The Chief Executive Officer of Tropical Naturals Ltd., Mr Abiola Ogunrinde, on Tuesday urged chemistry graduates in the country to be job creators and not job seekers.
Ogunrinde made this appeal during the 42nd Chemical Society of Nigeria EKO 2019 Annual International Conference and 4th ACRICE Programme held at Academy Inn, Agidingbi, Ikeja .
The event had as its theme: “Chemistry Education and Sustainable Development.”
The conference focused on the significant role of chemists in the society and how they can contribute positively to issues, prospects and opportunities of utilising chemistry for attainment of sustainable goals, to enhance growth in global economies.
Ogunrinde said it was necessary for chemists to be multi-talented to be able to carve a niche for themselves in the society.
“Presently, we turn out chemistry graduates who do not know their left from their right.
“We need to change the educational curriculum, so that we can turn out students that will be productive and help boost the GDP of the country; useless courses should be eliminated.
“Most students run away from courses like chemistry because they feel career options in the field are limited.
” So, we have to change the curriculum, make chemistry alive and beneficial to them; that way, students will be drawn to the course,” he said.
Ogunrinde said that Nigeria, by now, should be churning out chemists who were innovative, creative and self reliant.
The Chief executive officer said that since Nigeria was blessed with raw materials, graduates should be able to create products that were beneficial to the country and other nations.
He said that aside just making the product, the quality of what we make should speak for us as a country.
“Some years back, America lowered immigration requirements for 100,000 Indian computer scientists because of the standard of their products; can we as Nigerians boast of such standards?
“We have smart students in Nigeria, all we need to do is to fish them out and help them develop skills to identify the needs in the market place.
“The government equally needs to create an enabling environment for chemist entrepreneurs to thrive, “he said.
Ogunrinde said Nigeria had the largest extreme poverty population and out of school children, urging the government to change the environment to accommodate more children in schools.
Also speaking, Prof. Sunday Okeniyi, President of the Chemical Society of Nigeria, urged chemists to release their research from their laboratories and closets.
Okeniyi also noted that only qualitative science and chemistry education could offer and propel economic development strategies and solutions that would increase the nation’s GDP.
