Spotlight interview – Hajara Yahaya Tanko
Hajara Yahaya Tanko is the current Director Investment and Consultancy of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council. She holds a BSc degree in Chemistry and an MSc & PhD degrees in Pharmacognosy.
To mark Nigerian Independence Day, a national holiday which marks the independence of the country from the United Kingdom on this day in 1960, we recently interviewed Hajara to find out a little more about her, her experience with RECIRCULATE and how she will spend the day.
How did you hear about the RECIRCULATE project and what has been your experience engaging with the project so far?
I firstly heard about the RECIRCULATE project from the Raw Materials Research and Development Council which was invited to attend a stakeholders forum at University of Benin. My engagement with RECIRCULATE has offered me opportunity to understand the actual formation of consortium, the importance of engaging end users of research output and the opportunities for African researchers in solving African community problems.
How are you celebrating or how will you be celebrating the Nigerian Independence Day?
I will celebrate the day by looking back to appreciate local content development and looking forward to seeing opportunities waiting to be tapped in that angle.
What would you say are the two biggest challenges you face in Nigeria in your line of work?
The two biggest challenges I would say are 1) lack of trust between businesses and researchers &
2) inadequacy of the right skills to get us moving fast.
If you had the power to change one thing in Nigeria, what would it be?
I will reduce theoretical education and concentrate on vocational education which will generate employment and encourage innovation. Nigeria is a great country full of wonderful people and unique cultures yet to fully capitalize on individual differences for a common goal.
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