Azeez tasks stakeholders on specific grazing route for cattle

Following the recent establishment of the Ministry of Livestock Development by the Federal Government, the Dean, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ilorin, Prof. Oyebisi Mistura Azeez, has implored stakeholders to support the call for the provision of a safer route for the grazing of livestock in the country.

Prof. Azeez, who made this appeal last Thursday (November 21, 2024) while delivering the 269th Inaugural Lecture of the University at the University Auditorium, explained that this is especially important during the migration of the animals and the rearers at the peak of the dry season.

In the Inaugural Lecture, titled “The Matters of the Heart on the Survival of Animal and Man”, the don, who is also the pioneer Head of the University’s Department of Veterinary Physiology, said that giving the animals specific route across the country would ensure their safety and that of those who rear them.

She explained that continuous animal grazing along major highways should either be avoided or minimised as regular exposure to emissions from petroleum products such as diesel, petrol and kerosene has immeasurable adverse effects on human and animal health.

Prof. Azeez, who is also the first female Dean of the Faculty, said that the uncontrolled exposure of animals and man to emissions from petroleum products have been posing very serious cardiovascular challenges, which often result in sudden deaths.

She added that many sudden deaths are traceable to continuous exposure to petrol or diesel, saying that the consideration of the origin of some diseases show that they are environmentally induced.

The Dean, who has been a veterinary surgeon for four decades, equally appealed to the government and authorities of various institutions of higher learning to create hygienic environment with zero tolerance for open-air emission of diesel engines and generators on their campuses so as to protect the lives of people working around the engines.

She also appealed to individuals to cultivate the habit of regular checks of blood pressure and other vital health parameters to avoid sudden death or debilitating health conditions.

Prof. Azeez, whose lecture was the second to be delivered from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, said that stakeholders should encourage the planting of Moringa and other medicinal plants in our environment for the benefit of human and animal health.

She noted that both the leaves and seeds of Moringa are useful and that the Nigerian government should encourage the wide cultivation of the plant for general benefits.

Prof. Azeez said studies on the protective effects of medicinal plants with antioxidant potentials against the harmful impacts of hydrocarbons on cardiovascular and respiratory health should be supported with adequate funding.

The Inaugural Lecture, which was presided over by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Abayomi Omotesho, was also attended by relations, friends, colleagues and students of Prof. Azeez from far and near.