember the song of Tony Wilson, who says the politician is a man of many words.”

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate continued: “He portrays the politician as somebody who will call black white and blue red. But we are redefining politics, I cannot deceive Nigerians, whatever we say, we will do, that’s what we are doing.”

    Now, there must be something wrong somewhere if Jonathan actually believed his own words and expected the people to believe him. It is interesting that Jonathan quoted a musician’s lyrics, perhaps suggesting his musical taste. It is also fascinating that he seemed to agree with the musician’s general definition of the politician, but introduced a particular self-serving and self-promoting exception.

    His epic boast, “We are redefining politics,” must be understood as including himself and his party. It would appear that Jonathan failed to recognise the possibility of a negative redefinition, and took it for granted that the expression “redefining politics” could only be interpreted positively. This demonstration of his limited understanding of his own words mirrors a fundamental personal limitation.

    If Jonathan’s is correct that his party, with him at the helm, has redefined the country’s politics, it is demonstrably not for good. So, it is nothing to crow about. What is most disturbing about his vote-seeking verbalisation is the violence against truth. It is terrorising, which is putting it mildly. Still in the context of figurative language, it may not be far-fetched to label Jonathan’s performance in Ekiti as an instance of verbal terrorism because many people must have been struck by fear – fear that the country’s president could be so brutally unfaithful to truth.

    To appreciate the horror probably triggered by this scale of presidential untruthfulness, it is useful to quote a report of the Ekiti presidential rally: “The President said his administration is targeting two million jobs every year to accommodate not less than 1.8 million graduates.” It continued: “He explained that a Presidential Jobs Board has been set up to formulate a framework to reduce the massive unemployment. The President identified the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND), power sector, CBN/Federal Government micro-credit loans, YOU-WIN initiative as other areas his administration has empowered Nigerians.”

    Has Jonathan thought of the possibility of powerless empowerment? In reality, this has been the experience of the people under the Jonathan presidency. In other words, the rally was a further exhibition of Jonathan’s deceitfulness. It’s all lies, Mr. President.

  • ‘Gold medal for public service’

    In the context of the reality that words have denotative value, it is worth contemplating the import of a particular letter of commendation and its remarkable testimonial quality. It was written by the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, and the recipient was Akinwunmi Ambode who had retired voluntarily after a 27-year career in the civil service, including stints as the Accountant- General of Lagos State from 2006 and 2012, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, and Auditor-General for Local Government. This background is striking because it highlights Ambode, who left to pursue other dreams,  as probably the most experienced individual in terms of familiarity with the state civil service operations to seek the position of governor since Lagos State was created in 1967.

    Fashola reportedly wrote: “I write on behalf of the people of Lagos to commend your high sense of dedication, selflessness and integrity which you brought to bear on the civil service. I wish to specifically remark that working closely with you has been of tremendous mutual benefit, particularly in the present administration.” He continued: “You have displayed high sense of professionalism and have been a good team player, guided by the philosophy of a true public officer, who must place himself last while rendering service to the public. We are convinced that your brilliance and zeal will make you excel in your future endeavours.”

    Who wouldn’t be proud of such a glowing portrayal? Unsurprisingly, Ambode, 51, the Chief Executive Officer of Brandsmiths Consulting, made a passing reference to the characterisation at his May 15 book launch at the Civic Centre, Lagos.  The presentation of two books, Public Sector Accounting by Ambode, and his biography, The Art of Selfless Service by Marina Osoba, provided a fitting forum for him to bask in the glory of his recognition.   “The letter of commendation by Fashola is my gold medal for public service,” Ambode said at the event.

    Of course, the letter may be inadequate to catapult him to the high political office of governor which he seeks; nevertheless, it is a sufficient pointer to his competence. Indeed, the writer of the letter himself also deserves commendation. There is no doubt that Fashola was in a position to know and evaluate Ambode’s contribution, and it is to his credit that he was straightforward in his depiction of  Ambode’s worth. He could have chosen to downplay the man’s role and his observed performance, especially given the fact that the letter’s commendatory content could always be quoted to advance the recipient’s interest. A self-absorbed autotheistic leader would not have written in such a manner about someone else; and such leaders abound who go about with a destructive mentality. So, Fashola deserves respect for his demonstration of disinterestedness.

    Did Fashola have an idea of Ambode’s ambition to succeed him as governor? Was the song of praise calculated to help him achieve his aspiration through an implied endorsement?  Or it just didn’t matter to Fashola what Ambode’s next move might be after leaving the civil service, and however he might exploit the laudatory comments for self-advancement.

    It is interesting that Ambode, a would-be governor and a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC),  on August 21 presented a paper  titled “Public Finance: Probity and Accountability” during  a two-day workshop organised by the Lagos State Government and the Lagos Business School at the Pan-African University, Lagos. He spoke to 300 youths from tertiary educational institutions across the state, and told them: “If we take the concept of resource generation, allocation and distribution into cognisance and apply the principles of good governance, we will achieve economic growth and development.”

    He was on familiar turf. Ambode is credited with designing a system that increased the state’s revenue generation from N600 million to N10 billion. A related excerpt from his biography is illustrative of his expertise: “In a popular business newspaper, Business Day, of Tuesday 2nd July 2013, it was reported that Fiscal Management in Lagos State had surpassed that of the Federal Government and internally generated revenue from taxes has touched the 75% mark in stark contrast to the Federal Government’s 20%. Also, the paper further stated that Lagos State makes up to 20% of total Nigerian GDP and 40% of non-oil GDP.”

