Geographers have been advised to ensure that they refocus their research on areas that directly address societal problems. This was the consensus of members of the Association of Nigeria Geographers (ANG), at the 2015 Colloquium/Annual Conference that was held at the Osun State University, Osogbo between 22nd and 24th March, 2015.According to them, achieving this would require reorientation of geographers from purely academic perspective to a more problem-solving direction.
The theme of this year’s conference was Climate Change and Human Security. This theme in the words of the organizers is germane especially at a time that the world is ravaged by the bio-geophysical distortions caused by changes in the climatic regimes. The significance of the theme was further underscored by the subscription of scholars as gauged by the number of abstracts submitted for the conference. Speakers at the Colloquium including eminent geographers and foremost educationists highlighted the relevance of geography especially in this era of climate change.
Declaring the Conference open, the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Oguntola Jelil Alamu admonished the Association to be more concerned in proffering solution to societal challenges through quality and cutting-edge research. According to him this is the only way Geography as a discipline could make itself relevant in today's world.
The opening ceremony saw Professor Adeniyi Gbadegesin, the Vice-Chancellor of Ladoke Akintola University of Science and Technology, Ogbomoso who also doubled as the President of the Association, in attendance, as well as the Acting Registrar and Acting Bursar of the Osun State University Mr. Shittu G.A.A. and Mr. Adegbite Samuel, respectively.
The plenary session witnessed presentation of papers on climate change and its possible impact on human security. Research papers focusing on a wide range of human and environmental issues including the theoretical and conceptual issues, climate change and physical and human systems, climate policies, politics and governance, climate change adaptation and mitigation measures, legal issues in climate change, among others were presented.
Over 200 geographers and allied professionals from all over Nigeria presented papers which represented cutting-edge research in their various fields. Participants expressed their satisfaction with the level of organization and participation in this year's conference, and in the words of the ANG President, Professor Adeniyi Gbadegesin, “the UNIOSUN ANG 2015 was the best ANG conference in past decade". The ANG President also expressed appreciation to the Management of Osun State University for supporting the Department of Geography of the University to host the conference.
The Local Organizing Committee for the 2015 ANG Annual Conference was headed by Professor Temi Ologunorisa with Dr. Yakubu Samuel and Mr. Kayode Samuel as Secretary and Assistant Secretary, respectively.