By Hyelsidzira Amos, Nantap Tangsan, Salome Naze, Peace Davwar and Damola Joda
You will agree that the idea of anything science speaks of as ‘boring’ because of the complexity of its nature. “Anything else but science” and when you hear the word ‘scientist’ what comes to mind? Old, too serious, cranky, etc.
In this part of the world and in Nigeria in particular, where science and technology have not taken any serious advancement as compared to other parts like China, scientists go through struggles to get people interested in their scientific field. They go through the stress of bringing to the notice of the government and the public possible ideas for development. This is unlike other countries like Japan or South Korea where a five-year-old child is aware of the possibility of inventing something because of the almost frequent inventions around him or her.
Science and technological innovations have endowed man with substantial means of surmounting natural adversities and bringing about the most remarkable positive changes for a better and transformed society. These changes cut across every segment of man’s life.
The importance of science and technology encompasses the reasons why creating or the creation or the management of science and technology blogs should be taken seriously. Amidst the challenges, one cannot neglect the fact that scientists exist in Nigeria and they are a very instrumental part of the working population. Eryn Brown and Chris Woolston in their feature ‘Why Science Blogging still Matters’, state that “blogs continue to be an effective platform for communicating your science to major stakeholders and the public”. Just as with any other profession, science blogs give information on emerging issues but most importantly, over the years, blogs, according to Eryn Brown and Chris Woolston, “to recruit more bright minds to science”.
Christie Wilcox in the book, “Science Blogging: The Essential Guide”, categorized the importance of having a science blog by either the scientist or science reporters into two: the Altruistic View – which talks about the benefits of the blog to society in general and the Narcissistic View – which is the benefit of the blog to the scientist. Under the Altruistic View, the importance of owning a blog by scientists is communication. Communication as regards new innovations, discoveries and other challenges of the country will be much easier for the citizens of Nigeria. The scientist will, through the blog, inform and make informed decisions on a wide range of issues that the people need to understand which can only be possible when a scientist tries to interpret it to them in terms that they will understand. With constant communication by the scientist through the blog, the negative attitude towards science and technology by the people in Nigeria will gradually change as they will start to show more interest in science. Under the Narcissistic View, the importance of the scientist having a blog, according to Christie Wilcox, is exposure or rather “personal branding”. Having a blog will help a scientist to brand and sell him/her to prospective investors. Individuals, institutions and organizations will get to know about the scientist and what he/she does via a blog.
While leaving room for objections, only one known Nigerian scientist owns a scientist blog, Philip Emegwali (emeagwali.com) nevertheless, the value of blogging about science in Nigeria is increasingly recognized by professional science writers, which is a major research outlet in research institutions. Some scientists say that making science accessible to a broader audience was their motivation but bloggers are not only writing for an audience but also for themselves. Why is that? Because blogging is a form of “self-expression” and a means of having a voice in larger media and public conversations about science which most of them enjoy.
Science and technology blogs are important for Nigerian scientists because they will help serve as a medium to enlighten the public about modern trends and innovations which are the key to economic drivers of industrialized nations. These blogs will keep the public up to speed with the latest technology developments and show them how they can be used to solve everyday issues. It is a platform open to interaction with a wider audience and the ability to get feedback. Scientists can use the medium of a blog to also speak directly to people.
A Nigerian scientist, Dr. Sylvester Oikeh of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation has long used his research prowess to advance healthy crops for humanitarian purposes. He has been instrumental in two important projects; Harvest Plus and Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA). He used biotech and conventional breeding to develop 125 draught maize hybrids, five of which are genetically modified. But only South Africa has approved genetically modified varieties. Dr. Oikeh was frustrated by political roadblocks hindering the adoption of the varieties in other African countries. “We see technology that can benefit, yet farmers are deprived of this technology,” he said. Possibly, if Oikeh had a blog, he would have explained more about why GM varieties should be adopted everywhere in Africa. He would have connected with his audience and other scientists who will join hands with him to make sure all roadblocks hindering the adoption is removed and African farmers all around will have access to the varieties.
A scientist’s blog can also help in finding collaboration for the authoring of significant papers. Another scientist, Prof. Bartholomew Nnaji, who founded geometric power (the first indigenous-owned power development company in 2001) also one of the investors in the E-Design concept has published five books and more than a hundred articles. With the way technology is embraced over the world, most people do not find it interesting to read hardcopy books, journals or articles. Having a blog to publish all his research findings will go a long way to reaching very large audiences that he can be called upon to collaborate with, either local or foreign scientists to publish papers or work on a project together.
Scientists and institutions have tended to use the Internet mostly for professional communication (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) and where the general public is in mind, for disseminating scientific findings and the promotion to students, policymakers, mass media, business partners and prospective employees.
Nigerian scientists have joined the 2019 global March for Science to urge the federal government to mainstream science as the key to the nation’s economic development. The event followed the theme, “Science is Life”.
“No country has ever attained structural and economic transformation and development without science,” said Dr. Abdulrazak Ibrahim of the Department of Biochemistry at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria. He also said during the event that “science is not important if it is not benefiting the people”. Using deductive reasoning on this statement, it is clear that science and technology are very essential in a nation’s growth and that is why a scientist’s blog is important to promote national development. When a large number of Nigerian scientists blog, they will ultimately increase science literacy in the blogosphere and indirectly the mass media, which source science news from scientists.
A scientist’s blog is important for Nigerian scientists as it can inspire aspiring scientists and also allow their findings and achievements to be celebrated by the public, not just in Nigeria but across the globe.
