ABU Convocation Series: Technological Impacts and Opportunities IV

ABU Convocation Series: Technological Impacts and Opportunities IV

The contributions of the three prominent ABU Agricultural Research Institutes (IAR, NAPRI and NAERLS) to the university’s technological impacts on the agriculture were highlighted in the last two parts of this article. Recently (19 and 20/1/2018), the University played host to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh who toured the three Institutes on a 2-day working visit. The Minister was shown the achievements recorded by the three Institutes since their establishments. IAR showed a number of different seed varieties, which were released. They included 54 varieties of maize, 48 varieties of sorghum, 17 cowpea, 13 cotton and four sunflower varieties among others. NAPRI presented livestock production technologies while NAERLS reported significant achievement in advancing the frontiers agricultural extension services through use of ICT. The minister expressed satisfaction and saluted the courage and efforts of the Institutes toward making Nigeria proud in the area of agriculture. Earlier, the Minister launched the donation of 370 motorcycles to extension agents in the State’s Agricultural Development Programmes in all the 36 states of the federation and FCT. The donation by the Federal Government was aimed at re-engineering extension service delivery in the country.

So far, much has been said about ABU’s breakthroughs in Agriculture. Although, it is generally accepted among the academia in Africa and beyond that ABU is a pacesetter in the field of agricultural research and innovations, however, the university has also performed excellently in other areas. Engineering is one of such areas. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU) had made a giant stride in the areas of automobile engineering by producing two Marathon cars namely ‘Abufeng’ and ‘Abucar II’. The block bursting ‘Abucar II’ participated in the Road Show, organized by the Shell Petroleum Development Company, Nigeria in Lagos in March 2015 and came out top by passing all the technical tests. The tests included safety, ergonomics, energy efficient, body and interior design as well as overall weight. The special innovations in ‘Abucar II’ range from a Rear-View Camera System, a Soft-Touch gear selection system and a Rain Sensitive Wiper System. Over a relatively short time, the university was able to improve the design of Abucar II and thus, produced Zazzau III, an energy efficient car. Zazzau III participated in the Shell African Eco-Marathon Championship in South Africa in 2016. The competition was hosted by School of Electrical Engineering, University of Johannesburg and took place at the Zwartkops Raceway with twelve participating teams. ABU Team won the Team Award for perseverance and a 3^rd place award for efficiency of engine design. Another ABU’s achievement in engineering is the development of ABU Research Mini-Refinery. This project was initiated by the Department of Chemical Engineering in 2001/2002 Academic Season but couldn’t continue due to paucity of funds. In 2011, Prof. Mohammed Dabo dusted the proposal, reviewed and forwarded it to the University Management for funding. Through a combination of TETFund grant and the university’s support over a period of five years the Mini - Refinery project became a reality. Today, the refinery has a capacity of refining one barrel per day with good refining qualities of the Petroleum products comparable with conventional refineries worldwide. Still in the field of engineering, a 15KW Solar Upgrades System was developed. The project was commissioned in February, 2015. This is a power system that is completely driven by solar panels and independent of the national grid. It powers all lecture theatres, classroom, libraries, and offices. The idea for the project came from ABU graduate and staff, Dr. Tajudeen Humble Sikiru, who took his PhD from Tswane University Centre for Renewable Energy and Power system, South Africa. The project provides manpower training for undergraduate and postgraduate students. A local capacity was built in, especially the postgraduate researchers who participated in the project. The students and staff of the Faculty of Engineering of the University did all the installations. So, those who did not have first-hand experience on solar energy got the opportunity to participate and acquire such knowledge and experience.

Still in engineering, ABU recorded yet another success story; the development of Zeolite Catalyst from Kankara Kaolin. Zeolite, a technical name of a solid mineral coined by Swedish geologist Axel Cronstedt (1722-1765).  Zeolites are solids, three – dimensional crystal structure made up of molecules of aluminum, oxygen, silicon and sodium with water molecules trapped between them. Zeolites are useful in pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries. They are used in catalytic crackers to break large hydrocarbon molecules into gasoline, diesel, kerosene, waxes and all kinds of other petroleum products. The many pores in a Zeolite structure are like tiny test tubes where atoms and molecules become trapped and chemical reactions readily take place. Like all catalysts, Zeolites are reusable over and over again. In Nigeria, the Zeolite catalysts are commonly used in the petroleum refining and petrochemical industry for a variety of applications, ranging from catalytic cracking of heavy fuels to isomerization and aromatization of petrochemical feedstock. Zeolite Y was first synthesized in the sixties and introduced to the fluid catalytic cracking of heavy fuels in the seventies. At that time, the zeolite Y was produced by partial de-alumination of kaolin. Currently, higher quality zeolite Y is produced either by incorporation method from high purity chemicals or by the patented Engelhard method from kaolin and high purity chemicals.

