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From Tony Osauzo, Benin
An alumnus of the University of Benin, Engr. Doyle Edeni, yesterday, challenged Nigerian academics to profer solutions to the countless problems in the country and thereby push for the industrial revolution.
Edeni, who graduated from the Department of Biochemistry and is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Seal Energy Group Inc, Helotes, Texas, USA, gave threw the challenge yesterday in Benin City while delivering the Distinguished Alumnus Lecture Series of the Faculty of Life Sciences of the University with a theme: “Bridging The Gap Between The Academia And Industry: An Alumnus Perspectives”.
Edeni who announced that plans have reach advanced stage to establish a Centre for Advanced Research in the University of Benin berated Lecturers still using outdated textbooks to train students in this modern era and charged them to profer solutions to the power problem in Nigeria among others.
“The University is the centre of debates, the responsibility of the academia is to support the industrial growth of any nation. I was having a chat with the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof Lilian Imuetinyan Salami, she said the University graduated about 17,000 students last year.
“And that the school receives ten million naira as subvention. While the electricity bill alone is 60 (sixty) million, how is it possible? You see that by default you are programmed to fail. If I were among the engineers in Electrical Electronic Engineering, I would have told the university to give me 20 (twenty) million naira and I will think of providing an alternative.
“The academics must not keep quiet and people from outside will come and take your money away. I am challenging everybody who is an engineer here, that this is an opportunity to look for alternatives, some universities have gone solar now. And this is the headquarters of sunlight.
“When I was in school some 30 years ago, the students were protesting that they want to chase the leaders away, but today this same persons are now in power and things are getting worse. The cost of food and fuel have consistently gone high and never come down, now they say they want to subsidize fuel with three trillion naira, the money will end up in few people’s pockets, how on earth does a man with a rational mind do something like that, and there is labour (Nigerian Labour Congress) who say they are fighting for the masses?
“The university is the centre of research, learning, and debate how could people keep quiet and things are going wrong? We have concluded a plan to establish a Centre for Advanced Research in this University,” added.
Earlier in her welcome speech, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lilia Salami represented by Prof. John Oghene, Deputy Vice Chancellor Ekewan Campus, said the University with over 350, 000 graduates in her 51-year history ranks high not only in Nigeria but across the world, amongst reputable institutions that are contributing significantly to human capital development.
“Our products, including the Guest Speaker, Engr. Edeni today, have continued to distinguish themselves in their various fields of human endeavour. This high success rate lays credence to our claim as UNIBEST of the universe but also the high level of intellectual discipline and character building to
which our students are exposed to while in school”, she said.
The Vice Chancellor’s representation later commisioned a 24-seater solar powered workstation donated to the Faculty of Life Sciences by the CEO Blue Seal Energy Group, Engr. Doyle Edeni.
