It described the appointment as a “fascinating antecedent”.

The Vice-Chancellor of University of Ilorin, Prof. Sulyman Abdulkareem, made the commendation on Monday through a press statement signed by Kunle Akogun, the Director of Corporate Affairs in University of Ilorin.

Abdulkareem described Na’Allah, a former VIce Chancellor of Kwara State University, Malete, as a distinguished scholar and administrator of high repute.

“The University of Ilorin is not surprised by the rising profile of Prof. Na’Allah as he was, right from his studentship at the university, nurtured with the determination to always pursue excellence and stand out among his peers,” he said.

The Vice-Chancellor said that the University of Ilorin community was extremely elated that one of her alumni and former academic had been found worthy of appointment as “the Chief Executive of the highly-cosmopolitan Federal University situated at the nation’s capital, Abuja, particularly at this point in time.”

According to him, the University of Ilorin has been monitoring the glowing career of Na’Allah and is very proud of his reputable erudition, administrative competence and infectious accomplishments as a world-class scholar and particularly as the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the Kwara State University, Malete.

Abdulkareem expressed his conviction that Na’Allah would continue to pursue all-round excellence as imbued in him at the University of Ilorin so that his tenure at the University of Abuja will go down in history as being better.

The statement further read: “Prof.Na’Allah graduated with B.A and M.A English from the then Department of Modern European Languages, University of Ilorin in 1988 and 1992,respectively.

“He taught briefly at the same department prior to his going abroad for further studies and career progression.

“He is the second almunus of the University of Ilorin to serve as a Vice-Chancellor of a University and the first to be so appointed into the same position by two different universities in Nigeria,” it said.

According to the statement, Na’Allah is also regarded as the longest serving University’s Chief Executive so far as he is due to complete his 10 years two-term as the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the Kwara State University, Malete, by July 27,2019.

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Abdulkareem, made the statement on Monday during a sensitisation programme organised for security personnel of the university on drug abuse and alcoholism.

He said the programme was a welcome development, as it was meant to enlighten members of staff as well as students on the menace of drug and alcohol abuse.

The Vice-Chancellor, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Management Services, Prof. Bolaji Sule, enjoined the security unit of the university to embrace the initiative and inculcate ethics that would promote viable working environment.

He also promised to extend the interactive session to other units in due course.

In his remarks, the Director of Health Services, Dr Abdulrasheed Odunola, commended the management for the programme aimed at creating awareness on the ills of drug abuse and excessive alcohol intake.

Odunola pointed out that the negative effects of drug abuse and alcoholism on staff and students had led to accidents, suicide, loss of lives and insubordination at work, among others. He said that these undoubtedly had negative effects on the society.

Odunola expressed the hope that the programme would go a long way in fighting drug abuse and alcoholism, thus, creating a more peaceful environment in the university.

He also commended the security personnel for their participation and intelligent contributions during the programme.

He, however, urged them to apply the knowledge acquired from the programme on their job, to ensure a drug and alcohol-free university.

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The University of Ilorin Bulletin, which was issued on Monday, stated that Belewu of the Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, disclosed the innovation in a report he sent to the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Sulyman Abdulkareem.

The publication said that the new feed was the outcome of Belewu’s research visit to Uka Tarsadia University, India, on the platform of the N. G. Patel Fellowship grant which was recently won by the Professor of Animal Production.

It stated that on arrival at the Uka Tarsadia University, Belewu obtained the needed materials for the research work and the animal feed was consequently formulated.

“A dairy farm with enough dairy animals was identified (Sumul Vanskul Animal Breeding) at Bardoli, Maliba area of Gujurat,” he said.

Belewu noted that the dairy farm, which was nearly 10km from Uka Tarsadia University, housed more than 40 cows and buffaloes, adding that lactating Gir cows were used for the study.

The professor said that the tested novel feed was modelled into pellets and used to nourish the lactating cows, adding that three feed pellet samples were developed, when compared with the popular conventional cow pellet.

He said that the three designed cow feed pellet samples would boost the income of livestock farmers, as their price per kilogramme was found to be quite cheaper, if compared with the conventional feed pellet samples.

