The Honourable Minister of Education (HME), Mallam Adamu Adamu, has commended\u00a0the University of Nigeria,\u00a0Nsukka, Alumni Association\u00a0(UNAA), for establishing strong\u00a0links with their Alma Mater, noting\u00a0that all over the world Alumni\u00a0attracted significant proportion of\u00a0funds that were used to develop\u00a0their universities into world-class\u00a0institutions.<\/p>\n
He stated this at the\u00a023rd Biennial National Convention\u00a0Abuja 2015 and Public Lecture of\u00a0the Association, with the theme,\u00a0\u201cPoverty in the Midst of Plenty:\u00a0How Tertiary Institutions and their\u00a0Alumni Can Help Bridge the Gap\u201d,\u00a0held on Thursday, 26 November,\u00a02015, at the Idris Abdulkadir\u00a0Auditorium, National Universities\u00a0Commission (NUC), Abuja.<\/p>\n
The Minister, who was represented\u00a0by the Deputy Director, Tertiary\u00a0Education, Federal Ministry of\u00a0Education (FME), Dr. (Mrs.) P. O.\u00a0Efue-Ejikeme, noted that the theme\u00a0of the Convention was apt and\u00a0timely in the face of the prevailing\u00a0poverty in the world, which had\u00a0continued to attract the attention of\u00a0the United Nations.<\/p>\n
He noted that\u00a0the Millennium Development\u00a0Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable\u00a0Development Goals (SDGs)\u00a0documents, popularly regarded as\u00a0Agenda one and two of the United\u00a0Nations, both recognised the need\u00a0to eradicate poverty with a special\u00a0focus on the poorest of the poor in\u00a0the rural communities.<\/p>\n
He said that the\u00a0theme was quite thought-provoking\u00a0and was a good intervention by the\u00a0Alumni and called on them to\u00a0translate the ideas that they would\u00a0generate into helping Government\u00a0to proffer solutions to the poverty\u00a0situation in the country.<\/p>\n
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In his speech, the Honourable\u00a0Minister of Science and Technology,\u00a0Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, said that\u00a0the absence of education was the\u00a0bane of any society and that no\u00a0nation could attain sustainable\u00a0development without investing in\u00a0the individual, bearing in mind its\u00a0enormous effect.<\/p>\n
He stated that for\u00a0education to be effective, investment\u00a0in Research and Development\u00a0(R&D), especially in the area of\u00a0Science and Technology, was\u00a0paramount, adding that Nigeria\u00a0needed men of character and
\ncapability in order to harness the\u00a0nation’s abundant natural\u00a0resources.<\/p>\n
The Honourable Minister, who was\u00a0represented by the Chairman of the\u00a0occasion and former Deputy\u00a0Governor of Abia State, Dr. Chris\u00a0A. Akomas, emphasised that China\u00a0was able to migrate to the position\u00a0of an economic super power and\u00a0take over 100 million persons out of\u00a0the poverty-line due to huge\u00a0investment in R&D activities and\u00a0the education of the citizens.<\/p>\n
He\u00a0said that research was an important\u00a0aspect that Nigeria should not\u00a0afford to play with, as no meaningful\u00a0growth could be achieved\u00a0without investment in Science,\u00a0Technology, Engineering and\u00a0Innovations, among others. By so\u00a0doing, he said, the nation would
\nproduce the critical manpower that\u00a0would engineer the utilisation of\u00a0the resources to bring about its\u00a0growth and development.<\/p>\n
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Delivering the Keynote Address on\u00a0the Convention theme, the Director,\u00a0Institute of Development Studies,\u00a0Professor Osita Ogbu, emphasised\u00a0the need for a rapid shift from\u00a0dependence on exploration of\u00a0natural resources to development of\u00a0the nation’s manufacturing industry,\u00a0noting that manufacturing\u00a0paved the way for employment of\u00a0both skilled and unskilled labour.<\/p>\n
In his goodwill message, the Vice-Chancellor of the University,\u00a0Professor Chukwuma Ozumba,
\nrepresented by the Deputy Vice\u00a0Chancellor (Academics), Professor\u00a0Paulinus Chigbu, lauded the\u00a0platform provided by the Alumni\u00a0Association to interact, deliberate\u00a0and pinpoint ways to contribute\u00a0towards the sustainable development\u00a0of their Alma Mater.<\/p>\n
He\u00a0thanked the Alumni for the visible\u00a0impact they had been making to the\u00a0growth of the Institution and for\u00a0linking up with those in the Diaspora,\u00a0which had ensured the\u00a0effective running of the Association.<\/p>\n