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UNILAG, Three Other Varsities Win £1.9m Research Grant
The University of Lagos (UNILAG), alongside two other universities in Africa and one in United Kingdom, have been awarded a research grant worth 1.9 million pounds by the United Kingdom Research Institute (UKRI).
The grant, which is for a three-year research project (2021-2023) and funded by the UKRI, under the UKRI-GCRF ARUA Research Excellence Programme, is also for Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia.
Others are Makerere University Uganda and University of Sheffield, UK, as collaborating institutions.
The universities are expected to support in building research capacities at some other young participating African universities such as Hawassa in Ethiopia, Gulu in Uganda, as well as the University of Jos.
The Vice Chancellor of UNILAG, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, disclosed this in his address at a virtual/physical National Inception Workshop of the Migration, Urbanisation and Conflict in Africa (MUCA) Research Project on Thursday in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop, with the theme: Migration, Urbanisation and Conflict in Africa; Toward Peaceful Urban Futures (MUCA), was hosted by UNILAG’s Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development.
Ogundipe who was represented by the institution’s Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research and Academics, Prof. Oluwole Familoni, said that the ARUA Centre of Excellence for Urbanisation and Habitable Cities had a mandate to scale up applied urban research and practice in Africa.
He said that it was also to work toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
According to him, the research grant is one of six awarded under the UKRI-GCRF African Universities Research Alliance (ARUA) Research Excellence programme.
He said that it was also one of the several research projects targeted at UNILAG, in fostering stronger research and development partnerships for the actualisation of the SDGs.
The don noted that the research project would focus on unraveling the complexities surrounding migration and urbanisation in Africa, the attendant conflicts and finally chart the pathway to peaceful urban futures.
“This workshop, in kicking off the research, seeks to co-create the sustainable pathway to peace in our cities with stakeholders such as ourselves, private practitioners, policy makers, international development agencies and others.
“The future of African cities cannot be determined outside science policy engagement.
“Effective development strategies cannot be developed without the contributions of knowledge institutions.
“Providing the evidence base for targeted policies and actions in peace keeping, peace making and peace building in Nigerian cities is a game changer.
“The University of Lagos and all other partner universities in this MUCA project bring that expertise as subject specialists and bridge builders for a more sustainable future.
“Let me reiterate here that this project fits neatly within the internationalisation mandate of this university.
“Our faculty members are once again showing our strength and expertise in research and our capacity to collaborate effectively with other universities internationally, to jointly undertake ground-breaking multidisciplinary research aimed at improving our societies,” he stated.
The keynote speaker, Prof. Isaac Albert, pioneer Dean, Faculty of Multidisciplinary Studies, University of Ibadan, said there was an urgent need for universities across the continent to collaborate and step up efforts, in finding lasting solutions to all societal challenges.
According to him, city managers are already overwhelmed by these challenges that come with migration and conflicts especially.
“City managers are trained to manage problems but researchers have a better understanding on how to tackle most of these problems.
“When city managers, scholars, policy makers and industry collaborate, they end up establishing structures that would produce more sustainable management of the urban challenges,” he stated.
The professor of African History, Peace and Conflict Studies added that universities must remain production relevant as well as link up with industries in their quest to research and proffer solutions.
Prof. Timothy Nubi, Director, Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development in UNILAG, expressed joy over the research grant, noting that the development was a challenge to do more.
He noted that the centre would continue to engage in active collaboration, research and practice with the Federal and State Government agencies, NGOs and other critical stakeholders.
“We are indeed very happy to be part of this.
“The grant is essentially to look into issues of migration, urbanisation and conflict in Africa.
“It is huge, most of our institutions in Africa have not up till now, recognised the importance of research and the connection into development.
“When we look around, you will discover that one of the challenges facing us today is that of urban migration.
“This is especially, for economic reason, as well as migration as a result of conflict (displacement) and this is in the highest volume.
“The joy in the grant is that we are working not only as a university, but in collaboration with practitioners, communities, state government and we believe that if we co-produce solution, we are not going to market it to them, because it is a joint effort,” he said.
Prof. Taibat Lawanson, co-director of the centre, said the project would cover Nigerian cities such as Lagos, Lokoja and Jos.
According to Lawanson who is also a co-investigator and Project Lead, Nigeria, it also covers some cities in Ethiopia and Uganda, essentially to look at drivers of conflicts, particularly those caused by migration, driven by mega urbanisation, as in the case of Lagos.
“We shall also look at the ones driven by industrialisation, as in the case of Hawassa in Ethiopia, and Lokoja, Obajana, in Nigeria, and that driven by perennial conflict as it is in the case of Jos, also in Nigeria,” he said.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.