By Adeyinka Adeniran
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan (UI), Ibadan, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, has called for more gown-town engagements for significant societal impact.
The VC, who was represented by the university’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC), Academic, Professor Aderonke Baiyeroju, made the call at the retrospective 60th Anniversary Colloquium (1962-2022) of the Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology (CPEB), University of Ibadan.
The theme of the Colloquium was, “Revamping Environmental Management For a Food Secured Nigeria”, with the topic of discussion during the grand event as: ‘The Past, Present and Future of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology’.
During the grand event, Prof. Baiyeroju affirmed that the theme, as well as the various topics of discussion, agreed with the vision of the University of Ibadan “to be a world class institution for academic excellence geared towards meeting societal needs.”
The DVC stated that the celebration served triple purposes namely, homecoming for CPEB Alumni; networking for past, current and future collaborators; as well brainstorming to review future plans.
She, therefore, expressed the appreciation of the University of Ibadan to all the local and international partners present at the occasion, including IITA, NOSDRA, IAR&T, Harvestfield Industries Limited, A Fruitful Environment Ltd and others, calling for sustained collaborations for greater impact.
The Chairperson at the event and Director, Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Moor Plantation, Ibadan, Prof. Veronica Obatolu, commended the initiative of the department for using the 60th anniversary celebration to engage relevant stakeholders to come up with strategies that will mitigate food shortage and climate change.
Prof. Obatolu considered the effort as timely, particularly as the Federal Government has declared a state of emergency on food security in the country, with continued efforts at finding a way out of the situation, lamenting that several human efforts being explored to ensure food security are not environmentally friendly and have no regard for the ecosystems.
She said: “This has resulted in many damages and evolving issues that are more deleterious to nature and causing a lot of damages to the ecosystems through unguided practices. If frantic and pragmatic efforts are not made to halt this process and restore the damaged environment, it will become more complex to feed ourselves.”
Obatolu submitted that the solution to the problems of food insecurity and climate change lies in collaborative efforts, and pledged continued and sustained collaboration with the Department of CPEB to make Nigeria a better place for all.
In her remarks, the Head, Department of CPEB, Prof. Morufat Balogun, highlighted the various impacts of the department over the years and its set pursuits in the coming years, explaining that the retrospective celebration was consequent upon the disruption of the academic calendar experienced between 2020 and 2022.
The high point of the Colloquium was the presentation of awards to various recipients who have impeccable records and are noteworthy in personality and achievements.
The awards, which were in 2 categories, had eight personalities in the Distinguished Alumni Award category, while the Distinguished Personality Award category had five personalities.
The celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology (CPEB) spanned a whole week with many activities that involved students and lecturers, as well as other members of the university community.
