The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), says arrangements have been concluded to establish Regional Centers of Excellence in Meteorological Research in the six geopolitical zones of the country with the University of Ilorin hosting that of the North Central.
A release signed by Kunle Akogun, the Director of Corporate Affairs University of Ilorin stated that,
Abubakar Sanni Mashi (Prof), the Director General of NIMET, disclosed this recently while commissioning the Surface Meteorological Station (equipment for weather data collection) donated by the Agency to the Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Ilorin.
The statement added that the event also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NIMET and the University of Ilorin.
According to Abubakar, the gesture was part of the Agency’s contribution to the development of education in the country, adding that though universities are primarily charged with the promotion of humanity, they cannot do so meaningfully without adequate attention to the weather.
Nigeria, according to the DG has only 54 weather observatory stations out of the expected 9,300, pointing out that this has prompted the Agency to partner with universities through the National University Commission (NUC).
While explaining that weather is a critical element that affects everybody, the NIMET boss posited that every University is supposed to have a standard weather station, saying that there is no Department in the University that will not benefit from the newly commissioned Weather Station.
Abubakar promised that the agency will continue to support the University of Ilorin not just in funding the station but also in providing the complimentary infrastructure it requires in the laboratories.
Earlier in his address before the commissioning and MoU signing,
Sulyman Age Abdulkareem, a professor of Chemical Engineering and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, stated that the equipment donated by the Agency to the University is a great blessing that would definitely enhance the teaching and research endeavours of not only the Department of Geography and Environmental Management but also many other related Departments and Units in the University.
Abdulkareem noted that insufficiency of funds has retarded the capacities and activities in Laboratory, Field and Classroom components of the training given to students in the area of meteorology, as well as in the capacities for cutting-edge research.
He, therefore, thanked the Agency saying, “The intervention we have got from your Agency and which we are opening to the public today, is, therefore, an appreciable assistance and motivation.”
While going the memory lane, the Vice-Chancellor explained that “The relationship dated back to 2010 when our Department of Physics signed an MoU with the Agency, and since then, the relationship has been growing in leaps and bounds. It has, therefore, culminated into the concrete benefits we are commissioning here today.”
