The Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Prof. Abdullahi Baba Alafara, has enjoined his colleagues and students of the University, particularly those in his Faculty, to pursue immortality through engagement in relevant researches that would lead to the amelioration of contemporary challenges facing the nation and humanity.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin, the varsity don said that one of the principal reasons behind the establishment of every University is for such an institution to be a centre where solutions would be found to human challenges.
The Dean explained that it is important for staff and students of the University to prioritise research in order to contribute their quotas to the expansion of the frontiers of knowledge and secure a place for themselves in history.
He added that engaging in relevant research would also enable staff and students of the University to help in lifting the institution higher, saying that we all have a role to play in sustaining and uplifting the rating of the University as a unique centre of excellence.
Alafara, who is also the National President of Materials Science and Technology Society of Nigeria, explained that research constitutes a critical segment of the responsibilities of the university teachers as he explained that the more a lecturer engages in research the better for him or her and the society at large.
He added that while the conduct of research would naturally and basically deepen the researcher’s knowledge, it would also equip him with more capacities to impart knowledge in his students and the larger society.
Prof. Alafara, who is a former Head of the Department of Industrial Chemistry, also explained that engagement in research would also propel the career of lecturers as the number and quality of a lecturer’s published researches would determine his career progression.
The don noted that conducting research and getting the outcomes of such efforts published in respected intellectual outlets would also earn the researcher a place in history, especially when such research is groundbreaking.
He explained that most of the people who are often celebrated in the history of every nation and community are those who did what was previously unthinkable and which contributed to the advancement of humanity in one way or the other.
He however commended the University management for creating a conducive environment for teaching, learning and research, and for sustaining the annual award for the researcher of the year among the University staff members.
The Dean therefore enjoined private individuals and organisations to support research endeavours with funds, materials and enabling environment for the betterment of the society.
