TheCable

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) is set to establish regional centers of excellence in meteorological research in the six geopolitical zones.

Abubakar Mashi, NiMET director-general, announced that the  University of Ilorin will host that of the north-central.

Mashi made the announcement last weekend while inaugurating the Surface Meteorological Station (equipment for weather data collection) donated by the agency to the department of geography and environmental management of the institution.

The event also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between NIMET and institution.

Mashi said that the gesture was part of the agency’s contribution to the development of education in the country, adding that though universities are primarily “charged with the promotion of humanity”, they cannot do so meaningfully without adequate attention to the weather.

Mashi said Nigeria has only 54 weather observatory stations out of the expected 9,300, pointing out that this has prompted the agency to partner with universities through the National University Commission (NUC).

Explaining that weather is a critical element that affects everybody, the NIMET DG said every university is supposed to have a standard weather station.

Mashi promised that the agency will continue to support Unilorin not just in funding the station but also in providing the complimentary infrastructure it requires in the laboratories.

Sulyman Abdulkareem, vice-chancellor of Unilorin, on his part said that the equipment donated by the NiMET to the university is a blessing that would definitely enhance the teaching and research endeavours of many departments in the institution.

Abdulkareem said insufficiency of funds has retarded the capacities and activities in laboratory, field and classroom components of the training given to students in the area of meteorology, as well as in the capacities for cutting-edge research.

“The intervention we have got from your Agency, and which we are opening to the public today, is, therefore, an appreciable assistance and motivation, ” Abdulkareem said.

“The relationship dated back to 2010 when our Department of Physics signed an MoU with the Agency, and since then, the relationship has been growing in leaps and bounds. It has, therefore, culminated into the concrete benefits we are commissioning here today.”