The Petroleum Trust Development Fund (PTDF) Professorial Chair in Chemical Engineering at Ahmadu Belo University, Zaria Prof. Abdulkarim S. Ahmed was able to develop new process routes through which high quality zeolites (zeolite Y and ZSM-5) were produced.  His work was a result of many years of quality research work with his team of researchers. The work involves the production of zeolite Y and ZSM-5 from kaolin massively available in Kankara town of Katsina State, Nigeria. The ZSM-5 prepared also had shorter crystallization time of 4 days when compared to 7 days for conventional methods. This is certainly an outstanding performance. The zeolites were blended and compounded into catalysts and tested both within and outside the country. The characterization and performance tests carried out revealed that a blend of the two catalysts prepared locally outperformed the commercial catalyst presently used at Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company.

Pilot plant units have been designed and fabricated to produce the catalysts. The units were commissioned on 26^th August, 2015. Development studies were continued at the plant to improve the qualities of the products to those achieved at the bench scale. Already, Nigerian Patent Office, a body responsible for granting patents had granted a patent to the university for this giant feat. This development has many positive implications for Nigeria in general and for Kankara town, Katsina State and the environs in particular, in terms of employment generation, revenue generation and conservation of foreign exchange earnings. The drive to increase the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) along the development and application of our natural mineral resources has over the years led to the intensification of national research efforts with the aim of adding value to the country’s vast mineral deposits. One of such minerals that has received attention is kaolin with an estimated over 3 billion metric tons deposits according to the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development (2003). In addition to zeolite catalyst production, kaolin has other applications in alum, alumina and ceramic production and as filler in paper and plastics, and as adsorbents for heavy metals, to mention a few

Kankara kaolin has been reported to be one of the best China clays in the country. It is presently mined on a small scale by local miners for sale to non-manufacturing users. A pharmaceutical grade kaolin beneficiation plant established in the town is yet to take off. This research work on kaolin is a golden opportunity for the Federal and Katsina state governments to support the exploitation and utilization of kaolin and other natural resources for economic diversification in the state.

In conclusion, ABU has demonstrated its capabilities in research and innovations with unquantifiable technological impacts to the Nigerian society and beyond. Yet, the university has not reached its zenith, more need to be done by the university and the society at large. The university must exploit the opportunities provided by the vast and highly influential members of its Alumni. A deliberate and concerted campaign “Time for Payback” has to be mounted to sensitize all those who passed through this citadel of learning. Every alumnus should provide his/her widow’s mite on continuous basis to raise ABU to a greater height. States and Federal governments have to increase support to convert the research results and innovations achieved by ABU and other research centres for commercialization. The time is now, tomorrow may be late, the world is already a global village and someone, somewhere can take advantage at the expense of Nigerian society.    

ABU Convocation Series: Technological Impacts and Opportunities III

ABU Convocation Series: Technological Impacts and Opportunities III

As reported in the second part of this article, NAPRI successfully bred an indigenous chicken of Layers and meat-type called Shika-Brown. The chicken is known for its versatility and highly adaptable to the Nigerian tropical environment. Shikabrown® is duly patented after passing all kind of performance measurements with flying color. The chicken is hardy and resistant to many diseases hence less investment in drug is required and it was tested to give a very good performance in all the ecological zones of the country. One Shikabrown® can lay an average of 278 eggs in 52 weeks of egg laying after 20 weeks of brooding. Egg production can reach 50 % at the age of 24 weeks, which means within four weeks of starting of egg lying, the chickens can feed themselves from the proceeds of eggs selling.

Another area of great importance to Nigeria, which NAPRI pursued vigorously for over two decades, is the Artificial Insemination (AI) of cattle.  AI is a sound strategy for addressing the low animal productivity in form of beef and milk, which still comes from the traditional sector. First, NAPRI through series of studies identified the major production constraints of the indigenous livestock system and brought AI as a sustainable solution for increased animal productivity through cross breeding. Artificial insemination is the most important single technique ever devised for the genetic improvement of animals. It is a technique of depositing semen into the cows' reproductive tract with an inseminating rod.

