Nigeria must invest in Physics education, and research to meet SDG goals – NIP

For Nigeria to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) goals in the areas of Energy, Housing and ICT, the Federal Government needs to invest more in the study of Physics at the basic and tertiary levels, and to increase Physics research in higher institutions, the Nigerian Institute of Physics (NIP), has said.

Speaking at the 44th annual conference of the Nigerian Institute of Physics, held at Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH), Ikorodu in Lagos, Hycienth Aboh, president of the Institute, said Nigeria needs to invest more in research as neglecting adequate funding of teaching, research and other key engagements and activities involving Physics will be detrimental to growth.

On the Federal Government National Integrated Infrastructural Master Plan (NIIMP), Aboh said the theme of the conference was carefully chosen to create an opportunity for the Institute to contribute to addressing the observed lacuna in the National Integrated Infrastructural Master Plan document and other areas of the nation’s technological gaps.

He called on the Federal and State Governments and the private sector operators to tap into the huge skilled human resources that abound in the Nigerian Institute of Physics.

Delivering a keynote address, tagged ‘Physics as a Technological Solution for Sustainable Development Goals,’ Elijah Ayolabi, the vice-chancellor of Mountain Top University, said Nigeria and other developed countries need to continue to scale up investments in Physics research in order to lead the development of technologies that would transform the world.

Ayolabi said that the development of such technology would also improve the livelihoods of people which will ultimately achieve the sustainable development goals.

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Ayolabi further said that to achieve the required investment in research, there is a need for strategic partnerships between national governments and physicists worldwide to improve global scientific literacy through education, research and innovation.

According to him, there is also a need to prioritise Physics-based research and development while empowering Physics communities to engage more.

“Developing and least developed countries need to increase Physics research capacity by taking activities ranging from funding Physics departments of universities to creating new agencies devoted to Physics research,” he said.

The high point of the ceremony was the conferment of the Fellowship award of the Nigeria Institute of Physics to Uzomah Nwaije, chairman of Finlab Nigeria Limited.

Conferring the award to the eminent industrialist, the NIP President, said Nwaije has through his contributions to the development of science and technology education in Nigeria become a major force to reckon with in the industry through his firm’s products and services.

Other awardees of excellence include Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos State; Olumuyiwa Odusanya, vice chancellor of LASUSTECH; Daniel Olukoya, founder/general overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles (MFM), and Buba Marwa, chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and Brig. General Mohammed.