Written By Ahmed Rufa’i in Dutse
The Federal University Dutse (FUD), Jigawa State, has secured N53 million in research grants from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) under its National Research Fund (NRF) to tackle banditry, kidnapping and mosquito-related challenges in Nigeria.
The grants, awarded to two university researchers, are expected to support innovative research aimed at addressing insecurity and developing new approaches to mosquito control.
The development was contained in a statement issued in Dutse by the Acting Director of Public Relations of the university, Mr Abdullahi Yahaya Bello.
According to the statement, Professor Ado Garba Jangargari and Professor Joshua Balogun are the lead researchers for the two projects.
Professor Jangargari’s research project, titled “Tech for Peace: Engaging Northern Pastoralists’ Non-Agricultural Livelihoods to Counter Banditry and Kidnapping,” received N25 million.
The project is expected to explore alternative non-agricultural livelihood opportunities for pastoralist communities in Northern Nigeria as part of efforts to reduce the vulnerability of communities to banditry and kidnapping.
The second project, led by Professor Balogun, received N28 million for research titled “Development of Indoor Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Machine (iCor-SeMa) for Diversionary Control of Mosquitoes in Nigeria.”
The research is expected to develop an innovative indoor mosquito-control technology using carbon dioxide management as part of efforts to reduce mosquito-related public health challenges.
The university said both research projects would run for 24 months.
Reacting to the development, the Vice-Chancellor of FUD, Professor Ahmad Muhammed Gumel, congratulated the two researchers for securing the competitive grants.
He urged them to adhere strictly to the approved timelines and ensure that the objectives of the projects were achieved.
Gumel also expressed optimism that more research grants would be attracted to the university, noting that academic staff had been sensitised on opportunities available through the NRF and other research funding platforms within and outside Nigeria.
He said the university would continue to encourage its academics to pursue research capable of providing practical solutions to the country’s development challenges.