AI is a powerful biotechnological tool that involves semen collection, evaluation, processing and preservation for future use. The preserved semen can then be introduced into the genitalia of estrus females by use of special equipment to get such females pregnant without having any physical contact with the males. It is the most important and practicable single technique ever devised for the rapid genetic improvement of livestock. A few highly selected males produce enough spermatozoa that can be used to inseminate millions of females. The technology allows maximizing the use of genetically proven sires. The AI technology has been developed for ruminants, dogs, pigs and avian particularly turkey. 

NAPRI is reputed to be the first government agency, which enthusiastically researched and promoted AI in the whole of West African sub-region.  Historically, the first trial of AI in Nigeria was carried out in NVRI, Vom in 1943 using chilled locally processed semen and imported semen from UK.  In 1950, semen was imported from UK for AI in Kano State for crossbreeding of Bunaji cattle. In 1976, NAPRI established the AI Unit, with the sole responsibility of co-ordination of AI activities on a nationwide basis. Since then, many states, organizations and individuals have been showing keen interest in crossbreeding activities. The advantages of AI for livestock improvement are numerous. There is rapid genetic improvement or up grading of indigenous cows through crossbreeding with exotic breeds to give more milk and meat production. This can change the gene pool of the national herds with more meat and more milk in multiple folds. Another advantage; a collection of single ejaculation from a male can be extended or diluted to inseminate thousands of females with each having 99% probability of one or multiple births of calves. With AI, a farmer needs not to keep sires (male-cow) as the semen can be collected and preserved for use to other females over a long period, which reduces management cost such as feeding, housing and labor. Money saved from the reduced management cost and sales of male - cows can be used to buy extra cows. There is effective control of transmissible diseases (venereal diseases) through AI program. In addition to these advantages, the crossbreeding of indigenous and exotic breeds is a significant that can be achieved using AI. To date, NAPRI has successfully trained over 1,450 inseminators nationwide and over 20,000 inseminations were similarly conducted.

The third Institute under the purview of ABU is the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS).  NAERLS was initially named "Research Liaison Services” and then became “Extension Research Liaison Section (ERLS)” in 1963 within IAR before it finally became an autonomous Institute in 1987. It was then under the supervision of Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST). Thus, the Institute was given a national mandate, which transformed it to National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS) leading to the establishment of five zonal offices with each in the five Agro-ecological zones. This was done in recognition of the then AERLS contribution to the successful extension support services in the Northern States of Nigeria, Presently, NAERLS is funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), while its staff are provided by Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. This makes NAERLS to be one among few research centres with two supervisory bodies; FMARD and ABU. Surprisingly and pleasantly, similar to other two ABU Institutes (IAR and NAPRI), there is no conflict of interests and the two bodies (FMARD and ABU) are synergizing, complementing and achieving their goals through NAERLS activities. While FMARD is strengthening agricultural extension service delivery nationwide, ABU uses both the human resources and infrastructure for teaching, learning and community services. These tasks are accomplished because of the mission and mandates of NAERLS from 1987 to date. Cataloguing the breakthroughs recorded by NAERLS since inception is beyond the scope of this column. However, few of the significant feats have to be mentioned.  NAERLS engages in print and electronic media productions and distribution of agricultural extension materials. Electronically, NAERLS has produced and & aired 30,876 radio broadcasts in Hausa, lgbo, Yoruba, English, Pidgin English, Kanuri, Efik, Nupe languages respectively. Similarly, it has produced and aired 11,530 TV broadcasts in Hausa, lgbo, Yoruba, English, Pidgin English languages. On print media, NAERLS has Published 986 Extension publications of different titles as well as distributed 5,185,624 copies to the general public. In 2016 alone, NAERLS produced 14 titles of bulletins and distributed 840,000 copies in all the 36 states and FCT under WAAPP project while in 2017, 33,000 copies of Training Manuals containing 11 modules of titles were distributed to 30,000 trainees N-power (Agro) program of the Federal Government. This is in addition to the 3-week rigorous training conducted to the volunteers in all the LGAs in Nigeria.

