A foremost Nigerian geologist and the founder MECON Geology & Engineering Services Ltd, Dr. Matthew E. Offodile recently marked his 86th birthday and his 58 years of meritorious professional service in the sector with a valedictory workshop and the presentation of his autobiography titled, “This Is My Story” and two other flagship publications. He spoke with The Rock Post on this golden moment and a number of other issues around the sector.
Excerpts:
How does it feel to be celebrated at 86 and in your professional career towering about 58 years?
I feel happy, more especially professionally because I have been celebrating my birthday every year, so birthday is no more important to me. What is more important to me today is the 58 years of active and meritorious professional service as a geologist. You know our job involves some risks, and to be roaming the bushes of this country, practicing geology for 58 years is not easy. I thank God for bringing me this far. I’m only just withdrawing from active service but intellectually active. I fee great.
What do you think is your professional legacy in the near six decades of your experience?
So much has been said about it. I thank God I was able to make some contributions to the knowledge of geology in this country. I started geology when little or nothing was known about it. We more or less started from the scratch. Starting from the scratch means that you will put the pieces together for you to make a story. It was a painstaking effort, so I thank God people are appreciating the effort, which they have expressed during this talk show this afternoon.
Your name has been engraved in the geological history of this country. What do you think the future of this profession holds?
There is a lot of future if we are sufficiently committed to the study of geology of this country because geology holds the economy of this country. If we ignore the geology of Nigeria, it is to our peril because the development of this country depends on the mineral resources and these mineral resources are key to manufacturing, foreign exchange earning, to everything that enhances capital development of the country. But unfortunately we are not committing our weight, we are not spending enough money on exploration. If you don’t explore, you will not find, and if you do not find, you cannot develop. For us to find and develop, and generate jobs, we need to invest in exploration and the country is not investing enough. We need to buckle up and invest in exploration. We can’t just continue saying we have so much minerals, we have this and that but you don’t know how many, you don’t know the quantity, you don’t know the quality before it will be ready for marketing. It is only when it is ready for marketing that you can make money. You can’t make money if you don’t explore. A lot of interest should be invested in exploration. All the components used in manufacturing for the basic needs depends on minerals resources. We need to wake up.
What would you love to be remembered for?
Everything that happened here today. That is why I took my time to put a lot of my findings in form of books, so that people can read it. Even when I am gone, people will be quoting me, “when this man was here, this is what he did”, that is all I want. That is why I published in both academic journals and also my own biography and made it as accessible and affordable as possible so that people can read me. That is the only thing I want to be remembered for. I don’t want to be remembered as a big man or big politician, rather my contribution to he development of the country
What is your word of advise to upcoming generation of geologists?
It requires a lot of patience, hard work, and diligence, that is what we need, that is what young people need. All these quick money don’t take you anywhere. Even if you make the money, and you don’t know how to use it, it will disappear but if you apply methodical approach to live, work hard, you are patient, diligent, honest in your approach, and in everything you do, definitely you will get there. But all these desperation for quick money, doing “yahoo-yahoo” (wire fraud) will not help us. Geology is not easy, it requires both brain and hard work.
