FOR Mr Bimbola Ogunnusi, who supplies science equpment and specialises in osteological preparations, the educational system in Nigeria would never remain the same with his ground breaking achievement in the assemblage of skeletal systems of various animals.

He has, in recent times, been involved in the assemblage of the complete skeletal system of dogs, cats and chickens. He has supplied various schools with model specimens, which are real bones of the actual animals.

Speaking on the importance of actual skeletons over plastic rivals which are more commonly used in schools, he stressed that real bones of original animals were more expository and exposed students to the actual function of the skeletal system in animals. He added that plastic specimens were more commonly used because of their cheapness and availability but hinted that plastic models did not offer students real life exposure, and did not last as long as the real thing.

"During examinations, a lot of students have problems identifying the various parts of the animal's skeleton, especially when plastic models or charts were used in teaching them.

"However, from our investigations, it was discovered that students who were tutored with real or actual skeletons are able to identify the various bones without stress. This has further strengthened our resolve to make sure that we enlighten more proprietors and most importantly, the various commissioners of education of all states in Nigeria, on the reasons why they should ensure that public school students, who study Biology, have access to these learning materials in order to improve upon the education of students.

"The importance of real bones used for the construction of an animal model cannot be over-emphasised. I have supplied lots of models to many private schools but it is sad that public schools are yet to level up. Many     of them still use plastic models which can not be compared to actual life size models. We have donated some skeletons to some public schools but more should be done to help the students who require the knowledge of these animals.

When asked how he procured the bones of the animals used, he said that his company, Silfem Enterprises, worked with many veterinary doctors in many parts of the country and as such, procured ailing or dying animals, which after their eventual death, were rid of flesh and their bones, used for skeletal models. He disbunked the rumours that animals were purposely killed to make the skeletons.

"We never kill any animal to make skeletons unlike many people think. We buy animals from all over Nigeria from many veterinary doctors, hunters and market traders. Most of these animals are either dying or dead, so we do not subject them to any inhuman treatment", he said.

Also, Mr Johnson Fagboun, partner at Silfem Enterprises, said that medical students benefited immensely from actual skeletons because first hand visualisations were indeed impressive.

Said he, "Skeletons are an important aspect of Biology and anatomy. It is what perticularly makes an animal. The visualisation of an animal's actual skeleton makes one understand faster and makes teaching easier. It is, indeed, an effective teaching aid.”

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