We are Developing Devices to Tackle Insecurity, says VC UNIMAID

The Vice-Chancellor, University of Maiduguri, Prof. Aliyu Shugaba says the institution has recently gone into research and innovative programme to develop devices to tackle insecurity challenges in the campus.

Shugaba disclosed this when he featured at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum in Abuja.

He said that the institution brought the innovative idea following the devastating effects of insecurity in Borno and its environs.

According to him, the university is working with some relevant stakeholders in the area of research and development to provide an enabling environment for effective academic activities in the institution.

“In recent years, we have started recording success in research; we have recorded about five patents and we have breakthrough in registering the patents.

“We are now looking at the commercialisation of them,’’ he said.

He said that one of the patents was in veterinary medicine; a kind of ointment that could be applied for the treatment of some animal diseases.

“The other one is in the area of telescope that will allow someone to view certain things from a far distance. Another one was in the area of engineering.’’

He said that the university had received some awards as a result of its achievements in research.

On incentives, he said that there were no specific incentives to motivate the staff to work except “the visiting lecturers whom the university gives 75 per cent of their salary.’’

He, however, said that in spite of the security challenges people were still taking up jobs in the region except those that were not from the region.

According to him, Maiduguri is the safest place in the country irrespective of the security challenges.

He also encouraged Nigerian students to go into whatever field of study they had passion for and harness the opportunities in the areas, saying “there is no single course that one will study and will not find use for it.”

Shugaba said that all the programmes in the University of Maiduguri had gotten full accreditation from National Universities Commission (NUC) except “Civil and Water Resources Engineering”.

“But we are trying to remedy it, we have put in enough resources; we have injected about N200 million through the appropriation budget and the Borno State government has also injected some facilities.” (NAN)