From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Nigeria’s Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uchechukwu Ogah, has tasked industry players and the academia in the field of Geosciences and Petroleum Exploration to take time to analyze and provide solutions to the seven critical global needs identified by the American Geoscience Institution (AGI) at the outset of the 21st century as it affects Nigeria and recommend policy actions to grow the nation’s economy while ensuring sustainability of the country’s geo-ecosystem.
Delivering the address as a keynote speaker during the 3rd Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) and the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society (NGMS) Students Conference held at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, weekend, Ogah emphasised that education has evolved and the era of certificates as meal tickets was already behind, hence professionals especially in geosciences must strive to provide industry solutions to remain relevant.
He said the theme of the conference, “Nigeria’s Geoscience Education- Issues and Challenges on Geoscience Graduate Employability was timely given the trajectory of geoscience education and growth of the extractive industries in Nigeria and considering the magnitude of the challenge of employability of not only graduates of geoscience, but the alarming rate of graduate unemployment in Nigeria.