By CHIOMA GABRIEL

Dr.Alphonsus Ekwerike, Nigerian born, American Clinical  Researcher  and Neuro-endocrinology Professor, the creator of Invention Technology professional courses who discovered the NASA-WISE-IASC index  main belt asteroids 2010 TL 78 and CFH 1472 in the US  is on a mission of letting an ultimate vision of a new Nigeria come through innovations, eradication of tropical diseases and poverty.

He had his early premedical and  first professional  in science and medical /clinical  research trainings from the Indian New Science College; Osmania University,Hyderabad  Medical institute and the Academy of Medical Sciences from 1981-1986.

In his quest to study the medical  neuroendocrinology course  further, he had doctoral trainings under Prof.Gyula Telegdy,the former Rector, Medical Univeristy of Szeged, Hungary, Europe  and Head of Department of Pathphysiology. He was on scholar’s academic exchange programme on  neuroendocrinology research technique traingings under Dr.Hillary Murray, Dr.Glenda Gillies, of Department  of Rheumatology and Neuroendocrinology Research,Imperial Medical School Charingcross Hospital Hammersmith.

He was part of the NASA-WISE Program Trained Explorer , NASA Sponsored  in 2010 at the University Of California,Berkley and Dept. Of Mathematics,Astronomy Unit, Hardin-Simmons University Abilene  joint space science trainings.

My inspiration

I  worked under the mentorship of late Professor Thomas Adeoye Lambo,former Deputy Director General of World HealthOrganization,WHO; former Vice-Chancellor ,University of Ibadan, and the Founder of Lambo foundation Clinical Centers,acupuncture,nervous disorders clinics and neuroendocrinological research centers,Lagos, Nigeria.

I did my national youth service corps (NYSC) at the Lambo Foundation Clinical Center,GRA,Ikeja,Lagos in 1986/87 and was retained ,to work as a neuro- rheumatological disease research physician and offered a Lambo’s  fellowship to innovate a Nigerian oriented neuro-endocrinological integrative health care delivery system for mental health,nervous and hormonal disorders.

I received the best staff / scholar’s award three consective years at the Lambo Foundation Research Center. The dissertative thesis of this was written,defended and approved by the collaborative authorities of Lambo Foundation (WHO) and the Chinese Medical Colleges and the World Health Organization Medical Research expert
s headed  by Prof.Adeoye Lambo and Prof.Zhou Zhang in  1992.

The innovative result of this neuroendocrinology course study is Sciencemedicine(Basic & Clinical Research Practices) ; and Neurosquatemetry (Cognitive neuroscience for mental health management and inventions) professions.

Why research and innovations?

Two things that birth all things are research and innovations.Any country that ignores these will surely be doomed.Nigerians are very smart people but their educational system and policy are very defective and  obsolete and needs critical review as to compete in the 21st century world demands.

It is an absolute insult to this great nation that her graduates cannot be absorbed easily into the economy and workforce immediately after schooling. The worst to notice is that institutions and teachers are highly neglected and the media which is the fourth estate in any nation’s governance are not duly equipped to radically fish out and spotlight some grass root talented citizens whose gifts could have propelled this nation unto greater heights.

Nigeria is an oil producing rich country but her  infrastructures and citizens’ sights say  differently .Will Nigeria  vanish if she has her own working refineries?  Will heaven loose if Nigerians start inventing vehicles,electricity, telecommunications, Medical / hospital equipment, drugs, engineering and other technological products and devices?

Will the land  open if we innovate a new uniting system of governance that assures equal rights, freedom, liberty,opportunities,security and social supports etc to our senior citizens,unemployed youths, women and children ? It is a very big  shame and unbelievable  occurrence that Nigeria which was the toast of all nations in 1970s and early 80s is now deemed the fraudulent capital of the world.

I saw this nation when graduates are held in the highest esteem,every citizen though just came off war was happy,united,trusted and had opportunities.What ever that has happened to the great nation,let us push it aside. It’s a good  thing, all calls God but in different ways.

Let us believe in God that we all call;work harder and well,exposing every fraudulent acts and disdaining all their actors as opposed to this current trend of according fraudsters undue accolades,respect  and chieftancy titles.Overseas,no matter how good you are,once you are a Nigerian,you are a suspect of a crime committed or about to be committed. I sincerely don’t believe that this is the right treatment for  innocent Nigerians.

