Nigerian researchers and inventors are very enterprising – Prof Badejo

What are the specific mandate of FRIN? The mandate of FRIN is to conduct research into all forestry activities in Nigeria. The mandate is two pronged.  It has the mandate to conduct research into forestry and forestry related programs in Nigeria and for the training of the middle level manpower needs of the forestry industry […]

What are the specific mandate of FRIN?

The mandate of FRIN is to conduct research into all forestry activities in Nigeria. The mandate is two pronged.  It has the mandate to conduct research into forestry and forestry related programs in Nigeria and for the training of the middle level manpower needs of the forestry industry in the country and its allied sectors. We carry out research in almost all forestry areas: wood waste utilization, forest utilization, sustainable forest management and forest protection, forest conservation, desertification control, sand dune programs and so on and so forth. For the second part of the mandate, FRIN has four colleges strategically located across the country to aid the manpower needs of the industry.

Many regard research activities as moribund in Nigeria. Is this a true reflection?

There are so many research institutes in Nigeria today and everyone has its own mandate. I can assure you that they are pursuing their mandates to the best of their abilities. That is of course, within the scope of facilities available, within the scope of funding and other constraining factors. It is even here that you see people improvise on everything they do especially in the face of lack. Even when they improvise, you find out that the quality of research done is not in anyway lower than what is being done in other climes. I give you an example: you can see the ceiling board over this room. That is one of the major breakthroughs in Nigeria today courtesy of FRIN. It is simply using wood waste, agricultural residue with cement and other locally sourced materials as binders. And we came out with this kind of innovative technology. A lot of the implements and production machines we use are also locally fabricated. With limited resources at our disposal, we still come out with high quality products like this. Nigerian researchers and inventors are very enterprising. That is inspite of all odds and difficulties across the paths. They struggle to do their research and still come out with beautiful results. We have a number of our research institutes which have carried out important research into greens and legumes and have come out with high variety maize, guinea corn, millet, rice, all which have been developed in this country. They have more or less increased agricultural yields for our industry. A lot of research activities are going on across the country mind you. Our teaching hospitals are constantly gearing up to make breakthroughs on healthcare development and other health related matters.

Many point to inadequate funding as the bane of research activities in Nigeria today. Is that entirely a true picture?

Research activities are funded. But you must agree that for quality research, there is no amount of funds that can ever be enough. But the question is; how best to utilize the little at our disposal. What impact can it make on the immediate community? And let me tell you a sad fact: apart from a few assisting international research donors, the bulk of funding for research activities is borne by the federal government. That is laudable and praiseworthy. If states and local governments can make inputs in terms of funding for research activities, we would move forward at a faster pace. Only a few of them fund research. Everybody leaves the area to the federal government. The bulk of facilities and infrastructure is provided by the federal government. And yet in national fund allocation, states do have theirs regularly paid. And you find out that the immediate beneficiaries of research activities are states, local governments and immediate catchment areas involved. That is where the results of such research activities are relevant. What is N25m in the budget of a state in Nigeria? Yet each of the state contributes that amount to a pool of funds used for research in the country. You have 36 of them. You know what that will be. It will go a long way to fund research. We have many local governments in Nigeria. Let each of them put in at least N10m to aid research in Nigeria. We are not even saying monthly but yearly. We should encourage a research endowment fund fully funded by states and local governments. This will go a very long way to improve on development. Research is the bedrock of development of any country. No country can develop without adequate and commensurate research. Every hand has to be on deck for pragmatic research to be done. Everything should not be left for government alone.

What specific strides has your establishment recorded in the past few years?

We had our annual review recently. We listed some of our achievements. We have introduced a number of tree species in Nigeria. It is through research that we have been able to establish a number of exotic tree species that can presently be found in the country today. We have the likes of the eucalyptus specie for which this institute worked for many years introducing different provenances into Nigeria and establishing permanent sample plots from where this specie was finally identified as a suitable specie for desertification control. We carry out sand dune fixation. You know the effects of desertification on the environment if there were not to be appropriate moves for checkmating it. We also found a specie called Gmelina. That is the candidate specie for pulp and paper making in Nigeria. It is our research that established it. We also have pine which is also good for pulp and paper making. Pine is a long fibre specie while Gmelina and others like it are short fiber ones. To produce paper of good quality, you have to combine both fibers in certain proportions. You can now get fine newsprints, paper bags and paper products of quality strength. It is this same research that established all these. When pine was first discovered, we found out that it was not doing well. Through research, we found out that we have to add something called microfiber into the potty mixture that we use in raising pine in the bursary and that is where the breakthrough came. Pine has been established and it now grows well in Nigeria even though it is exotic in nature. Eucalyptus now grows well as well in Nigeria. Gmelina and ditto for others also grow well in the nation. All these are not only suitable for desertification control, or gully erosion control but for the production of one wood product or the other. We have also produced teak which at present is one of the most valuable timber in the world market today. It initially had problems while growing in Nigeria like root rot problems and the disappearance of the permanent sample plots. But research identified the disease and its solution. Today, teak is one of the most successful plantation species in Nigeria. It grows everywhere. Research has done so much to establish the growth of a number of exotic plants in Nigeria and is still working on more. Also, we have been able to tackle the problem of our own indigenous hard wood species for which we initially had problems raising successfully. For instance, our indigenous Obeche was sometime in the past not flowering well. It is research that identified this and started to find ways to rectify the problem. Today, we can successfully raise permanent samples for the Obeche and even our local mahoganies. Today, through bio technology, you can produce seedlings of these indigenous plants which can then be used for the establishment of plantations, a number of forest pests that defoliate our plants resources were identified and destroyed through research. Also, control measures were proffered for them. All these have built up into what we call sustainable forest management. On the economic plane, we have established what we call grass cutter rearing where we domesticate these bush animals and this has provided jobs for many. We have trained many Nigerians. We have also done mushroom research and trained people on how to become mushroom farmers and help themselves economically. We have also introduced mulberry sericulture where you rear worms to produce silk and this is a great breakthrough in the economic fortunes of Nigeria.

How are you tackling the issue of deforestation and illegal logging in Nigeria?

Availability of a resource is a function of the utilization of that resource. In the past, we were in the range of 40 million to 60 million people but today we are over 140 million and still growing. There is advancement in education and many institutions are springing up. We have increasing housing units. Therefore, you need writing materials and wood for furniture. You need doors and windows. The need is increasing. The need for processed timber for the use of people is increasing on a daily basis. So, there is that continuous exploitation pressure on the timber resource areas of Nigeria. As the need is increasing, your forest estates become limited. The tempo of timber extraction is almost far outweighing the resources available. The problem is not limited to Nigeria only. That is why we are now focusing more on small diameter timbers as against large timbers. Technology has evolved for the effective utilization of small size species. How do we cope? Simply by establishing increased plantation areas in many enclaves across the country though that is a huge challenge. It is fund demanding. At least today, we are able to provide planting stock through research activities that will meet the plantation needs of Nigeria.