He said that the research feat was well-received by the management of Uka Tarsadia University, adding that the university authorities were even proposing to patent the product.

Belewu urged the management of the University of Ilorin to consider the patenting and commercialisation of the developed feed pellet samples.

He said that the fellowship grant had helped him in forming new relationship and partnership with academics in Uka Tarsadia University and other persons.

He also said that the grant had also stimulated the formation of a bilateral research group, involving academics from University of Ilorin and Uka Tarsadia University, so as to boost cross-fertilisation of ideas and innovation.

He said that the breakthrough in animal production had the potential of increasing the income of livestock farmers in Nigeria, if well-utilised.

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Sources within the university community told our correspondent that following the development, the management of the institution on Monday held a security meeting with the leaders of 11 Fulani settlements located on the institution’s land.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of law enforcement agencies comprising the Nigerian Police Force, the Department of State Security Services and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.

During the meeting, the vice-chancellor warned that the management of the university would no longer tolerate illegal grazing on its land.

Abdulkareem also ordered squatters who had started building permanent structures on the university’s land without approval from the management to vacate the university land in the interest of peace.

He said, “We have a multi-million naira programme that is currently at stake now because they (herders) have gone to the extent of uprooting tubers of cassava for their cattle to feed on. We cannot conduct any research or training on the farm again because each time we get to a point where their cattle can feed on it… they go back there and destroy it.”

The VC said the purpose of the meeting was to decide on a specific deadline for the herdsmen and other illegal settlers to vacate the property.

Recalling that the university, under his immediate predecessor, Prof. Abdulganiyu Ambali, in 2017 granted a three-month extension window to the settlers on request, he said the herders violated the agreement and failed to comply with it.

Reacting to the development, the Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Usman Adamu, told the UNIILORIN authorities that the herdsmen destroying the university farm land were not living in the community.

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Dr Kolawole Matthew, the Ag. Director of the institute, made the disclosure in Ilorin on Tuesday while declaring open the annual workshop on Biomedical Innovation and Research Commercialization.

A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. For example, the human genome is analogous to the instructions stored in a cookbook. Just as a cookbook gives the instructions needed to make a range of meals including a holiday feast or a summer picnic.

The programme was organised by the institute in conjunction with the Laboratory and the Product Centre of the University.

According to him, the action makes the university to become the first institution in the whole of Sub-Sahara Africa to attain the feat.

The researcher described genome as `a genetic information of an organism’.

He said that the human genome contained all the instructions needed to make the full range of human cell types including muscle cells or neurons.

According to him, the development of new technologies has made genome sequencing dramatically cheaper and easier, and the number of complete genome sequences is growing rapidly.

Kolawole said: “Before the death of the famous Steve Jobs, the Co-founder of Apple, he donated $100,000 USD to sequence the genome of the cancer that killed him.

“About 13 years ago, the United States Government spent about $3 billion USD and produced in returns one trillion US dollars in economic impact to the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) through the human genome project”.

The director, however, lamented that African research institutes, and Nigeria in particular, had not keyed into these advancements.

He said that the institute was determined as part of its major goals to contribute 10,000 genomes to the 100 million genome project in the next five years, thereby becoming the first institute in the whole Sub-Saharan Africa to attain the feat”.

According to him, this might sound not achievable knowing full well that sequencing a single genome cost about $1,000, and sequencing 10,000 genomes would cost $10 million.

Mathew disclosed that the institute was making frantic collaborative efforts with international bodies and notable organisations like Inqaba Biotech West Africa (Africa Genomic Company) towards making the quest possible.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Sulyman Abdulkareem said that it would explore new frontiers in the area of molecular biology with a view to producing world class researchers within the next few years.

He observed that recent advances in medicine, agriculture and biomedical engineering were strongly linked to molecular science and biotechnology.

Abdulkareem reiterated that the University was devoting resources to research in those fields to increase the outputs that would provide immediate solutions to the problems of food insufficiency, environmental degradation and health care challenges.

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