The University of Lagos (UNILAG) attracted N12 billion in research grants in the last three and a half years, said Vice Chancellor Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe.
Ogundipe made the revelation in an interview with the Nigerian News Agency (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos on the sidelines of a public presentation of a book.
The book entitled โNutritional Biochemistryโ was written by Prof. Ifeolu Akinwande from the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Lagos.
According to Ogundipe, research continues to be one of the institutionโs main focus areas and is geared towards the development of the country.
โIn the last three and a half years, we have been able to attract research grants worth 12 billion naira.
โRecently, one of the professors at our medical school attracted a $ 2 million research grant from Bill Gates.
โRecently I also got a research grant of 38,000 euros, and my apprentice received another 8,000 euros.
Another professor from the architecture department also recently won a ยฃ 12,000 research grant; So, you can see that it is not just about infrastructure, we are also very involved in research at this university, โ he said.
Ogundipe said that in an attempt to strengthen research activities at the institution, Pastor Daniel Olukoya of Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries had offered to renovate the Central Research Laboratory at the institution.
According to him, the development is comforting and a sign of greater things to come.
The professor said that UNILAG was at the forefront in building not only structures but knowledge.
โWe will continue to improve in our knowledge, in our research, and ultimately in the betterment of humanity and national development,โ he said.
At the beginning of the book presentation, the rector described the author as a source of knowledge.
โTeacher. Akinwande is a former deputy director of our Faculty of Medicine, former director of the Department of Biochemistry, a mentor, not a torturer.
โThis is the second edition of the book. What he has been able to show today is biblical; that even in old age they will bear good fruit.
โAs you can see, at the age of almost 80, he is still writing books in the area of โโbiochemistry, which is relevant to everyone, because it is about nutrition.
โIf you look at the type of food that people eat now, you will see that it is largely garbage.
โNow he is saying that if you read this book, the housewives, the people in the food industry, they can all come out with better nutritional skills and better eating habits for a healthy life,โ he said.
Professor Tolu Odugbemi, former vice chancellor of the university, praised the author, Professor Ifeolu Akinwande, for his contributions to the development not only of the institution, but of the country as a whole.
Odugbemi said that the author was interested in improving the knowledge and well-being of society.
Regarding the success story of the research at the university, the former vice-chancellor who was the main launcher of the event, expressed his satisfaction with the efforts made by the academics to take the institution to greater heights.
โWe thank God that things are going very well.
โI am very impressed with the level of research grants that come into this institution. It is very important and it is equally very important to pay attention to our environment.
โThere must be a beautiful environment throughout the place for teaching and learning to flourish. This is what a university environment should be like. There must also be good laboratory services.
โStructures alone do not make a university, it is the result of staff,โ said Odugbemi.
Professor Olubunmi Magbagbeola, who reviewed the book, said it consisted of 10 chapters.
According to her, the book is written in plain English and will be easy to read and understand.
โThis book is a must read for everyone. It is not just for teachers or students. The most interesting thing about the book is that it is also intended for housewives.
โIt contains many tables that will be useful for housewives for the preparation of their menu: breakfast, launch and dinner.
โEven if you are not a stay at home mom and want to improve your nutrition, this book says it all. I recommend it to everyone for its well-being and nutrition, โhe said.
The bookโs author, Akinwande, said the book was intended to equip Nigerians with knowledge about healthy living and good eating habits.
โIt is simply putting in writing details about nutrition and nutritional biochemistry.
โExecutives and many other people that I interact with I give them lectures. They are retiring, they want to know what to eat, keep fit, and live long.
โEvery time I give them these lectures, they get excited and ask me if I can put them together in a book for reference.
โI used the lectures that I gave to my students, as well as the research that I did and the findings that I got, I put them together and the result is what we are celebrating here today.
โHousewives who are interested in healthy eating for their families will also find this book very useful,โ she said.
