The Geological Sciences in the Service of Nigeria
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Date
1972-01-18
Authors
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Ife Press
Abstract
In the year 1900. Charles Lapworth, the then President of the Geological
Society of London, asked from the President's Chair: "What is
this geology of which we are so proud and confident? What has it
done for the mental or material benefit of the human race? And on
what grounds does it justify its claims to respect and support as one
of the facts in the advance of humanity?"
These questions appear to be as relevant today as they were at the
beginning of the century, and my address this evening, as the title
indicates, attempts to answer the first rather briefly, the second in
some detail in so far as it applies specifically to the people of Nigeria,
and the third not at a". as the answer lies with you-mine would be
strongly prejudiced in geology's favour! The main body of my address
falls naturally into three parts, namely. the manner in which the
geological sciences have served Nigeria in the past, the ways in which
they will continue to serve her in the future. and the contribution
that the Department of Geology and Applied Geology at the University
of Ife has made and will continue to make in the provision and
growth of this service.
But first some definitions are necessary. The science of geology,
which is more than 200 years old, springs from two main sources-the
consideration of the origin of rocks, and the study of minerals and
crystals from the old mining districts of Germany. This is neither
the time nor the place to delve into the history of our science-suffice
it to say that until relatively recently geology was largely an observational
science with little or no relation to the other physical
sciences. Today the plctureTs very different. and the barriers
between geology and chemistry, geology and physics. and geology and
mathematics are being broken down as fast as they are between
physics and chemistry. and chemistry and biology. It is for this reason
-dissatisfaction with the limitations of the term "geology"-that
I have chosen the wider term "geological sciences" for the purpose of
this talk. Geology is in essence earth history and it uses every available
.rneans to decipher this history. We can therefore say that the geological
sciences are the various branches of geology and allied subjects
that help to unravel earth history .
Description
Keywords
Geological sciences, Geology, Geological survey, Geological mapping, Crude oil production, Mining industry, Mineral deposits, Industrial minerals, Earth Science