…NiMet partners Bells Varsity to Build Weather Station
By Victoria Onyisi
The Federal Government through the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo SAN, has approved and fixed February 20th as date for the public presentation of Nigerian Meteorological Agency’s (NiMet) 2024 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP).
Disclosing this in his office, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike, has said that the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, SAN, has approved request to host the agency’s request for the annual weather and climate prediction event.
In the meantime, NiMet has expressed as optimism on the partnership deal with Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun state, in building a weather station in the University.
On the SCP, Anosike, said: “Everyone in the agency is working hard to ensure that we have a successful event. We have started contacting our partners including the World Meteorological Agency (WMO), the United Nations (UN), its various agencies and other stakeholders that are expected to participate.”
Continuing, he said; “This year we are doing it differently. We are involving the private sector because weather impacts all aspects of our economy including agriculture, marine and oil and gas sectors.
As part of our statutory responsibility, he added that NiMet has produced a draft 2024 Seasonal Climate Prediction for the country, adding that the agency is in the process of validating the contents of the 2024 SCP document and will be hosting critical stakeholders to the 2024 SCP Stakeholders’ meeting, where the socio-economic implications of NiMet’s 2024 forecast on the different sectors will be discussed, and thereafter incorporated into the 2024 Forecast document. The meeting will hold on Tuesday, 23rd January, 2024”, Prof. Anosike concluded.
Meanwhile, the agency is partnering Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun state, in building a weather station in the university.
Signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday, the DG/CEO expressed happiness that the relationship with Bells University which began in 2008 was continuing. According to him, “The choice of Bells University of Technology is strategic as it will help in downscaling NiMet data to farmers in the state and beyond.”
Anosike said; “Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has been a friend of NiMet for many years. He has interests in farming in the state and beyond, and has been a champion of weather and climate change.
“We are happy that he has indicated interest to attend the 2024 NiMet’s Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) public presentation holding on the 20th of February, 2024”.
“The MoU with Bells University will open other areas of partnership opportunities
that will be mutually beneficial and contribute to economic development.
As NiMet partners with other universities, we want them to show more commitment by transmitting back data to NiMet timely so that we can archive the data.
Because of the commitment demonstrated by Bells University and President Obasanjo, NiMet will build a full weather station at Bells University. I am charging them when the station becomes operational, to measure impact of the data from the weather station on farmers’ activities and the economy as a whole”, Prof. Anosike concluded.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of Bells University of Technology, Prof. Jeremiah Oludele Ojediran, said that former President is keen to see that the partnership between the university and NiMet blossoms.
“We want to go beyond building a weather station and do more with NiMet in the area of research into climate change and training of farmers. I look back in time and I remember Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) but climate change is impacting negatively on activities of farmers these days, hence the need for research using the data from the proposed weather station which will be applied in the area of agriculture and other sectors”.
The former President who called in during the signing of the MoU said he was committed to partnering NiMet to promote climate change.
“I have planted three and half million trees so far but my target is to plant five million. We all should do our bit to protect our environment and climate”, President Obasanjo said.
The Director of Center for Climate Change at Bells University of Technology, Prof. Samuel Agbola, said he was delighted with the way NiMet has interfaced with Bells University. He pleaded with the DG/CEO, Prof. Anosike, to accept Bells as an active partner of NiMet going forward.
In a vote of thanks, the Director of Engineering and Technical Services of NiMet, Engineer Hamid Abdulkareem Olayinka, said that signing of the MoU was auspicious as it was happening early in the year, ahead of NiMet’s Seasonal Climate Prediction holding on the 20th of February 2024.
“The proposed weather station will aid smart agriculture and encourage research, data gathering and sharing between the two institutions.” he said.
