Inadequate electric, energy production and lack of agro-industrial technologies for self-reliance have been tracked as the clog in the wheels of economic development of the country.
The 60th inaugural lecturer of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Professor Mufutau Waheed disclosed this.
Prof. Waheed identified this while delivering the lecture entitled, ‘Man, Energy and Environment: The Exigent Remediation,’ at the university.
According to him, it was high time the country decentralised energy generation and distribution to allow states, cities and even individuals to produce electric energy that can be fed into the national grid through the concept of distributed generation.
The professor of thermo-fluids engineering said appropriate energy mix system should be adopted for different locations based on the comparative advantages of the available primary energy, adding that this would facilitate the building of the country’s energy industry with more focus on renewable energy for a sustainable environment.
He added that as an emerging economy, Nigeria has great potentialities to harness and meet the challenges of the global economy and become developed as China, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Argentina, among others.
He recommended that the country should utilise its large and growing human resources that implies a steady market or consumer base for goods and services.
The lecturer on the government to stimulate local production of equipment and machines through appropriate policies; develop the country’s indigenous technologies across the sectors, especially agriculture, and discourage importations of some items.
Advocating for better linkages and support, the Inaugural Lecturer said, “Government has to give more support to research institutions and universities to pursue their research and developmental drive”. Pointing out that “No nation will truly develop without the injection of adequate funds for research.”
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kolawole Salako, described Professor Waheed as an outstanding scholar, an excellent team player and a renowned researcher.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
