A professor of Forest and Wildlife Management, Samuel Oluwalana, has called for the source of indigenous knowledge and experience that is relevant to encouraging the establishment of forest archaeological studies and improving resource utilization and conservation for economic well-being and national development. . Speaking on the theme “Forest: a territory of unlimited wealth and health”, the expert has advocated for a revolutionary vision of forest resources instead of the current approach of using them mainly for timber production. According to him, the establishment of an Indigenous Knowledge Center is necessary, stressing that indigenous knowledge continues to be a gold mine for the prosperity of the people and the country.
Prof. Oluwalana explained that soils are ‘life-producing machines’ that can improve the national economy and people’s health. “We don’t need to wait until we start importing soil organisms from other nations before we know we’ve destroyed and lost our own natural resources,” he warned, saying soils need to look further than what you walk on, while foresters and Soil scientists should be seen as important nature doctors and rightly given their first place of importance. The professor also pointed out that animals, insects, plants and soils contribute enormously to man’s health and wealth and should not be taken for granted, but should be protected and appreciated for their enormous contributions to man’s survival, and he added that there was a need for a complete change in the social attitude towards insects.
Advocating for an education system that encourages innovative thinking, the Professor of Forest Resource Management further recommended that interactive education be vigorously encouraged rather than the current practice that Continuous Assessment Tests (CAT) have been allowed to become. more or less in Continuous Assessment Exams (CAE). ), but that homework should be encouraged, as it would stimulate innovative thinking.
Prof. Oluwalana also advocated for the revision of forestry education at all levels, stressing that indigenous knowledge, science and technology, spatial science and anthropology should form an integral part of forestry studies. The speaker, however, called on his fellow forest resource managers to become educators, ambassadors and advocates for insect, plant and soil conservation through outreach to others through teaching and discussion. formal and informal, as well as powerful means to increase awareness and appreciation of these resources. .
Emphasizing the need for total forest conservation, “Time is running out, the extinction of forest resources may become a burden for the survival of tomorrow’s human generations. Poverty is a close ally of a destroyed environment. People are deprived of the economic and environmental services provided by forest resources when they are destroyed”, which is why he advocated adding the germination of insects such as those found in cockroaches, grasshoppers, crickets and worms, among others, such as vital for the establishment of a ‘healing forest’ at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State. Earlier, before FUNAAB’s 72nd Inaugural Conference proper, Prof. Oluwalana, who made the presentation, had stated that the problem facing the world was not deforestation per se, but nuclear radiation, saying that he and his Colleagues are working on this, but they need to do more work using what is called Biomimicry.
The gift, who revealed that he advises people from different parts of the world on cancer, diabetes and ulcer treatments, added that he has developed more than 49 products that are marketable in different parts of the world. “I told myself, I am a student and while I speak I also learn. In this field one knows nothing, I have had the grace to get old books and to study the medicines of different countries; everyone in this field must learn every day and every moment, there is no teacher in this field,” he added. Prof. Oluwalana, however, stressed that good health is one’s responsibility, advising people to avoid anger and adulterated foods, reduce electromagnetic products in the home, and stop abusing painkillers to live long. . In conclusion, the main conclusions of the conference are that indigenous knowledge and experience are vital to foster the establishment of forest archaeological studies and to promote forest conservation.
Not only that, the recommendations include the need to establish an Indigenous Knowledge Center and that soils are a ‘life production machine’ that can improve the national economy and people’s health and that animals, insects, plants and contribute to the health and wealth of man. Therefore, they should not be taken for granted. In addition, there must be an education system that encourages innovative thinking, while foresters must be allowed to become conservation educators, ambassadors, and advocates.
Beyond that, more attention should be paid to total forest conservation and the inclusion of insect germination for the establishment of a ‘healing forest’ at the university, among others. It is only expected that the points raised above lead to the promotion of indigenous knowledge in our country through the use of resources, conservation for economic well-being and national development, in what refers to forests, forestry and forest resources.
