Moshood Adebayo
Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Adeniyi Olowofela, has said manpower of less than 2,000 geophysicists is inadequate in a country with a population put at about 170 million.
He lamented that the intellectual ‘warehouse’ of the country is abysmally low.
Olowofela, a professor of Solid Earth Geophysics, gave the verdict during the 56th inaugural lecture of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State.
Dissecting the state of geophysics in the country, in a lecture entitled: “The use of innocuous Geo (physical) tools in discerning the bowel of the earth: A strategy for manpower development,” Olowofela decried inadequate manpower in Solid Earth Geophysics and called on government and stakeholders in the education sector to urgently address the challenge, to harness the financial prosperity in geophysics.
Although the lecturer attributed the inadequacy in manpower to “high cost of setting up geophysics research,” he, however, said: “If we can be creative and ingenious in our approach, as demonstrated in this lecture, we shall be able to produce quality and adequate manpower (in Solid Earth Geopohysics) in the country and open ways to financial prosperity.”
He stressed that geophysics is relevant to humanity in the sense that it is applicable to societal needs, such as mineral resources, mitigation of natural hazards and environmental protection.
The don expressed joy that the Department of Physics, FUNAAB, remains one of the active research centres on Aeromagnetic Studies in Nigeria with several published works.
He also thanked the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kolawole Salako, the dean of College of Physical Sciences (COLPHYS) and the entire university community for the privilege of delivering the 56th inaugural lecture.
The lecture was attended by Oyo State Deputy Governor, Chief Moses Adeyemo, who represented Governor Abiola Ajumobi, serving commissioners and special advisers, as well as heads of tertiary Institutions in the state.