No developmental challenge can be solved without a multidisciplinary approach. A former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Emeritus Professor Olufemi Bamiro, made this assertion at the first Annual Professor MKC Sridhar Memorial Lecture held at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan on Tuesday.
The event was organised by the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan in collaboration with the Nigerian Network for Awareness and Action for Environmental Health (NINAAFEH) and the Environmental Health Scientists Association Nigeria (EHSAN).
Professor Bamiro noted that the late Professor Sridhar applied a multidisciplinary approach to achieve a ground breaking organic fertiliser project that was established in the late 90s in Ibadan.
“I am glad that some people have thought it wise to appreciate a man like Sridhar. He really did a lot. I learnt a lot from him. We had read about multidisciplinary research, but it was Sridhar that really brought it into practice. Most problems will require us to collaborate in order to solve them. You must collaborate because that is the only way you can get a sustainable solution.”
He said Professor Sridhar and his team were able to develop fertiliser from biodegradable waste in the market in a laboratory. However, it took further collaboration from experts in the Departments of Agronomy and Mechanical Engineering for a plant that would produce this fertiliser to be established.
The keynote speaker, Professor Taiwo Arowolo of Hallmark University in Ogun State, spoke on the theme “Environmental Health: Key to wealth and sustainable development.”
He said, “Environmental health is crucial for impacting both human well-being and the overall functioning of ecosystems,” adding that “Healthier environments could prevent almost one-quarter of the global burden of disease.”
Professor Arowolo concluded saying that “By recognising the intrinsic link between a flourishing environment and wealth creation, we pave the way for a more sustainable and prosperous future. In essence, environmental health acts as a compass, guiding the path of sustainable development.”
Explaining the significance of the lecture, the National President of EHSAN, Professor Godson Ana said, “The lecture was initiated to honour whom honour is due; a man who invested his time and intellect and every aspect of his life to the growth of the profession, that is late Professor Sridhar.”
Professor Akinwale Coker, the director of NINAAFEH, added that “the forum is an opportunity to celebrate an icon, one who has contributed so much to the field of environmental health, and that is the late Professor Sridhar who came into this country in 1977, became a professor in 1986 and served the university of Ibadan till he passed on in 2022.”
Professor Mynepalli K. C. Sridhar was a professor of Environmental Health at the University of Ibadan. He was also a consultant in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. He was born in India on December 8, 1942. He died on November 23, 2022.
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