Don seeks more funding for research institutes, policies to protect

OKITIPUPA (Sundiata Scholar) – A don, Prof. David Aworinde, has appealed to the Federal Government to put more funds in research institutes for further research in plants to make new discoveries and generate more revenue for government.

Aworinde, a professor of Botany, made the appeal while delivering the Fifth Inaugural Lecture of Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa, Ondo State, on Thursday.

reports that the inaugural lecture had, as its theme: “Internal and External Signatures: Requirements for Ordering and Reordering in the Plant Kingdom.”

Aworinde said that countries versatile in research were called ‘developed’, adding that most of the drugs and finished goods imported from other countries could be discovered in Nigeria.

This, he said, would boost revenue if government could put more funds in research.

“As a plant scientist, I urge the government to put more funds in research and development, for new discoveries to be made from plants which will boost government revenue,” he said.

The don also called on government to formulate policies in order to protect plants which were beneficial to mankind from destruction or total extinction.

According to him, plants are gift from God to mankind, adding that they are important and useful as foods, drugs, houses and others from cradle to grave.

He, however, expressed the regret that the population of useful plants had been decreasing at an alarming rate due to ignorance of plants collectors.

Aworinde, of the Department of Biological Sciences, OAUSTECH, noted that when God created plants, He implanted signatures in their internal (anatomy) and external (taxonomy) formations, which formed their shape, feelings and reactions when being used for any purpose by man.

He cited the examples of different categories of plants, ranging from drugs, fibres, spices, condiments, beverages, dyes, constructions, insecticides and plants with industrial values, among others, used by mankind from the cradle to the grave.

According to him, plants, aside from their uses, also release oxygen to man and take out carbon dioxide which are very important to human existence.

“But the population of these plants is decreasing at an alarming rate due to ignorance of the plants collectors who destroy most of these plants in the process of fetching them for usage.

“We are lucky to have most of these plants in our environment but the destructive menace of plants collectors make them to leave the environment when their lives are being threatened.

“I hereby advocate for policies that will protect these plants which are very useful to mankind in order to protect them, for us to continue to enjoy their usefulness through various researches,” Aworinde said.

In his remarks, the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Temi Ologunorisa, said that the usefulness and importance of plants to mankind could not be over-emphasised.

Ologunorisa commended the lecturer, describing him as one of the best scholars who had attained a high pedigree in the research into plants anatomy and taxonomy under the tutelage of best brains in the country.

“The lecturer has emphasised the importance of plants to mankind in terms of foods and drugs, among others, identifying their utility and importance values.

“Our advice for the government is to value these species of important plants by formulating policies that will protect them, for them not to go into extinction, so that their benefits can be better utilised,” the vice-chancellor said.

reports that scholars, educationists, traditional rulers, politicians and others from different fields attended the inaugural lecture. (NAN)