Wealthy Nigerians, Organisations Urged to Fund Research

Fadekemi Ajakaiye

The President of the Nigerian Institute of Building (NIOB), Builder Kunle Awobodu has urged wealthy Nigerians to invest in research for societal development.

Awobodu, who affirmed his firm belief in the potentials of the black man for excellence, made the call for investment in research at the second edition of lecture series of the Association of Builders in Academia. Awobodu equally challenged participants to also explore local sources of funding for their research endeavours. Bringing research outputs to a finished level for society’s adoption is a crucial part of the research ecosystem, he averred.

Awobodu elucidated on the NIOB’s commitment to research manifested in its ongoing efforts at realising the development of a world class research centre in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Part of the key objectives of the Centre is to research into alternative building materials and promotion of skills for the nation’s development.
The Chairman of the Association of Builders in Academia, Professor Martin Dada had earlier set the tone for the lecture welcoming participants and reminding them that men of ideas rule the world. He urged participants to continue in the search for workable ideas to advance society.

Two resource persons addressed the topic of ‘Exploring Opportunities for Research Grants, Conferences and Publications.’ The resource persons were: Sani Kunya, a Professor of Building and a former SubDean of Students Affairs of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; and James Rotimi, an Associate Professor of Construction Management at the Massey University, New Zealand.

Kunya explained the concept of research grant and related it to the mandate and history of the Nigerian Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND). Kunya also challenged participants to source research grants for advancing scientific knowledge, career development, increased visibility and supplementing provisions for the development of new programmes in their respective institutions. He referred to what was termed the global local context and took participants through the processes of writing research proposals for grant support. He then explained some potentials of grant support available at university levels and also TETFUND.

Associate Professor Rotimi acknowledged the need for research but emphasised that researches should aim at closing the gap between the industry and the academia. According to Rotimi, the researcher should engage the industry to identify industry’s concerns and what Rotimi termed ‘wicked problems’ of the organisation or society. Beyond scoring points in publications, the researcher must demonstrate the impact of his research on society or sectors thereof.
Rotimi further identified some areas of interest for a typical research funding agency. The areas include a clear indication of the problem that needs to be solved and how it is to be solved, a credible plan for implementation and how to turn knowledge into benefits for the society. Rotimi further emphasised the need for interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary research teams to consider the research from various perspectives and the need for communication of how each member of the team would contribute to the research endeavour. He equally harped on the need for research proposals to align with the interests of funding agency.

Rotimi gave example of a research project he is leading in New Zealand, which was started in the year 2020 and funded by a government agency in New Zealand, with the potentials of showing the gains accruable from a reorganised construction sector’s market. On conferences, Rotimi opined that opportunities should be provided for practitioner based views not necessarily following any serious academic format. In the process, industry’s needs and concerns can be mapped and addressed in research endeavours.

Professor Mike Oladokun of the Federal University of Oye, Ekiti State shared his experience of how he won a research grant of about a million South African rands (about N30 million Naira at the time of winning the grant) from The World Academy of Sciences. Oladokun drew from this and other experiences to encourage participants to persevere in proposal writing and the attendant search for funding.

Professor Abimbola Windapo of the University of Cape Town, Professor Myha Stanley, Professor Godwin Idoro, Professor Akananiye Umoh, Builder Abdulhameed Sambo of the Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria and other participants from various tertiary institutions in Nigeria were among several egg heads that attended the virtual lecture. The lecture ended on a good note with participants from institutions within and outside Nigeria receiving and taking challenge to deepen their research efforts and research agenda for the benefits of the building industry and the society at large.