- By Demola Atobaba, Ado-Ekiti
It was an heartwarming news for the University community of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), when on Saturday, February 10, 2024, the Majority leader of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Micheal Opeyemi Bamidele, aka MOB, declared that his colleagues and himself, especially the three of them who were garlanded with honoris causa of the university were ready to turn a part of the university premises into a construction site as a way of giving back to the university for honouring them.
Mr. Bamidele, a global legal practitioner , and two others, Senate chairman on appropriation, Senator Adeola Olamilekan Solomon Yayi and Rt Hon. Adamu Yusuf Gagdi, House chairman on Navy, were honoured with the doctorate degrees in Public Law, Accounting and Public Administration respectively during the grand finale of FUOYE’s 8th convocation ceremony while a total of 6563 former students of the university graduated.
According to Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina, the breakdown of the graduands are First Class 114; Second Class Upper
2762; Second Class Lower 2793; Third Class; 688. For the post graduate school, he said 36 were Ph.D graduands, MSc, 163 and PGD, 7.
Speaking on behalf of the honourary awardees, Senator Bamidele who congratulated the graduands and the university for the uncommon feat, said:”
To my fellow awardees on whose behalf l speak, l also say congratulations. I have no doubt that you know that we have become role models for both the graduating Nigerians as well as the students who are will here in the university and even those who are yet to be admitted.
“May God guide us in ensuring that we do the work of proper role models the graduands, students and to those yet to be admitted. To the university community, be rest assured that the three of us have spoken and part of our own commitment based on your decision and NEEDs basis, our desire is to turn a part of your university in to a construction site as soon as we can .
The rest of the details would be worked out with the VC and management of the university. “
Also speaking at the event, Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, who observed that the three honourary degree awardees were fit for the recognition, urged the graduands to ensure that they do not forget to hone their skills with their education and make the best out of it.
His words:” I congratulate graduands of today and your parents and guardians and the students of this great University. I join you to say arise and shine . I also must recognize the presence of today’s guest speaker, an erudite Professor , Professor Oloyede.
“Your lecture is as masterpiece everyone here today must have. I also greet all other VCs here today. I urge all of you to get a copy of Prof. Oloyede’s lecture and l pray for you that as you will be greater than this University. Like Prof Oloyede said, what makes a great University is the quality of the Alumni association, please come back and give to this university.
“I have watched with rapt interest the phenomenal growth of this university from 400 to 51,000 students in less than eight years , it can only get better. And that is a testament to the quality of management that we have in place. As a government, we shall continue to collaborate with this university sir. But l plead with you sir, that the university also must put a lot of emphasis on research so as to solve the problems of this country.
As you graduands go out to celebrate today, please do so bearing in mind that the journey has just started . I know that with the kind of impact the university has deposited in you, you would make a success of your attending this university.
“Try to combine the education of the head with that of the hands. If there are skills that you are good at, don’t let it die, that skill may come in handle. It may even be what you will need. The quality of what has happened to you is that you are educated so whatever skills you have, you can apply your education and make the best of it. “
The representative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Jibrin Barau, also conveyed the message of the Visitor to the University community, saying : “I have the singular honour to stand in for our President. He asked me to extend his condolences to the immediate families of our monarchs and the driver who were brutally murdered by people whose permanent home is hell. We leave them to God to take them to hell. The President also condoled with the Governor and people of Ekiti state and may the souls of the deceased continue to rest in perfect peace.
“The President asked me to congratulate all the graduands and indeed their families and well wishers and also the chancellor and Vice-chancellor and all the staff of this institution for this wonderful event and he prays that each and everyone of the graduands shall be successful in their endeavours. He congratulates all the awardees and urge them that “ to whom much is given, much is given much is required.” They should allow the recognition given by the university is to make them do more for the Ekiti and the nation.
We know they are all people of sound pedigree and particularly the leader of the senate who has been doing very everything within his powers in the senate to protect the interest of his state.
