UI don urges FG to invest in research to unlock Nigeria’s $23bn

The hall at the University of Ibadan buzzed last Thursday, as Professor Olusegun Ekundayo, FAS, a retired Professor of Phytochemistry and Organic Chemistry, mounted the podium to deliver a hard truth: Nigeria is sitting on a goldmine but failing to mine it.

Delivering the plenary lecture at the First National Symposium of the Society of Essential Oil Distillers and Analysts, SEODA, the foremost essential oils researcher said the country must urgently invest in research, innovation and human capacity development to unlock its essential oils industry.

“Essential oils have been valued for thousands of years,” Ekundayo told the audience of scientists, distillers and policymakers.

“Today, renewed scientific interest has opened doors in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, agriculture, and aromatherapy.”

He broke down the science for them. Essential oils, he explained, are highly concentrated volatile compounds extracted from leaves, flowers, bark, roots, fruits and seeds. They carry antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and insecticidal properties that industries now desperately want.

The don listed standardisation, quality assurance, safety and poor research funding as the biggest roadblocks.

He noted that variations in plant species, when crops are harvested, and how oils are extracted all affect quality. 

“We need reliable analytical methods, toxicological studies and clinical trials to establish safety, dosage and efficacy,” he said.

Ekundayo also warned against over-reliance on wild harvesting. Instead, he pushed for sustainable cultivation, biodiversity conservation and modern, environmentally friendly extraction.

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Nigeria, he stressed, has the raw materials. Lemongrass, eucalyptus, basil, ginger, clove, peppermint, scent leaf and citrus species grow across the country. What’s missing is structure.

To fix that, he proposed two things: A National Essential Oils Development Policy to coordinate research, investment, regulation and export and a National Centre for Essential Oils Research and Innovation to serve as a hub for universities, research institutes and industry.

He further called for competitive research grants, pilot production facilities, patent development, and specialized training in distillation, analytical chemistry, product development and international marketing.

“With AI, metabolomics, biotechnology and nanotechnology now in play, we can transform this sector,” he said.

Earlier, SEODA Chairperson, Professor Sherifat Adeyinka Aboaba, said the symposium was a milestone. She revealed that SEODA, founded in 2019, has published the first Compendium of Essential Oil Research in Nigeria with over 400 abstracts.

She lamented that despite Nigeria’s rich biodiversity, its share of the global essential oils market remains small, with most resources either underutilized or exported raw.

The three-day symposium themed; ‘Unlocking the Essential Oils Value Chain in Nigeria: Production and Commercialisation for Sustainable Economic Growth’ featured keynote addresses, technical sessions and exhibitions.