The Vice-Chancellor of the Niger State-owned Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBBU), Lapai, Niger State, Prof Ibrahim Kolo has accused development agencies and manufacturing industries of not utilising research findings by scholars from the nation’s Ivory Towers to fast track the country development.

Speaking during the university’s first inaugural lecture, the Vice- Chancellor noted that researches carried out in many areas of human endeavors with proven solutions by many scholars are abound but lamented that such findings are not being developed for the benefit of the country by our industries, development and government agencies.

Kolo said: ”In Nigeria, there is disconnect between what the universities are doing in the area of research and what development agencies are doing. Government is supposed to build on what the university researchers have done, but that is not the case. The fact is there can be no development without researchers input.

"IBBUL like other universities has the mandate to teach and carry out researches in various areas of human endeavour. The sad aspect is that our development agencies and industries are not utilizing these findings. In developed countries findings of researches carried out by their universities are improved upon, but here we are yet to do that”.

The don cited the feat recorded by the Federal University of Technology, Minna in developing Typhoid fever vaccine, but lamented that nothing has been done by various developmental agencies and companies on it after years of research and findings.

In order to remain relevant and in an effort to fulfill its mandate Kolo said that IBBUL lecturers, researchers and students are encouraged to carry out researches into areas of relevance to the state in particular and Nigeria.

In his 55-page lecture titled ”Mycotoxins: are they the silent killers,” Gbodi, a Professor of Toxicology noted that Mycotoxins have dealt a great havoc on the food sector of the economy, stressing that livestock and farm produce are worst hit, as it takes its toll on the health and economy of the people and country.