“We regard his as a patriot who stands for the interest of this country we are not surprised that this great institution has decided to honour him . We know Senator Bamidele as someone who always stand for his state, the country and the humanity as a whole. We urge you to continue to on this trajectory .
“Senator Olamilekan is also someone who is always standing for anything that will promote the interest of his people of Ogun state and indeed the entire country . That was why the two of you were singled out for this honour among 109 of us.
Senator Barau also disclosed that President Tinubu is committed to developing the education sector, particularly the tertiary sector. He said: “ That is why one of the bills that the president signed on assuming office is the assessment to tertiary education bill , the students loan bill which is meant to assist indigent students to outside their educational careers.
“Not only that, the government has decided to allocate a lot of funds to assist our education sector right from the basic to tertiary level. This government is poised to ensure that it brings all that is needed to promote our educational sector to the desired level.”
In his thought-provoking lecture, the Registrar of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Prof ls-haq Oloyede gave what could pass for a life coaching in the speech titled: “The Failure of Success”.
He urged the graduands to do everything to sustain success while he said that failure itself could be a stepping stone to success. He cited highly successful people who had experienced failure in their life also as way to motivate the graduands. He mentioned the likes of Opray Winfrey, Bill Gates and Abraham Lincoln among others.
Prof. Oloyede said:” One truth about life is that success and failure are two sides of the same coin, just like happiness and sadness, day and night, positive and negative. The two opposites dominate and animate life but when they are understood, the undesirable opposites could be minimized all together at individual, societal and national levels. It is all about doing the right things and doing things right.“
Also speaking at the occasion, Vce-Chancellor of FUOYE, Prof. Fasina who took the audience through his fruitful journey of three years, said the administration was planning on more laudable programmes to further out the University on a global map.
He added that his administration has succeeded in adding new academic programmes which included Medicine and Surgery, Data Science and Analytics, Agric Business Management, Agricultural Economics and Farm Management, Agricultural Extension and Rural Development; MBA, DBA, MFA, DFA, PDFM, M.Sc, Ph.D. (Business Administration), MSc. Ph.D. in Public Administration and Finance, MPA, DPA. Affiliated Colleges, Sandwich Programme, Part-time Programmes, Distance Learning Institute, Faculty of Multidisciplinary Studies, Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, FUOYE Business School, New Departments of Philosophy, Religious Studies, Nursing and Environmental Management and Toxicology.”
Prof Fasina disclosed that FUOYE has undergone a total of 49 accreditation exercises in her bid to promote a culture of excellence in all rounds. He listed the promotions of staff during his tenure to include 37 professors, 73 Readers, 42 Senior Lecturers, 1 senior librarian, 67 lecturers 1, 110 lecturers 11, 53 Assistant lecturers, 742 senior non-teaching staff and 274 junior staff making a total of 1,399 promoted.
Speaking further on his achievements, Prof Fasina said: “We have established international and local collaborations/linkages with the following organisations: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Vienna, Austria, Dc Montfort University, United Kingdom, on the establishment of Artificial Intelligence, Robert Boyle Institute. Jena Germany, High level partnership (for five years in the first instance) with Washington DC State University, for research, teaching and learning collaboration, Troops Institute, Leipzig, Germany, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria, Nigeria Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, Cocoa Research Institute (CRIN), Ibadan and Rubber Research Institute, Iyanomo, Edo State. Right now on SCOPUS, the University has 3,500 documents from 769 authors.”
As for his lofty future plans for the university, he mentioned such projects as the Senate Building, Renewable Independent Power Station: If the University is to be truly self-sustaining, this administration recognises that a renewable independent power station, Pavilion at the university Sports Centre, Academic Building for Lecturer’s offices, Continuation of the Green Revolution Initiative, University Branding: The FUOYE brand, Development of an effective Postdoctoral system and University Musical Band, One Day Vice-Chancellor.