    The narrative continued: “All these gains from the smallest state geographically (that is in terms of  size) showing that Lagos State which is without any of the rich mineral resources that other states have in abundance can think outside the box and create wealth using what little it has and building on its commercial base.  These great strides are particularly noted to have happened in the last six years (2006-2012) during which Akin headed the State Treasury Office (STO).”

    The importance of wealth creation to “the authoritative allocation of values” cannot be overemphasised; and it may well be good luck for the state to have a governor whose competency in this critical sphere has been established beyond any iota of contradiction.

    However, the megacity would require more than a mechanistic attention to figures; and it would appear that Ambode also has a humanistic appeal. Such a fusion is not always available in the power ring. Ambode’s definition of leadership is enlightening, although it could be said that words are never enough and would always need the potency of demonstrativeness. He said: “A true leader sees his work as selfless service towards a higher purpose. A true leader should be judged by what he has not – ego, arrogance and self-interest.”

    Demonstrable commitment to good governance and ability to deliver what the people yearn for should rank among the uppermost qualifications for the type of progressive leadership that would benefit the state at this juncture. As Fashola prepares to leave the stage next year, the state deserves an exemplary successor who will be focused on excellence in office informed by a mastery of wealth creation and a humanitarian orientation.

    The question of who should rule remains fundamental in the society’s search for leaders who have  not only the  capacity to make a difference but also the enthusiasm to do so; and it is always agonising whenever the wrong individual emerges and works against good governance. A square peg in a round hole would most likely reshape the hole; and it would then require far more effort to recreate a round hole.

     

  • Jonathan to athletes: Nigeria must get gold medals

    Jonathan to athletes: Nigeria must get gold medals

    • Splashes N3m on Okagbare, N3.5m on her coach

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday called on sports administrators and athletes in the country to put their acts together towards ensuring that Nigeria gets gold medals at the 2016 Olympics Games billed for Brazil.

    Jonathan spoke at the Presidential Villa while receiving the medals won by Blessing Okagbare at the 2013 IAAF World Athletic Championship in Moscow just before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting.

    Stressing that the poor performances of Nigeria in past Olympic Games will no longer be tolerated, he directed the Sports Ministry and the Ministry of Finance to do everything possible to support the sector and the sports men and women.

    He announced cash reward of N 3 million for Blessing Okagbare, who won medals in the long jump event and 200 meters race in Moscow and N3.5million for her coach, Daniel Esebinimo. The duo will also get national honours during the next award ceremony.

    Jonathan said: “We have taken a decision to ensure that in the next Olympics, we must get gold medals. In the last Olympics, we did not get any medal, except from the Paralympics.”

    “We have challenged the Ministry of Sports and of course, the Finance Ministry to do all it can to make sure we support that sector so that our young men and women will do our country proud. So, Blessing, we congratulate you. We thank you for this uncommon success and the uncommon dedication to our fatherland.”

    He continued: “Today is a day that we celebrate this young lady, Blessing Okagbare, we are celebrating success, we are celebrating dedication, we are celebrating patriotism. This is to formerly congratulate Blessing Okagbare and other young men and women like her who have been working very hard to make this country proud.”

    “Sports, we know, is one key event in our country and globally, the success of a nation in sports is a key thing that helps to project that country.”

    “Nigeria has been known as a sporting nation, but for sometime, we have been lagging in sports.

    We are lucky that we are building up today. I believe that with young ladies and men like Blessing Okagbare, Nigeria will get back to where we belong and even go further,” he added.

    The Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, noted that Nigeria has been achieving successes in sports in the past two years because of the transformative and unprecedented leadership and support of President Jonathan.

    He said: “Nigeria is again becoming a force to reckon with in sports. In athletics, just like in football and weightlifting, we have become the number one nation in Africa. Never in the history of Africa athletics has a nation been a winner of the senior, junior and youth championship at the same time. Nigeria has won the whole three in the last two years. Firstly, we won the senior athletics championship in Port Novo, followed by the youth championship which we won in Warri, Delta State and just recently we won the junior championship in Mauritius.”

    On Okagbare’s achievement, he said: “Miss Blessing Okagbare whose effort in the long jump and the 200 meters at the recent IAAF World championship in Moscow ensured that we broke the 14 years jinx of failure to mount the podium at the world championship. The last time we won any medals at the championship was in 1999, when Gloria Alozie and Francis Obikwelu won the silver medal in the 100 meters hurdles and a bronze medal in the 200 meters, respectively.”

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the ceremony, Delta State Governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan said: “What’s exciting today is the personal recognition by Mr. President of Blessing’s efforts. Whatever you’re given materially, to me is not the major thing. The major thing is that she is being nationally recognised by Mr. President himself and that is very important.”

    “That’s a good, moral and emotional support to any athlete. I’m saying this because Nigerians, have a way of running people down when they are not doing well and celebrating them when they are doing well. So, if there are challenges we must encourage the person who is being challenged and when there are successes, we now celebrate with the person. It is very important that we give them very strong emotional and moral support. And of course, without adequate financial support, nothing can be done,” he stated.