Investing in Geoscience Education Will Boost Economic Development: Prof. Adekoya

John Adekoya is a professor of Economic Geology. He recently celebrated his 80th birthday with the launch of his book on Metalic and Industrial Minerals of Nigeria. In this interview with Funmi Ogundare, he explained why the government must fund geoscience to boost economic development

What does Economic Geology entail?

It is a branch of Geology that deals with mineral deposits, their mode of occurrence, their constitution, application, or uses to mankind. To appreciate economic geology, you need to understand all other aspects of Geology such as neurology, structural geology and petrology. What you call mineral deposits are also rocks. Their importance comes in our usage because we use tiles, concrete, roof, etc. So you need to understand the basic courses before going into Economy Geology.

You recently clocked 80 years. How does it feel, especially when you look back on students you had trained?

I feel great. Some of my students had put their resources together to gift me a birthday card to appreciate learning from me. When they were my students, many of them felt I was too strict or too hard on them, but with time, they realised that I was doing my work in the right way to make them better people in the future. One of my brightest students who made a first class told me recently that when they were students, some of them had complained that I was too strict, but he said he wanted me because I usually correct him if he wasn’t doing the right things. Being 80, I feel fulfilled that many students who had passed through me knew that I was moulding them for the future.

What role did you play in their development?

I was formerly in the geological survey of Nigeria, now known as Geological Survey Agency, an erstwhile department of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Power. I was there from January 1969 to December 1981. I transferred my service to The Polytechnic Ibadan. A former lecturer of mine, Dr Makanjuola, now late, had invited me to join them. They transferred me to Ibadan to head the zonal office because I didn’t feel like going back to the North. Then he baited me with the appointment at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, for the Geological Technology programme. So I accepted the offer as a principal lecturer. The course was very attractive to me. Here now, we are teaching geology with an aspect that will endear students to technology. So we were teaching geological techniques. To teach this course, it means you must know geology and know the field techniques because we were training students who will be useful as laboratory and field technologists in geology.

How will you describe the quality of Geology graduates Nigerian universities produce?

One of my students now has a PhD in Geology whom I taught geological techniques at the polytechnic, is now a far better student in geology than the ordinary graduate who didn’t learn geological techniques. He can function more effectively in the laboratory when he is studying rocks and minerals. To some extent, in my former university at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), we also introduced some aspects of these into their course. The students spent five years, unlike the conventional university where they spend four years. We introduced many technical aspects into their course, making them more functional as graduates and more employable. I can give a pass mark to the quality of geoscience graduates, but the only snag is inadequate lecturers in our university and overpopulation.

How can the government balance the lecturers-students ratio?

The university usually has its carrying capacity which means, there ought to be a certain number of students that lecturers can teach. Once you go beyond that, it is a problem. Because you will have the challenges of marking their scripts when they are too many, you can’t be as thorough as when we used to have 10 or 15 students in the classroom. But now, we have 90 or 100 students in the classroom. In those days, we usually have graduate assistants who help in grading and supervising practicals. But they are no longer available because the university can no longer afford them. That is part of the problem that is affecting the university system generally. Insufficient funds and lack of facilities to cater for the needs of the staff and students is also a major problem, which is why ASUU is going on strike.

In those days, I had a microscope to myself, and when we had practicals, I used it to study further and lock it up in my locker. Students had access to lecturers because we were very few in the classroom. Nowadays, you have 10 students on a microscope, and they can’t even identify it or even know what to do to identify the minerals. The teachers are doing their best, but the facilities are inadequate. The government should provide enough facilities for the staff and students. There is still no reason you cannot have a microscope for each of the students, you may not be able to purchase it at once, but you can buy it in bits.

You recently launched a book, ‘Metallic and Industrial Minerals in Nigeria’. What spurred your interest, and how is it expected to impact students of geology?

Two things led to the writing of that book. Firstly, when I was in the Geological Survey Agency, I was in the economic geology section. From time to time, people come to the geological survey to ask for information about mineral resources because they are interested in investing in them. So as a geologist interested in that portfolio, it became necessary for me to look for relevant information to pass on to them. I started developing that over the years. When I became a lecturer and was teaching economic geology, I found out that we don’t have a specific book. So we had to look for information everywhere to be able to teach the students effectively. Particularly in FUTA, apart from economic geology, I was also handling some other aspects of Industrial Rocks and Mineral as a course that are not so theoretical. So I talk about every available mineral in Nigeria, not only in the world. I felt that students need to have a book that they can refer to. For the entrepreneurs, investors and common man on the streets who want information about the mineral resources in Nigeria, that is the book to consult. For the students who want to know about mineral deposits in Nigeria, that is a book he can open and read.

Insecurity must have hindered students from receiving training on the field. What do you think the government can do to make the mining industry viable for the country’s development?

We are all worried because insecurity impacts not only the mining sector but also the training of students. Geology is essentially a field programme. If the students are to understand all you have taught them in the classroom, they must go to the field. Rocks and minerals are in the field, you go out to study them, and if you cannot go out to study them, you can see the tragedy that has befallen us that can ruin the course and training. The government should prevent bandits from operating through the security agencies in the country. They should synergise and face the criminals. The impression we get is that the government is not doing it right for one reason or another. They need to do more than they are currently doing.

You have played a role in the Banded Iron Formation (BIF) and other mineral deposits in the country. What impact has this made on the economy?

I became interested in the BIF because it was the first assignment I received when I joined the geological survey agency. At that time, the military government was interested in locating all iron deposits in the country. Part of the responsibility of my office was to work on and investigate all mineral resources. So I went to Maru in Zamfara. When I worked on the iron deposits, I became very interested in them. Unfortunately, after working at Maru, I was asked to go to Birnin Gwari. I was there for several years. Then the Russians came because they were interested in mineral deposits. At that time, the federal government created Nigerian Iron and Steel Development Authority (NISDA).

Later, they changed the name to National Iron and Steel Development Authority and later Nigerian Steel Council and Steel Raw Material Exploration Agency responsible for the investigation. They discovered mineral deposits in Itakpe, Kogi and other iron deposits around the region. Then they felt that the council should be looking for raw steel material used in the processing of iron. When I joined the academia, I worked further on the iron deposits, particularly from three locations: Maru in Zamfara, Birnin Gwari in Kaduna and Muro in Nasarawa. I worked a lot on them and came out with detailed work on the structure, constitution and mode of occurrence. I turned out a lot of publications on them which was what I did to become a professor.

Based on the preliminary work, we discovered that the Maru iron deposits in one location alone were about 19 million tonnes of iron, Birnin Gwari about 10 million tonnes and Muro was about 110 million tonnes. But if you are going to investigate, you will do detailed work for exploitation and arrange them in order of preference. The development of the iron and steel industry is very important to the country. The government should make funds available. One thing that Nigeria is rich in is manpower in every sector of the economy.

How can Nigeria improve the employability of geoscience graduates?

The government should fund the universities well and ensure that laboratory facilities are available. One important thing that we used to study in a laboratory is a microscope. Geoscience students use petrographic microscopes because rocks and minerals are studied using a tin section from the rock by reflecting light on the rock. However, the petrographic microscope is very expensive. They are not like the biological microscope. So if I have 90 students in my class and I have to teach them petrography, each student must have it, else they will be idle. If you employ him to do the work for you, how will he do it effectively? So everybody must have a microscope. If the government cannot provide the facility, they should provide adequate staff to run shifts. Funding is very crucial so that they can provide the teaching and learning facilities. Technical support must be provided for every student if he must learn geology.