The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olusola Oyewole, has commended the ingenuity of the College of Plant Science and Crop Production (COLPLANT) at refurbishing the College’s Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, donating a Screen House, as well as equipping the College Library.
Speaking during the commissioning of the facilities, Professor Oyewole lauded the Dean of the College, Professor ‘Goke Bodunde, for providing quality leadership. The Vice-Chancellor also commended the Head, Department of Crop Production and Technology, Dr. Akin Popoola, who won the grant that enabled the College obtain the Screen House and Laboratory Equipment.
According to him, “I want to appreciate Dr. Popoola; that you were able to get this through your grant, and to encourage that more of our lecturers should keep on writing proposals and looking for grants. I once mentioned that we should be strategic in the acquisition of equipment for our laboratories and in our strategy. Let’s strengthen our ability to compete for international grants and through these grants; be able to attract support for our University, to be able to purchase such equipment. But more importantly, when we write our proposals, let’s have in mind our Postgraduate students. Let us ensure all the grants we win translate into capacity building in the lives of our Postgraduate students”.
While lauding the efforts of many Academic Staff in the University that had won grants in the past, he mentioned the recent one credited to Dr. Adewale Obadina of the Department of Food Science and Technology, when he said: “Dr. Obadina is also attracting grants for equipment like these. Two different organizations have just sent in equipment to the Food Science and Technology (Department), through his projects and I believe that with this, we will keep on making our University an international University”.
“I announced at the Senate that we will put up an advert for the construction of the second phase of COLPLANT. We are building a new structure of about 150 million naira for COLPLANT. We are advertising three major structures and we have awarded 12 different projects within the last two months”, he added. The Vice-Chancellor appealed to members of staff to keep doing their best in moving the University forward, stating that “we may not get there in a single day, but we are not stagnant. We are moving forward”.
While giving a brief history of the Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, Dr. Popoola disclosed that the laboratory used to be the Anatomy Laboratory of the College of Veterinary Medicine before he, through a proposal submitted to the World Bank/STEP-B, won grants, to refurbish it. He also appreciated the contributions of Professor Omolayo Ariyo of the College, who was also the former Project Manager of World Bank/Step-B, in equipping the laboratory.
Speaking on the Screen House, the HOD explained it was a jointly-funded project by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, while the Dean, Professor Bodunde, said the College Library had the capacity of accommodating 30 students at a time with a Librarian and an Assistant Librarian, while its operational hours run between 8.00am and 4.00pm.
Responding, the Vice-Chancellor challenged the Dean to consider the possibility of adding an Electronic Library, equipped with a Router in such a way that all publications (both soft and hard copies), emanating from the College in the last one year, are made available in the library.
