biologists-from-nigeria

"Broader vision of the African Union to achieve sustainable development and prosperity for all its citizens."

"Food security is also heavily dependent on the seed security of the farming community and Seed sector development is essential to foster agricultural growth."

"The potential benefits from the use of good quality seed by farmers can be enormous, and the availability to farmers of quality seed of a wide-range of varieties and crops can increase productivity, reduce risks from pest, drought and disease pressure, and increase incomes."

"It will target women who bear the burden of African agriculture."

"It will enhance the capacity of governments to integrate agricultural mechanization in their policy frameworks."

"The project will contribute to the development of an African strategy for sustainable agricultural mechanization within the context of the Malabo Declaration."

"Outcomes of this retreat will shape the future of the CAAPs initiative. We aim to finalize comprehensive plans, secure commitments, and outline a clear roadmap for the implementation of our demonstration projects. These projects, as models of integrated agro-industrial development, will pave the way for large-scale investments and policy innovations across Africa."

"Remember that our success depends on our ability to work together, share knowledge, and leverage the strengths of each partner. The challenges we face are significant, but so are the opportunities."

"Indeed, I feel great. I believe that this is a confirmation of hard work over the years. These Fellow awards do not come without hard work and recognition of your area of specialty over the years and I must say it has been God. I acknowledge unashamedly that I am what I am by the grace of God. If it was left to man, I would not have been able to achieve this much."

"My most challenging period was when I lost my mother and it dawned on me that I had no parents on planet Earth. My most inspiring period comes when I see those that I have trained doing well."

"My role model was my late mother, Mrs. Stella Okwui Ebigwei who was a widow. She instilled discipline, hard work and fear and reverence of God in my sister and I and so I had a focus that I would not derail but be a notable person someday. She was my strong supporter and always called me ‘Star’."

"My laboratory is referred to as a German laboratory because most (85%) of the equipment I have in my laboratory was bought wiith the German funding by by either the Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Foundation or the German Research Foundation (DFG)."

"I started my molecular biology hands-on-training workshop in 2009. This followed my post-doctoral fellowships in France and Germany. I realised that molecular biology techniques were not common then and I was interested in building the capacity of the young ones as well as interested participants who comprised university lecturers, Medical Laboratory Scientists and other stakeholders from different geo-political zones in the country."

"I have had several challenges along the journey but the fact is that those challenges bring out the best in me."

"They have the ability to transform an environment in a way that no other plant can."

"It's the Westerners who go there in search of plants that are going into extinction, which they then take back to their own countries."

"Half of the world's palms originate in Madagascar, but Africans are not interested."

"There are plants everywhere but palms have a special aura"

"The other thing I really enjoy is being able to contribute solutions to resolve real world problems with visible impact. The eureka moments when things work out in the lab or when a manuscript is published, also bring indescribable joy."

"Today’s woman is running two full-time jobs in the running of her matrimonial home and her professional jobs within same 24 hours every day. There’s no more normal skills among our women, but super hero skills to run homes. You have to use your mind to maximize every minute of your time."

"If you do not use your time productively or to make money, you are in a close relationship with poverty. So, to improve our economic lot as a people, we need to invest our time in productive activities that can yield economic returns."

"“We say we are not rich, we are waiting for miracle, but we don’t divide our time into productive activities, instead waste it on unfruitful conversations. For instance, a friend missed out on a N50million national research fund grant when he came one-and- half hour late to the meeting they were supposed to select the team that would benefit the grant. He lives to regret it."

"There’s a direct link of how we spend our time and how successful we are. There’s a direct link between how we manage our time and poverty. Some individuals make a whole country’s budget in a day! That’s the extent of the possibility of how we can apply our time.”"

"I feel blessed to possess knowledge I’m able to apply every day in all that I do. When I see my children washing their hands or hear them talking about healthy eating and the benefits of eating fermented foods, I’m so proud."

"Passage of the Biotech bill into law, now offers Nigeria scientists a free hand to carry out advanced research on Genomics, which she added is all about understanding the genetic make up of living organisms like plants and animals."

"Human consumption patterns and preferences must change, if life must continue to exist on planet earth."

"Visionaries are now talking of carbohydrate economy to replace the old hydrocarbon economy"

"Biotechnology is as old as history. In 2001, Federal Government established the NABDA to look at it because it saw what modern biotechnology is doing and the benefits."

"The contribution to our economy is positively huge because the dividends are huge. The contribution to GDP is in billions of dollars because those nations that have embraced modern biotechnology are already getting huge dividends in terms of dollars earnings annually."

"The genetic make up of living organisms like plants and animals."

"Passage of the Biotech bill into law, now offers Nigeria scientists a free hand to carry out advanced research on Genomics. which she added is all about understanding"

"There has never been any negative effect of any genetically modified organism anywhere in the world. If you know of any let me know? The fear for GMO foods is based on falsehood and has been trashed scientifically."

"Expansion of the strategic agricultural commodities value chains, health care delivery systems, and the mitigation of climate change in Africa."

"Our students and researchers stand to gain from exposure to diverse networks and knowledge systems. This kind of cooperation supports not only innovation but also the institutional growth of our universities."

"We are very innovative, we are very creative, and we are very entrepreneurs."

"Fundamentally, preparedness builds on a system that’s working."

"If Nigeria’s university system will be returned to its rightful place as the lighthouse that inspires development aspirations, university managers and all concerned must begin to think anew and walk the talk. The ultimate goal is to enrich and enhance the quality of students to make them more intellectually nimble, competent, not only for national development, but to shape the future."

"Nigeria Universities needs to develop the courses around sports like sports medicine, that is the next step for us. I am hoping that we will be able to interest some corporate organisations to have a sports academy because I think we have everything that it takes."

"The leaders of communities are chosen from their citizens and our leaders are, therefore, a reflection of who we are as a people."

"The fourth industrial revolution is here upon the world but that Nigeria has been lagging."

"Corruption thrives where there is lack of excellence. But we are not different from other countries."

"The art is part of our vision; it is an expression of who we are."

"It required that we had a strong central coordinating centre and that we engaged the community early, used media effectively, and sent out short easily-understood messages."

"There’s Value in the Valley”. One thing (out of the many lessons in the book) that stuck in my head was “nobody is after you”. People are going about their day; they’re not even noticing you"

"I then realized that what was important was the quality of the time spent. You need to know what people need at the time they need it. These are some of the lessons I learned from that period."

"started off my life as a really shy person. I always sort of pulled back from a lot of things not because I didn’t want to do them but because I was shy, even till university. There are so many examples I can give"

"It is in service to others that you get elevated or you achieve your dreams"

"If you don’t think you’re valuable enough to take yourself to a conference with your salary, why should someone else invest in you? We sometimes think that the valuable things are the tangible assets when in fact, it is the intangible things—your knowledge and skills which are the outcome of your personal self-investments—that are important."

"Don’t get into seeing money as the only benefit to being involved in project, think of the experience and the skills that you are getting; it is worth more than money because they are investing in your knowledge base."

"What I have found with University of Lagos is that we have been lucky. We have heard progressive vice chancellors. So, every vice chancellor has put something down that allows one to grow. We developed a 25-year strategic plan in 2014 and we are working through that strategic plan where every vice chancellor builds on what we have."