The most significant achievement of NAERLS in the last two years is the development of National Farmers Helpline Centre (NFHC). NAERLS was able to transform the NFHC from of mere conception of idea to the present reality. The primary objective of NFHC is to provide real-time, relevant and proven information and advisory agricultural extension services to stakeholders in Nigerian agricultural industry. Such information and services can definitely facilitate decision-making of the agricultural value chain actors with likely outputs of tripling the national productivity of agricultural sector.  NFHC is a perfect solution to the dearth of extension personnel nationwide. Today, farmers in Nigeria are faced with gross inadequate extension services because of the comatose situation and dilapidated structure of the current states Agricultural Development Programs (ADPs). This is a major factor responsible for low agricultural productivity in the country. NFHC was conceived to address this issue and today, thanks to the support from FMARD and ABU, the centre was successfully completed. The Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh formally launched the operation of NFHC on Friday, 19th January 2018. He also launched the e-conference facilities as one of the units of NAERLS e-Extension Department. The expectations from the centre are high and NAERLS has no option but to deliver. What is the modus operandi of the centre?

At the centre, the call agents receive calls from farmers, researchers, students and interested individuals on issues or problems in respect of their farming, marketing and processing as case may be. The call agents look for the answers to the queries received from callers by keying in the appropriate "catchy" words in the knowledge-based software, which promptly prop-ups the relevant answers from the content. The call agents answer the queries or escalate them to the specialists outside the centre for appropriate answers. The content development of the knowledge-based is a top priority for the smooth operation of the centre. This is an on-going activity and can never be exhaustive. It is imperative that other relevant stakeholders should come forward to help in the content development to facilitate enrichment of the knowledge-based for effective extension service delivery in the country. (To be continued next week)

ABU Convocation Series: Technological Impacts and Opportunities II

ABU Convocation Series: Technological Impacts and Opportunities II

To best describe the uniqueness and standing of Ahmadu Bello University among the Nigerian universities, one couldn’t resist paraphrasing the statement of Sodiq Omolaoye, an ace writer in an online newspaper. He posited “Tragically, some universities around the world may have diverted from their core mandate(s), ABU, however, over the years has been pushing hard to achieve her core objective, which is aptly captured thus, 'To advance the frontiers of learning and break new grounds, through teaching, research and the dissemination of knowledge of the highest quality... In Nigeria today, and beyond, ABU has so far become a pacesetter, a trailblazer and frontrunner, which other institutions emulate in knowledge production and advancement. Recently, it was announced that a team of students from ABU won the 2017 Enactus National Championship and was also declared winner of the Lekoil Environmental Sustainability Challenge in the competition” He added “the team won the challenge through an innovative project tagged Baggega Hope Rising, which uses the water filtration process for separation of physical and chemical impurities, such as lead and other heavy metals from underground water sources'. Compensated for their victory, the team represented the country in the Enactus World Cup tournament held at the United Kingdom……”. What else to add? This is the true reflection of what ABU stands for in the education sector of Nigeria.

Back to the question presented in the first part of this article, what is the manpower contribution and technological breakthroughs of ABU in about five years of her existence?

On the manpower contribution to the nation and abroad, ABU being the largest university in Nigeria and in Black Africa and the most diverse, has Alumni strength estimated to be over 800,000. The Alumni cut across the entire nation, strata of the different societies in all the continents of the Earth. This figure may be a conservative estimate when considering about 130 Colleges of Educations affiliated to ABU. All the undergraduate students of the affiliated colleges are tutored using ABU syllabi under strict monitoring and supervision of the university and thus, are awarded ABU degrees after their successful completion.  Therefore, presenting the exact manpower contribution of ABU to the society is beyond the scope of this Column. However, significant milestones in this direction have to be mentioned.

ABU is an Alma Mater of many shakers, movers and highly influential members of the Society. Among the top ranking Political elective positions, ABU had one of the Nigerian Presidents in its Alumni, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua of blessed memory graduated from the university with BSc Chemistry and MSc Analytical Chemistry. Two former Vice Presidents; Alh Atiku Abubakar and Arc Namadi Sambo graduated with degrees in Law and Architecture, respectively. At the upper chamber of the National Assembly, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, ABU has 34 Senators in the last ten years cutting across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. This means that ABU is fully represented at the upper chamber of the national Assembly with a sizeable percentage of the Nigerian Senators in her Alumni list. This is in addition to the several members of House of Representatives, States Assemblies, States Executive Councils and the Federal Executive Council. As at today, ABU is an Alma Mater of more than ten serving governors out of the 36 states governors in Nigeria. Their Excellences; Abdul Aziz Yari of Zamfara State, Alh Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State, Bar. Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State, Mall Nasiru Ahmad el-Rufa’i of Kaduna State, Mr. Samuel Ortom of Benue State and Hon. Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau State are among the serving governors who graduated from ABU. The university is also an Alma Mater to many first class traditional rulers; Shehu of Borno, HRH Abba Kyari Shehu Garbai, Emir of Katsina, HRH Abdulmumin Kabir Usman, Och. Of Idoma, HRH Agada Idu, Lamido of Adamawa, HRH Muhammadu Barkindo Aliyu, Emir of Kano, HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II and Chief of Lunguda, Wilfred K. Kimde are among the over 50 traditional rulers who passed through this excellent Citadel of learning in Zaria. Several influential personalities who graduated from ABU could be found in high-ranking positions of Military, Para-military, Civil service, Science and Technology, Business, Agriculture and other sectors of the economy.   

