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HomeUncategorizedRMRDC: Hussain Ibrahim Lists ‘Kilishi’ As Research Breakthrough In Senate

RMRDC: Hussain Ibrahim Lists ‘Kilishi’ As Research Breakthrough In Senate

There was a mild drama at the Senate on Monday when the Director-General
of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, Professor
Hussain Ibrahim, identified the development of Kilishi technology as its
major breakthrough since the agency’s creation, 33 years ago.


Ibrahim,
who appeared before the Senate Committee on Science and Technology to
brief the senators on the activities of his agency, caused a stir when
he said the Kilishi technology was the only major breakthrough it had
successfully developed for commercial use.

Kilishi is a locally spiced roasted meat made of beef, and it is very popular in the northern part of Nigeria.

The
Chairman of the Senate panel, Senator Uche Ekwunife, had asked the DG
to tell Nigerians what specific raw material the agency had successfully
produced in the country in partnership with other research institutes.

Ekwunife said, “Your core mandate is to develop local materials.

“Can
you tell us the local raw materials you have developed in the areas of
health, brewery, construction, science, and technology, or agriculture?

“Just give us the synopsis of what you have developed or generated for local industries. Tell us about your breakthrough.”

An
elated Ibrahim proudly told the panel that despite its lack of
laboratory, the 33-year-old agency had succeeded in producing the local
meat delicacy for commercial production as part of the agency’s
breakthrough.

He said, “We have developed two varieties of
Sorghum. We collaborated with agricultural research institutes,
pharmaceutical industries because we produce ethanol from it and that is
the basic raw material for the production of sanitizers.

“Also
from the same Sorghum, we developed other products like Glucose syrup,
livestock feeds, material for breweries, and starch.

Ibrahim
threw the bombshell when the Chairman asked if the agency had developed
the glucose syrup to the stage where Nigeria would no longer import it.

The
DG said, “We have not reached that stage. It goes through processes. We
have tested it now but the stage we are now is the pilot stage.

“That
pilot stage will now lead to the optimisation of the products. At that
pilot stage, we would now see if what we have finally done are
technically feasible or commercially viable. We have to determine that.

“After we had determined that. We will now ask relevant industries to take them for mass production.

“In
our 30 years of research activities, we are still the largest research
Institute. But to be candid with you, we are making progress.

“For now, we have developed technology to optimize Kilishi production. Research activities take time.”

His submission led to prolonged laughter from the audience but drew the anger of the lawmakers.

A member of the panel, Senator Clifford Ordia said, “is this the success story that you are going to tell us after 33 years?

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