Health, they say, is wealth, so a situation where, according to statistics, about 300,000 people in Africa have lost their sight due to river blindness (onchocerciasis), more than 37 million people are infected while about 140 million are at risk of infection becomes a cause of worry. One then begins to wonder how such economies will be wealthy. Blindness is unarguably one of the worst diseases on earth, more so when it could have been easily prevented.

Irked by the worrisome challenges posed by the nation’s dwindling education sector, Founder and Senior Pastor, House on the Rock Church, Victoria Island, Lagos, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, has affirmed that the standards will continue to nosedive if incompetent leaders continue to manage the affairs of education sector.

Mr. Alexander Giwa is a staff of the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), Ibadan. In this chat with Vanguard Learning during the 12th National Council on Science and Technology Meeting and Exhibition held in Ibadan recently, he spoke on one of the plants exhibited by the Centre, a common plant found in Nigeria whose leaves are used by the locals to wrap and boil moi-moi (bean pudding). Excerpts:

The reason for yearly failure in Mathematics among secondary school students has been traced to teachers’ lack of practical skills that make the subject interesting to students.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II, has re-stated his readiness to continue to support anybody or a group of people who are willing to use their talents, intellect and resources to further project the image of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, to the outside world.