Ime Akpan
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the management of Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun State, to build a weather station at the university.
The MoU was signed between the director general and chief executive officer of NiMet, Prof Charles Anosike and the vice chancellor of the institution, Prof Jeremiah Ojediran.
Speaking during the event, Anosike traced the relationship between the two entities to 2008 describing the choice of Bells University of Technology for the partnership as “strategic” saying it would help in downscaling NiMet data to farmers in the state and beyond.
“Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been a friend of NiMet for many years. He has interests in farming in the state and beyond and has been a champion of weather and climate change.
“We are happy that he has indicated interest to attend the 2024 NiMet’s Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) public presentation holding on the 20th of February, 2024”.
“The MoU with Bells University will open other areas of partnership opportunities that will be mutually beneficial and contribute to economic development.
“As NiMet partners with other universities, we want them to show more commitment by transmitting back data to NiMet timely so that we can archive the data.
“Because of the commitment demonstrated by Bells University and President Obasanjo, NiMet will build a full weather station at Bells University. I am charging them when the station becomes operational, to measure impact of the data from the weather station on farmers’ activities and the economy as a whole,” Anosike added.
In his remarks, Ojediran said Obasanjo “is keen to see that the partnership between the university and NiMet blossom.”
“We want to go beyond building a weather station and do more with NiMet in the area of research into climate change and training of farmers. I look back in time and I remember Operation Feed the Nation (OFN). But climate change is impacting negatively on activities of farmers these days, hence the need for research using the data from the proposed weather station which will be applied in the area of agriculture and other sectors,” he said.
Also speaking, Obasanjo, who called in during the signing of the MoU said he was committed to partnering NiMet to promote climate change.
“I have planted three and half million trees so far but my target is to plant five million. We all should do our bit to protect our environment and climate,” he said.
For his part, the director, centre for climate change at the university, Prof Samuel Agbola, said he was delighted at the way NiMet interfaced with Bells University and prayed Anosike to accept Bells as an active partner of NiMet, going forward.
Also speaking, NiMet’s director, engineering and technical services, Mr Hamid Olayinka, said signing of the MoU was auspicious as “it is happening early in the year, ahead of NiMet’s seasonal climate prediction.”
He said the proposed weather station “will aid smart agriculture and encourage research, data gathering and sharing between the two institutions.”