Nationally and internationally, the list of most influential personalities in the Alumni record of ABU is endless. If these personalities were to make a “pay-back” to the university, ABU would have been an Eldorado and would have made more positive impacts on all facets of human endeavors. Nevertheless, many milestones are recorded in the history of ABU.

In ABU, Nigeria has a window of opportunity to advance its developmental effort in all aspects of economic emancipation. This could be done through aggressive support of ABU’s breakthroughs in Agriculture, Pharmaceutical science, and engineering and computer science. Starting with Agriculture, ABU has made giant strides in the last four decades with tangible and outstanding results. The Agricultural Complex of the university recorded the feats. The Complex is composed of two faculties (Veterinary and Agriculture), three National Agricultural Institutes (NARIs) and the Division of Agricultural Colleges.  The Complex has about three thousand workforce with several professors of various disciplines of Agriculture, communication and engineering.

Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) is the oldest NARIs owned by ABU, established more than 90 years ago pre-dating the establishment of the university. IAR is mandated to genetically improve eleven agricultural commodities for Nigerian farmers. The Institute is concertedly   working to develop new or improve the quality of existing seeds for the eleven strategic crops in Nigerian Ecological zones. The ecological zones in Nigeria are extremely diverse with average annual rainfall of less than 700 mm for some areas and over 4000 mm for others. Despite the challenge pose by this diversity, ABU has been assiduously recording successes in the development of seeds for the nation and the West African sub region. The underneath of this feat is the caliber of the manpower possessed by the university. ABU has eminent professors charged with the responsibilities of breeding the seeds to achieve the mandates of IAR as a research Institute and for the University as a citadel of learning and community development centre. The efforts of the institute led to the development and released of many improved varieties of crops. The crops varieties were developed to meet the demands of different categories of producers, ranging from students, to farmers, industrialists and scientists. The mandate crops are Maize, Sorghum, Groundnut, Cowpea, Cotton, Sunflower, Castor, Jatropa and Artimesia, respectively.  A research team was assigned for each crop with clear mandate to improve the existing varieties against environmental constraints, prevalent pests and diseases known for the crops. On continuous basis, the research team consisting of Professors, Associate Professors, Senior Lecturers down to postgraduate students who harmoniously work together to achieve success.

Maize is one of the IAR mandate crops. It is the most stable food crops widely accepted by the Nigerian society and beyond. This is why over 30 commercially grown varieties were developed and released by IAR in the last ten years. All kind of maize varieties were developed, prominent among them are drought tolerance and early maturing varieties such as SAMMAZ 13, SAMMAZ 18, SAMMAZ 19, ZAMMAZ 21 and many others. Some of the good qualities of these early maturing varieties are tolerant to striga and hermonthica infestation; resistant to streak, low soil nitrogen tolerance and ability to mature from 60 days to 95 days depending on the particular variety. The other category of maize varieties developed by IAR was SAMMAZ 14, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 and 25. These varieties have maturity period ranging from 100 to 120 days. They are high yielding varieties, striga resistance and adaptable to Nigerian Savanna, hermonthica prone zones. Their yields ranged from 5 to 8 tons per hectare compared with national average of 2 tons per hectare obtain by most maize farmers using traditional local seed varieties

NAPRI is the second NARIs and the only animal production research Institute in Nigeria. NAPRI successfully bred an indigenous chicken of Layers and meat-type called Shika-Brown. The chicken is known for its versatility and highly adaptable to the Nigerian tropical environment. Shikabrown® is duly patented after passing all kind of performance measurements with flying color. The chicken is hardy and resistant to many diseases hence less investment in drug is required and it was tested to give a very good performance in all the ecological zones of the country. One Shikabrown® can lay an average of 278 eggs in 52 weeks of egg laying after 20 weeks of brooding. Egg production can reach 50 % at the age of 24 weeks, which means within four weeks of starting of egg lying, the chickens can feed themselves from the proceeds of eggs selling (To be continued next week).