UNIZIK: Esimone boosting staff, students welfare with farming, agro allied ventures

By Chukwudi Ndubeze, www.odogwublog.com

The days of economic hardship on staff and students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka would be over with the advent of UNIZIK agro allied farming system.

The University under the administration of Prof Charles Esimone has engaged in the battle to save humanity from hunger and starvation through farming and other agro businesses.

This particularly is coming at a time when many institutions of learning in Nigeria are battling poor welfare of staff and the academic community, occasioned by economic downturn in the country.

The prices of goods such as rice, oil, fish and other items of human consumption have skyrocketed leaving average Nigerians living on meagre salaries at the mercy of hunger and difficulty.

Following this VC’s move, this narrative may have been disassociated from staff and students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University who may be firsthand beneficiaries of the agricultural progress move embarked upon by the institution.

Director, Business Ventures and Consultancy Services of Nnamdi Azikiwe university, Awka, Dr Uche C. Ngenegbo disclosed this in an interview with www.odogwublog.com correpondent in Awka.

Dr Ngenegbo noted that the university is doing everything within it’s reach to ensure its staff and students are engaged in activities that will enhance living.

He said that the genuine agricultural productions of rice, palm oil and even animal rearing will add value to life of staff and students.

The business guru who noted that the idea was borne out of the VC’s desire of improving lives and humanity, said the school’s establishment of Palm Oil mill through Public Private Partnership, would turn the vast number of palm trees in the institution to economic gains for the university community.

“The Vice-Chancellor looked around and saw the need for productivity welfare and took advice to channel palm trees in the university environment to an IGR window for better productivity welfare.

” Apart from that, it will give the school community opportunity to enjoy from what is in the compound. So, in the next few months, local palm oil mill will be commissioned and then and it will be a big boost to the IGR of the school, apart from giving economic and logistics boost to the university community.

“By great sense of extension of great welfare to the school, people were lamenting scarcity and economic crunch, starvation occasioned by corruption and inflation. Esimone attracted an investor who issued loans to the institution to enable it do embark on rice and garri projects and to pay by installments”.

According to him, “The investor will also support the institution with the raw materials for the project and the logistics to make sure that garri, and rice are permanently produced in UNIZIK. When we talk about the garri, we are looking at Fufu, starch and everything that has to do with cassava even the water is not a waste. We can use our rice output as productivity welfare for the staff in appreciation for having dutifully done their job for the year.

“The Vice-Chancellor always look forward to compensate people. Last year, we do not have money but out of pains and struggle, the Vice-Chancellor was able to still give back something as Christmas bonus to people. We plan to use what we produce in the school; our oil, rice and others as our Christmas bonus this year.

” Again, Science researches have shown that animal are major raw materials that we are used in the process of testing vaccines and other viral antigens.

“We have revived our animal house strategically at the three campuses for students’ research to aid in their researches and work to improve already known information in the sciences. The basic raw materials needed for such research will be made available to scholars in the school. The animals may include the rabbits, chicken, pigs, and these will improve our IGR if we can extend our hands of fellowship to other universities around us,”he concluded,” he said.

www.odogwublog.com noted that with the team of two Deputy Vice-Chancellors Administration, Prof Joseph Ikechebelu and Academics, Prof Fredrick Odibo, the university is unstoppable until vision 200 of the Vice-Chancellor Prof Charles Okechukwu Esimone FAS is actualized.