‘FG not doing enough in Sci. & Tech’

Weekly Trust: Can you briefly let us into your world; who are you and what do you do for a living? Oduyemi Kolade: I am 37 years old, from IJebu Ode, Ogun State.  I spent most of my life in Osogbo in Osun State. I am a graduate of Agronomy from Ladoke Akintola University, ogbomoso; […]

Weekly Trust: Can you briefly let us into your world; who are you and what do you do for a living?
Oduyemi Kolade: I am 37 years old, from IJebu Ode, Ogun State.  I spent most of my life in Osogbo in Osun State. I am a graduate of Agronomy from Ladoke Akintola University, ogbomoso; I now work with the Federal Medical Centre, Bida, as a horticulturist. I came to the North in 2009, after my NYSC and have worked on Fuzakol farms, a large farmyard in Suleja, Niger State.
WT: You have invented a device that can mechanically assist livestock farmers feed fish and chickens even from a far. What inspired the idea?
Kolade: I was inspired by the belief that the best source of economic empowerment and development should be agriculture. I wanted a situation where livestock farming would be one of the easiest forms of agricultural practice. So, I yearned for wisdom on how this system of farming can be improved and made easier. Several thoughts flooded my mind, but on deep reflection, I felt livestock farming takes a lot of time and  care  from the owners and remember that time is man’s greatest enemy. So, I thought of what I could do to reduce the amount of time a farmer would physically be present to take care of his livestock or fish. I wanted to conquer distance in farming; I wanted a situation where most intending farmers would be encouraged to take their farms in their pockets by using the GSM handset for their farm operations with ease.
In addition, I wanted a situation where most workers either civil servants or even busy company workers, would be able to simultaneously attend to their respective primary jobs and also, meet up with their farming obligations at the same time to maximise yields efficiently. These reasons compelled me to explore a device that can do this, using my handset, which is basically used for making and receiving calls. And I succeeded in inventing a small machine that receives calls and acts as programmed. 
WT: How does it work and how would you attest to its efficiency?
Kolade: It works by placing a normal GSM call to the bucket-like device, requesting it to do the feeding of say fish.  When the machine receives the call, the farmer or dialer gets an acknowledgment through the same phone.  The device begins to feed or dispense the food at a given gramme per second and when it meets the stipulated target, the feeder then locks itself back automatically without having to redial to cease feeding.
I can even modify it to place a call back to the user when feeds level diminishes. It’s as simple as that. The technology can be responsible for scores of other operations on the farm. I have a video recording of a farm demonstration, using the device.
WT: So, when did you invent the device?
Kolade: I invented it in December 2013.
WT: But, you didn’t read engineering, how did you acquire the skills to do it?
Kolade: Naturally, creativity murders fear and encourages isolation, which breeds ideas. I can say God gave me the idea, the wisdom and, when I understood what it was, I seized the rare opportunity to explore the world around me to come up with this. 
WT: How were you able to accomplish this feat and how long did it take you?
Kolade: The human mind has no limit when it comes to wants and desires and I said to myself that if Mount Everest could be conquered and James Cameron could  deep dive to more than 4000 meters into the ocean, I believe I can do anything. I have been able to achieve this, though I am not an engineering student or graduate, because I could identify the difference between being ambitious and wasting away. There were nights when half the world would be dead asleep, but I would work under a mosquito net with my phone torchlight, hanging in my mouth, connecting wires and drawing different diagrams. Such was my determination to accomplish this. The first prototype took me seven restless days.
WT: Did any expert in engineering, supervise this invention, assisting you to accomplish it?
Kolade: No such expert assisted me. Most times, I did my research on the internet and read a lot of books on electronics. They gave me useful insights, upon which I weaved my ideas, nurtured them, improved on what I knew, until I got to this point, which is to modestly say, a success. It’s an independent work. 
WT: How much did it cost you to invent the machine and assuming it is to be mass-produced, how can you be assisted?
Kolade: At a guess, the initial prototype cost me around N140,000 and the cost was that much because I kept destroying components after components, until I became wiser and got better.  I really want it mass produced;  I really need assistance in patenting it and I shall be extremely grateful, if the government and particularly the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, can seize this opportunity to explore what I have developed and see how it can utilise it to assist farmers in this era of e-farming .
WT: Has the machine been tested and certified by let’s say, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and if not, why?
Kolade: It has not been tested and certified by SON and the reason being that after finishing the work, I simply got grounded money-wise and I didn’t know what else to do. It’s my first completed work from the many I intend to do and I can honestly say I am grounded. 
WT: What other technological inventions do you have in the offing?
Kolade: I have the intention of creating a pond water changing mechanism that can also use the handset to function and many others. With time, I shall get there.
WT: How do you intend to make it useful to farmers in villages?
Kolade: I wish to say, there are fewer villages in the world right now with developments in ICT. The moment you could get a GSM network in your habitation, then it ceases to be a village.  However, whether a village or not, the moment you are interested in poultry, fishery and other forms of livestock, you can key into its usage by following some simple setting protocols. Incidentally, the device also reduces the incidence of disease because of less human contact with the livestock, achieves efficiency and saves time.
WT: What is its life span and does it need electricity to function?
Kolade:  Candidly, I really can’t give expiry date to this device, and it’s not meant to last forever either.  However, with simple maintenance technique, it can effectively give it a span of five years and above. I factored the epileptic nature of electricity in our country into its construction hence I chose to make it battery operated. All you have to do is get the battery charged and use it again and again.
WT: Have you ever enlisted it for any hi-tech competition and if not why?
Kolade: I was at an exhibition in December 2013 in Osun State, organised by Adulawo Initiative, where I exhibited it. The admiration of my idea was inspirational.
WT: Do you think the Federal Government is doing enough to assist tender minds like you grow in science and technology in the country?
Kolade: To be honest, I can say no. There is need to make the Science and Technology Ministry practically functional to assist young, determined brains like us develop Nigeria’s technological sector.  Transforming ideas into reality in form of concrete devices is a talent that comes from God and not everybody is so endowed, including even teachers who teach us. I am not disparaging anybody, but that’s the truth. So, there is need to encourage and harness the talents of rare individuals in my league. There are scores of such technological inventions across Nigeria, but unfortunately, the ovation ends with the inventor. As for me, Nigeria really needs to sit up and drive its technological sector in the right direction. 
WT: What is your message to other Nigerians and the government about promoting devices like this?
Kolade: I wish the government would roll out encouraging policies to promote full use of human resources, especially when there is encouragement. I wish they would talk less and act more. Moreover, I believe that government alone should not be saddled with such responsibilities of promoting science and technology.