Meet UNIABUJA Five most Hardworking lecturers who have been carrying out research amidst ASUU Strike

The job of an academic is not only to teach, but to conduct research and carry out community services. While teaching has been suspended  in public universities owing to the ongoing strike  by the  staff unions, many of our lecturers are still on the field carrying out various research and interacting with their works.

Meet  Five  of our academic staff who have been  carrying out research in their various fields: 

OBIAGELI E. NNODU,  a professor of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, and Director, UofA Centre for Sickle Cell Disease Research and Training University of Abuja (CESRTA), has been working with colleagues in Tanzania and Ghana under the NIH funded Sickle Pan African Research Consortium grant (SPARCO - NHLBI U24HL13045881-Abuja), resulting in the building of the infrastructure for future research in SCD in Nigeria. This infrastructure was  built within a network of  25 Clinical centres in the country’s six geopolitical zones with  outcomes including establishment of an electronic   consented registry of 7,414 sickle cell disease patients using uniform case report forms;  development of multilevel standard of care guidelines;  training of health care workers and other scientists in database development and database management; and completion of several pilot studies culminating  in 26 publications in peer reviewed journals.

In the last couple of months, CESRTA, which Nnodu heads,  has been carrying out various activities including Stakeholder Engagement Event  to engage stakeholders (patients, caregivers, health workers and policy makers) on the nature of sickle cell disease and ascertain the challenges that patients face in accessing care and the best way to provide the services to increase the number of patients who are enrolled in the SPARC-NEt Registry and on active follow up in the clinics at the SPARC-NEt Sites.  

Dr DIKE OJJI  

In the last three years, Dr Dike Ojji  of the Department of Internal Medicine, UofA, and consultant physician/cardiologist University of Abuja Teaching Hospital,  has been  working on  multiple research which include Transforming Hypertension Management in Nigeria; Evaluating the Implementation and Scale-Up of Nigeria National Sodium Reduction Programme; Managing Hypertension among People Living with HIV: an Integrated Model (MAP-IT);  the evidence-based treatment of hypertensive heart failure in sub-Saharan Africa: A feasibility study; Delivery of Optimal Blood Pressure Control in Africa (VERONICA)-Nigeria; Using systems modeling to improve retention in care for hypertensive patients in primary care settings in Nigeria, and organising trainings such as tthe Cardiovascular Research Training in Nigeria (CeRTIN). 

Ojji's research conducted along  with some  co-principal investigators  were variously funded by NIH/NHLBI, Forgarty /NIH, George Institute for Global Health, Australia;  Northwestern University Institute for Global Health; Washington University in Saint Louis (WashU); Northwestern University (NU), Chicago; and  University of Cambridge. 

PROFESSOR SARAH OLANREWAJU ANYANWU

 In March 2022,   Sarah Olanrewaju Anyanwu, a professor of Development Economics,  got grants   from the FEMALE SMILES (International), coordinated by Dr  Evi Viza (CQP, MCQI, IET, FRSA, LSSBB) of the University of the West of Scotland, UK,  which selected  Nigeria as one of the grants beneficiary countries  and University of Abuja to implement mentorship scheme and workshops for female early career researchers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).  

But for the ongoing strike, the events expected to  feature  competition among  students on their research on STEM with award of Prizes, would have held. 

“We are working seriously to ensure that as soon as the students resume after the call off of the strike, we will start in earnest,” says Anyanwu. 

 PROFESSOR KASSIM WAZIRI of the Faculty of Law, UofA,  his UK-based colleague, Prof. Chidi Ogbonnaya, and a  team comprising researchers from the University of Sussex, UK; University of Abuja, Nigeria; and  the  Federal Ministry of Justice;  investigated the current and future consequences of COVID-19 on street vendors within the FCT. 

 Waziri who recently submitted the  final report of this work says doing research gives him a lot of joy. " I enjoy doing research. The realisation that you are adding value to the system gives you much sense of fulfillment. I look forward to engaging in more cutting edge research, moving forward," the law professor says.  

 DR ABUBAKAR UMAR KARI

Kari, an  associate professor of Sociology  has been engaged in his grant-supported research - DECOLONIZING EDUCATION FOR PEACE IN AFRICA - funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), UK.

The project will last till 31st March 2024, unless an extension is required.

In March 2022, Kari's team which include Professor Parvati Raghuram,  organised a conclave of scholars (from 10 other universities across the country), during which they explored several subjects that constituted the research area.

“We are about to publish a journal from the presentations made at the event. We have also been collecting data, and working with other research team members at the Kuchingoro IDP Camp (the location of the practical aspects of the study),” Kari affirms. 

Keep it up scholars!