MCRP donates GIS, remote sensing equipment to Fed Uni Gashua (FUGA)
From Sani Gazas Chinade, Damaturu
The World Bank Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP) has made a significant contribution to the Federal University, Gashua (FUGA) in Yobe State by donating Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing Technology equipment valued at millions of naira.
This equipment includes projectors, television monitors, printers, digitizers, GPS units, sensors, and more. The donation was formally received by the Vice-Chancellor of FUGA, Professor Maimuna Waziri, and subsequently handed over to the Geography department.
Professor Maimuna expressed her appreciation for this generous donation, highlighting the potential benefits it brings. She emphasized that this equipment would greatly enhance the university’s capacity to monitor the environment, study the impacts of climate change, and manage natural disasters such as fire, droughts, flooding, freshwater availability, evapotranspiration, and crop yields.
Furthermore, she underlined that these resources would not only aid in combating desertification and improving the livelihoods and security of the region but would also empower the university to explore research areas focused on mitigating the devastating effects of flooding. Flooding incidents often lead to loss of lives and damage to critical service delivery infrastructure and property.
In her words, “I sincerely want to extend my profound gratitude on behalf of the Senate, management, and the entire staff and students of Federal University Gashua, especially those at the Geography department, for the wonderful gesture from the World Bank and the MCRP team.”
The Vice-Chancellor, while commending the World Bank for its generosity, urged the Geography department to make the best use of the equipment, emphasizing that these resources are intended to support teaching, research, and technological applications in addressing societal challenges and should not be used for any other purposes.
Present during the equipment handover were the Deputy Vice–Chancellor of academic services, Dr. Ahmed Ibrahim Jajere, the Head of the Geography department, Dr. Lawrence Ejeh Udeh, and the University Auditor, Mohammed Musa Machina.
The particular project that made this donation possible was funded by the World Bank program through the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project (MCRP) of the North East Development Commission (NEDC).
It encompasses various intervention components, including research grants to support applied research in agriculture value chains, greenhouse farming for improved nutrition and food security, addressing financial exclusion, and promoting economic development, along with initiatives related to peacebuilding, social cohesion, and countering violent extremism to mitigate the impact of the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe states, particularly in the agricultural sector.
