Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto
Sokoto State University (SSU) at the weekend hosted the 2022 Annual Festival of Chemistry, organised by the American Chemical Society, Student International Chapter of the university (ACS).
The event, held at the 350-seater Multipurpose Hall of the university, has its theme, ‘Why the chemist is still important’.
During the festival, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Bashir Garba, a chemist of international repute, said science and technology remain a focal point around which meaningful innovations and development revolve.
“Science and Technology are the cornerstones for any meaningful innovations and development across the globe, while Chemistry continues to be a catalyst for the realisation of such goals,” he explained.
According to the statement signed by the information officer of the university, Zayyanu Shehu, the vice-chancellor, decried the lack of appreciable synergy between researchers and industries in the country, which are primarily the consumers of the outcomes.
He reiterated the university’s commitment to continue encouraging its staff and students to conduct research that would be of tremendous impact on the government and industries for societal growth and development. Prof. Garba promised to do that by providing enabling environment and funding or sources of funding to them.
While declaring the festival open, the chairman of the occasion, Dr Abdurrahaman Umar, also the State Secretary of the Chemical Society of Nigeria, said the annual event was specifically designed to catch the upcoming scientists young and inculcate the spirit of Chemistry in them.
Umar commended the effort of the organisers, saying that the event changed the participants’ mindsets about Chemistry as a discipline and further motivated the students to study the subject and other chemical-related disciplines.
On the essence of the annual festival, the Faculty Advisor of the University, Dr Thompson Izuagie, disclosed that the society’s membership cut across the entire world, adding that Sokoto State University is fortunate to be one of few universities with a society chapter in the North.
“The American Chemical Society is striving hard to capture and retain the attention of the students of secondary schools as young scientists to cultivate the interest of science and technology-oriented disciplines in them, especially, Chemistry,” stated Izuagie. “If adequately oriented, they would be national assets in championing some of the challenges affecting the world.”
In his paper, ‘Why a chemist is still important’, Dr Ibrahim Muhammad of the Department of Chemistry highlighted the relevance of Chemistry in the 21st century and predicted its application to everyday life in centuries to come.
