Tin metal discovered on Unilorin land—VC

 The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof Sulyman Age Abdulkareem has disclosed that large quantity of Tin metal was discovered on the land of the university.

Abdulkareem made the disclosure on Friday in Ilorin at a press conference heralding the 34^thConvocation ceremonies of the university.

The  award of certificates, diplomas and degrees would take place on Tuesday, Oct 23 at the university stadium.

“As a result of our intensive research efforts, we have discovered tin metal (Sn) on our land in such a quantity and quality that can be extracted for business and economic gains.

“In no time, University of Ilorin will be one of the opulence and prosperous universities in the world,” the VC said.

He added that the university has begun to do the necessary paper works and agreement with the Federal Government for licence to mine the solid mineral.

“We have also made efforts to bring in reliable investors who can turn it into a big business after we might have gone through the process of notification and approval from the appropriate quarters,” the VC said.

Abdulkareem said the university under his administration, in the efforts at generating knowledge the world, has proposed two innovative African Centers of Excellence which would be funded by the World Bank.

“One is on Advance Electrical Power Engineering and Green Energy Research (AARPEGER).

“The other is on the setting up of West African Centre for Infectious Disease and Epidemiological Surveillance,” the VC added.

According to the VC, the desire of the management was to make the University a world-class institution with a reputation for generation of innovative knowledge is being fulfilled with concrete achievements.

“In this regard, we have been able to achieve some feats in innovation. We now have more patents.

“Prior to 2017, the university had 15 patents, six of which humbly are mine, and since I assumed office, we have added another eight.

“More than ever before, researchers are encouraged to carry out their investigation to patent-filling stage,” Abdulkareem added.

The VC said the University has signed MoU with the Nigerian Army on the invention and development of Polymer composite for strategic and protective defence.

“In concrete terms, we have invented a bullet-proof gadget, which has been tested and accepted by the Nigerian Army.

“We this, we are already improving our impact on the world and on our immediate society.

“This is a gratifying achievement that will ultimately propel the University to the zenith of global recognition and reputation we desired,” he said.

The VC added that in an effort to improve the University Internally Generated Revenue, management would soon sign an MoU with the Central Bank of Nigeria on the exploration and maximisation of the university’s land.

“The MoU will allow the Central Bank to use our land for cultivating certain crops for the University, and which the Central Bank will readily buy back from us.

“This, to us is a good initiative for solidifying our philosophy of combining academic with entrepreneurship,” Abdulkareem said.

The VC also said that the university would soon come up with a plan to yield a hectare of land each to 1, 000 individuals who may wish to embark on mechanised farming.

“The individuals will be drawn from student body, unions, and farmers from outside the university.

“Arrangement for the proper allocation of land for this project has been completed,” the VC said.

With this project, the VC added that the University would be contributing its own quota to the Federal Government’s Agricultural initiative.