A senior lecturer in the Department of Geography in the Faculty of Applied and Natural Sciences, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State, Dr  Ignatus Madu, has emerged the  first runner-up in an international scholarly competition for African scholars on environmental security.

The competition was sponsored by the Robert  Strauss Centre for International Security Studies in conjunction with the Pew Centre on Global Climate Change.

This was contained in the university’s news bulletin, IBBUL News, a copy of which  was obtained by the Nigerian Tribune, on Thursday.

It said that the competition on Climate Change and Africa Political Stability (CCAPS),was aimed at fostering innovative African scholarship on the link between climate change and security in the continent.

The bulletin added that Dr Madu's entry, in the competition which was opened to all disciplines, was Spatial Vulnerability of Rural Areas to Climate Change in Nigeria: Implications for Internal Security.

The university’s management expressed delight at the award, saying that "the university is proud to be associated with  Dr Madu's academic feat and wished him well in his future endeavours.”

The university has released Dr Madu to attend the International Conference on Climate Change, in Rio de-Janeiro, Brazil, between July 16 and 26, 2011.
In another development, the management of the university has received some scientific laboratory equipment valued at several millions of naira from Niger State Ministry of Education.

The equipment included moisture analyser and spectrophometre. Handing over the equipment to the vice-chancellor, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Dr Bafa Alfa, explained that the equipment when installed, would enhance academic and research activities in the university.

Inspecting the equipment, the vice-chancellor, Professor Ibrahim Adamu Kolo, said the equipment would serve as precursor to the planned central laboratory of the institution.

He appreciated  the state government's timely gesture and assured that the  equipment would be effectively used for academic and research purposes.