Our young intelligent men suffer terribly to go and stay abroad  in disregard of  what ever inhuman treatment meted to them, just to stay off Nigeria.What is this our lovely people ? The Bible says,my people perish because of lack knowledge(Hosea 4:6 )  and I say yes,that is true and we did but now, let us go with the same biblical promises that “your gift will make way  for you”(Proverbs 18:16).  Invention Technology Program makes any  one an inventor.

It is easy,almost free in offing.Various governments should use it to rapidly develop their regions and our wealthy men should give in charity to sponsor every willing Nigerian child,youths,and unemployed.It is the easiest way to create employment and become self sufficient in technology,agriculture ,educational and health needs,etc.

The current educational system is consultatively consolidating,when a teacher is not paid well or even paid at all for some months  and schools ill equipped, laboratories  and libraries without equipment and books,what good knowledge  can the teacher transfer to the students? It  does not pathway anyone to creativities as seen in advanced countries.

Our leaders  do go abroad,see all the wonders of men’s imaginative thinkings that are made ,enjoyed them for a moment and come back to the hellish no electricity living. I think we can help them think right,maybe too they are having stressful lives of how to solve these problems.

Innovative education is it,the only way forward for Nigeria.It will cost heavily  and will never be sustained if we  ask foreigners to transfer their technologies to develop Nigeria but radically training every Nigerian child innovatively on science, technology, engineering,mathematics and medicine ( STEMM)  project which invention technology Program is advocating will instantly change this nation,sustaining every challenges.

Imagine,in one of my invention technology lectures, about 18 engineers stood up when asked those that don’t have jobs. A country that needs constructions and innovations can’t engage or employ her trained elites , a third world country for that matter looking for advancement.This is so sad.Thank God for giving Invention Technology Program to immediately train and equip citizens of all ages with skill and techniques to become professional inventors,creating jobs and inventing things that would prosper this country.

This is not common here

Well,  invention technology  is a branch of   professional study of cognitive neurosquatemetry,which is a neuroscience subject unit of behavioural neuroendocrinology.This course is offered in all levels of learning,from kindergaten to university education, found in foreign countries  and are made up of two branches :- ethical invention ,which teaches how to invent things that we need in this world and technostronomy invention,which teaches how to invent or discover some thing in space. It was the later that helped me discover the new asteroids.

My target now is to create a nation of citizens inventors like US,China,India and Europe. The way this nation is going in their quest for extravagant self competitive foreign spending, may extinct this country.There is nothing Nigerians cannot invent if they learn Invention Technology Program with the government and Bank of Industries backing them to invent,manage and sell their inventions or products.

Our  redirection of purpose to the grass root growth and innovation should be the gospel in every body’s lip.Every level of education should have Invention Technology Program as a study curriculum and this in turn will  help the institutions become self sustaining financially by having and selling their competitive innovations in an open market after I have  begun campaigns to have governments enact a bill to protect the invention technologists and their innovations with the presidency,some members of legislative chambers (senate & representatives)  and governors but there are great bottlenecks up there to crack.

How would you achieve these projects in Nigeria ?

I have been offering Invention Technology Program lectures to  willing  Nigerians of all ages and levels of education; to making  professional inventors who will  start inventing new things and ways to uplift Nigeria in the world.Currently I am in Nigeria for the tentative program planning meetings for the first global faculty on tropical diseases, seeking innovations and eradication of tropical diseases to be held at the College of Medicine,University of Lagos, Nigeria on  June 6-7,2013.

This tropical disease  program is organized jointly with American Academy of Primary Care Research,USA; Science Medicine Research Institute,USA; Tropical Pharmedic,Nigeria; Medilag Consult and the College of Medicine,University of Lagos, Nigeria.

We have  innovated a novel model of learning and earning full time academic credits from the best universities around the world called SUPREP (Syndicate Univerisities Preparatory Research Educational Program ) Model Learning through which I created the first world Suprep institution called Science Medicine University that has just celebrated its 10th year in successfully training and retraining professionals around the world.