One of the elementary adages we learnt early in life is that ‘necessity is the mother of invention’. This is self-evident and it has been proved true throughout human history and experience. During the Biafran war of independence, we learnt how to extend the shelf-life of batteries so that we could listen to Oko-Okoo Ndem, Onwuzuligbo Umezulike et al from Radio Biafra, which most of the time, operated the guerrilla-broadcast model. We learnt that we could eat cocoa-yam leaves and even cassava leaves and discovered new ways of preparing and preserving them. We learnt how to extract salt for the salty stockfish, which we ordinarily never touched. Biafra was able to refine its own oil, some in secondary school compounds, manufacture its arms and ammunition, including the famed ogbunigwe (the real weapon of mass destruction), while Biafran recruits practised the art of warfare and weapon-handling with bludgeons! The real name for necessity is adversity.
Beyond the Biafran war, we have had seasons of adversity in this country: during SAP era, the June 12 riots, which led to oso-Abiola, and even, the security challenge, which continues to intensify by the day and which has transfigured from a North-East affair to a National challenge. But the Coro-adversity is indescribable, overwhelming and global. Everywhere was subjected to the triple locks ( Lock-up, lock-down, lock in); health systems were overwhelmed, including those of Europe and America. Our people who went overseas to buy ice-cream had to stay at home and many of them were treated in our local hospitals, which have deteriorated from ‘mere consulting clinics’ to sources and causes of death. Big men could not show off their wealth as there were no avenues and occasions for sinful ostentatious displays; global supply chain was disrupted and the world was in socio-economic disarray while we lived in collective fear and uncertainty. I am intentionally using the past-tense because even though the war is not over, we speak and act as if it is over, especially as the jabbing has started and we are now more self-confident that we can overcome the scourge
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True to the above ancient adage, adversity became the mother of inventions. People who lived in morbid fear and paralysis pulled themselves together, put on their thinking caps and went on an invention splurge. I am proud to note that Nigeria has not been left out for inventions in Nigeria and inventions outside Nigeria. In no special order (though I wish to start at home where charity begins, but should not end at home), here is a roll-call of some of the inventions. An OOU research team produced an anti-Covid syrup that can manage the scourge and boost immunity just like a group of Catholic Priests who collaborated with other institutions and experts to produce another cure, the Pax CVD Plus and the Plateau Research Team on Coro which also developed a herbal cure. The Federal Poly, Oko in Anambra state, produced a solar-powered Coro disinfection machine just as their counterparts at Federal Polly Nekede fabricated an automated and manually operated hand-washing and drying machine while in Ife, the Ooni Covid-19 Team invented motorized modular fumigators. At Federal University of Technology, Owerri, two Elect-Elect students, Isaac Uchechukwu and Ifeanyi Ebulue designed a device that would prevent us from touching our faces. In Lagos, the LASU Dept of Computer Science developed a Coro self-test App, just as some researchers from the Federal University of Technology Akure developed a positive pressure ventilator, which is a variant of a mechanical ventilator, while in Bauchi, Engineers from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University invented automatic ventilators, disinfection chambers and apps for screening and treatment of coronavirus and Lassa fever. At individual levels, Engr Ibrahim Aledu of NSE, Apapa fabricated the respiratory machine while Dr Dayo Olakunlehin, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder of Ligand Corp invented the D-Box, a cheap, portable, easily deployable, easy to use and rechargeable battery-powered ventilator, which cost $300 while the conventional ones cost in the neighbourhood of $30,000. He has just been nominated for the Royal Academy of Engineering Prize
Usman Dalhatu, a 200L student of Mechanical Engineering of ABU Zaria produced the E-Vent automatic ventilator while Jerry Mallo, a Jos-based fabrication engineer produced a ventilator. Other inventors include Kaduna Poly (Plant to produce medical oxygen from air), Cadnetwork Enterprise (Rapid Trace, an app for contact tracing, physical distance enforcement, crowd control and self testing), National Biotechnology Development Institute ( RNASwift extraction kit, which would expand our testing capacity and reduce cost by up to 500%). Diversay Solutions (Full body disinfection tunnel); Nigerian Defense Academy (Smart Disinfection Chambers), Lagos State Government (an educational radio station), UNN (a contactless digital hand-cleaning machine that uses sensor to monitor body temperature, dispenses hand sanitizer, detergent and water); Glisten International Academy, Abuja ( a robot that can act as an interface between the doctor and patient as well as delivering of drugs to patients) and the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research at Yaba (a molecular test kit). Lest I forget, I also ‘invented’ one small textbook: Project Writing, Presentation and Defense: A hands-on Approach. It was 100% invented during the Triple Lock era
Our scientists have proved that they are equal to the tasks, though I do not know the extent to which governments and our corporate giants are involved. However, I don’t want what happened to Biafran inventions to happen to these ones. In the spirit of providing solutions, Government should establish a clearinghouse to track and collate all these inventions, get them refined, tested and up to the market, patronize them intentionally (not accidentally) and support further research in these areas. Our private organizations, including CACOVID, should support these inventions as a CSR agenda while some should get involved as a strategic investment. University research outputs are funded and commercialized as has been shown with vaccines in which Oxford and Yale universities (Our own Ogubagu) and many others have featured permanently.
