One year after the renowned University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) adjudged the University of Ilorin’s Faculty of Engineering as the Nigeria’s best, UMAR BAYO ABDULWAHAB recalls and chronicles the major breakthroughs recorded by the faculty in recent past.
At its double celebration of 31st convocation and 40th anniversary ceremonies in 2015, the University of Ilorin demonstrated to the world the reason it had earned for itself the proud appellation of ‘’Better By Far.’’
The university, which is the most patronised in the country by admission seekers because of its stable academic calendar, has carved a niche for itself with several breakthroughs and new discoveries, particularly in the areas of science and technology.
At the 2015 pre-convocation press briefing, the university authorities showcased to the world, a surveillance drone designed and manufactured by a team under the school’s faculty of Engineering.
The drone was operated right from within the auditorium where it captured happenings and images around the university community, to the excitement of all, including the inquisitive journalists who had earlier inquired to know what the small objects placed on the podium was.
Led by a Professor of Chemical Engineering in the university and the immediate vice-chancellor of Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Sulyman Age Abdulkareem, the feat further confirmed the institution’s status as one of the top ranking universities in the country.
Consolidating on this, Abdulkareem again developed a chemical device for cleaning oil spillage in the Niger Delta region. And this time around, the brilliant effort did not go unnoticed as the federal government commissioned Unilorin to help solve the problem of oil spillage in the region.
Moving away from chemical to mechanical engineering, the faculty recently consolidated on its breakthroughs by coming up with a speed limit monitors for vehicles.
The device, according to the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor AbdulGaniyu Ambali, is to be showcased soon to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).
These, and several major breakthroughs recorded by the institution’s Faculty of Engineering, probably earned it the rating as the university with best engineering programmes. The feats have continued to draw to the university, many interventionist projects from government institutions and private organisations.
The latest in the series of intervention projects donated to the university is a $2 million state-of-the-art Engineering Laboratory Research Centre, by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
The NLNG $12million University Support Project (USP) scheme was launched in 2014 to help develop engineering education capacity in the country. Under the scheme, six universities in Nigeria were selected to benefit from the scheme for a project worth $2million each.
The universities include;
the Ahmadu Bello University Multi-user Engineering Laboratory, the University of Ibadan Engineering Complex and the NLNG/University of Port Harcourt Oil and Gas Engineering Centre, University of Maiduguri and University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Penultimate Friday, NLNG’ team was at the University of Ilorin to commission its own share of the USP.
Speaking at the commissioning of the centre, Professor Ambali urged the NLNG to challenge the institution by giving it task to provide practical solutions to the orgnisation’s challenges.
Expressing confidence in the best brains, whose work fetched the university the best ranking in engineering by the University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) programmes, Ambali said the many feats performed by the faculty were enough to speak for it.
“For instance, one of our staff in the faculty of engineering has helped to develop a chemical device for cleaning oil spillage in the Niger Delta region, and the university has been commissioned by the federal government to help solve the problem of oil spillage in the region.
“We have also made several advancements in the area of speed limit monitors for vehicles and this shall be showcased very soon to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).
These are some of the solutions provided to various challenges emerging from the Faculty of Engineering of this University. I have a strong believe that if we are challenged, the university through the faculty, can deliver” the VC said.
Ambali, explained that the centre, which construction began two years ago, would “boost research and position the university for innovative engineering feats in the three thematic areas of energy, material characterisation and simulation.
“This, we believe, would make the university to be highly competitive and consolidate its status as a prospective reference point for engineering training and research in Africa and one of the best in the world.”
Identifying engineering as critical to the success of the country, he noted that “whether we talk of stable electricity, good water supply, motorable roads or safe and secure housing as well as other components of our much needed infrastructure, we realise that largely, the success of the country is that of engineering and the failure is also the failure of engineering. In other words, if Nigeria gets her engineering right, she will get her bearing right.”
And like an Oliver Twist, the vice-chancellor, while thanking the NLNG for the project, requested thus: “I still want to appeal that it should support its sustainability.
The continuous support of the better by far company to our better by far university will still be needed so that the high standards that characterise the centre today will be sustained.”
In his keynote address, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Babs Omotowa explained that “the University Support Programme is one of NLNG’s approaches to developing Nigerian human capital and fostering technological advancement.
“We recognise that universities, with their crop of young people and nimble minds, when aided properly, are the fertile grounds from which ideas to fast track Nigeria’s progress will spring from.”
He said the university was considered amongst other beneficiary institutions because of its top ranking and stable academic calendar.”
Omotowa , also an alumnus of Unilorin, further said: “The University of Ilorin and five other federal universities were chosen based on their relative ranking in their geo-political zones by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) and the world ranking of universities.
“Since its establishment in 1975, the University of Ilorin has worked to earn its stripes as one of the best run and managed universities in Nigeria. From the three engineering departments it had in 1978, it now boasts of offering undergraduate degrees in seven Engineering disciplines including Biomedical Engineering and postgraduate degrees in four of these disciplines.
“With commissioning of the multi-million naira Engineering Research Centre, Nigeria LNG Limited is supporting the University of Ilorin’s mission of providing a world-class environment for learning, research and community service.”
Also speaking, the Kwara state Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, posited that the need to equip nation’s tertiary institutions with state of the art facilities has been an issue of serious concern in various circles across the country.
With this development, the governor noted, it’s evident that the country was advancing towards achieving the much- needed infrastructural and human capital development.
Represented by the state Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Engineer Musa Yeketi, the governor also noted that the project signals a step change in the provision of requisite educational facilities for the development of human capital, especially in the engineering profession.
On NLNG , he said: “Practically, every state in the country has felt the positive impact of this company as proven by the huge tax which the company paid to the federal government last year which was utilised as a bailout fund for several states.”
The commissioning of the project was witnessed by members of political class, the academia and captains of industry. The takeaway by stakeholders at the event is that, the nation can use its own indigenous technology to wriggle out of its numerous developmental cum economic challenges.
