The Rector of Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa, Engr. Olufunke Akinkurolere, has said Nigeria’s crude oil will soon dry up or become “very useless,” warning the country to reduce its over-dependence on finite and non-renewable resources.
He submitted that crude oil drilling or extraction is like mining, saying whatever is being mined would be exhausted one day.
The rector expressed concern that even if the oil does not dry up, it would soon become “very useless” owing to the fact that many developed nations are now finding alternative sources of energy to power cars and generate electricity.
She spoke at the first international conference organised by the polytechnic.
Speaking on the theme of the conference, ‘Harnessing Technical, Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education for Sustainable Economic Development’, the academia maintained that the world has entered an era in which everyone’s concerns are contributions to the well-being of others, for now and in the future.
According to her, the idea of sustainable development was conceived in the early 1970s when the need was felt to preserve our natural resources as they were depleting at a very fast rate.
“In the olden days, you could just go to the bush and cut down trees. We were not even mindful of the need to plant new ones. But now, it dawned on us that if we don’t want to get to a stage where there will no longer be trees in the forest, we have to look for a way out. That’s why this issue of sustainability started coming in.
“Whatever you are doing today, you have to take cognizance of tomorrow. The green economy, green environment being talked about is anchored on sustainability.
“Today in our country, we have to start looking away from petroleum because after a while, the petrol will finish. It’s like you’re mining something; it’s not something that is everlasting. Even if the oil does not finish, a lot of countries are already developing alternative sources of energy.
“We now use solar without any need for power generators. That will save the environment because of no pollution from diesel.