By Aminu Julde Gurumpawo
The Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Meteorological Agency, Prof. Sani Abubakar Mashi Thursday commissioned a fully constructed and equipped meteorological station at the Geography Department of Modibbo Adama University, MAU Yola.
Prof. Mashi said the station is one of many that has been initiated by NIMET across tertiary institutions in the country, noting that by international standard, meteorological stations are expected to be cited per 100km and with Nigeria’s over 900,000 square kilometer landmass, the country needs over 9000 stations.
This informed the decision of the NIMET management to kick start establishment of the station in educational institutions, which are in turn expected to provide land to facilitate the construction of the stations.
The Director General enumerated some of the benefits to be derived from the station to include massive data needed by students, staff and others, the laboratory infrastructure with state of the art facilities as well as NIMET will provide funding of research for staff of the university.
The Vice Chancellor Modibbo Adama University, Prof. Abdullahi Liman Tukur who was visibly overjoyed with the development thanked NIMET for initiating such a prospect and placing it in the university.
Prof. Tukur harped on the numerous benefits derivable from the station, which is not just limited to getting weather forecast but also for academic practical exercises to be conducted by students at different levels of study in the institution and promised that the investment will be maintained and put to proper and judicious use for the benefit of all.
High point of the event was the entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the University and NIMET with the Vice Chancellor and Registrar signing on behalf of MAU Yola, while the Director General and Director Legal Services signed on behalf of NIMET.