UI VC PREACHES UNITY IN DIVERSITY AS UI COMMENCES 2020 CONVOCATION CEREMONIES

“I charge you to go all out to do exploits in any field you may find yourselves and thereby project to the world the endless opportunities and invaluable potentials entrenched in our great nation. Our diversity, if only appropriately channelled, will lift our society to unprecedented enviable heights. We all, with every sense of duty, must not only preach but also practice unity in diversity.”
The above was part of the address of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abel Idowu Olayinka, FAS, at the first day of the 3-day 2020 convocation ceremonies of the University of Ibadan on Saturday, 14 November 2020 at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.
He expressed his delight as he witnessed the beginning of the 2020 convocation which would be the last in his capacity as the 12th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan.
His charges came from the premise of the vision of the University which was derived solely from the pursuit of the national goals of unity and development through innovation, knowledge creation and dissemination with a view to stimulating national transformation.
At today’s occasion, 111 Diplomas and 412 First Degrees were awarded graduands from faculties of Arts, Science, Clinical Sciences, Law, Dentistry, Agriculture, The Social Sciences, Education, Technology and Pharmacy.
The Keynote Commencement Speaker, Dr. (Sir) Omo-Ehijele Frank Odafen in his address entitled: “Do Not Be Afraid” encouraged the graduands to be bold and see themselves as the ‘Golden Keys’ to their tomorrow.
He charged them to pursue their dreams with patience and persistence which are ingredients for success; generosity for prosperity, and imbibe the virtue of respects for elders amongst others.
The Valedictorian at today’s event, Miss Bukola Fatimat Alada from Faculty Law was full of gratitude to God that she was honoured to be the valedictorian of the 2020 convocation as she dwelled on her experience in UI, which made her affirm the saying that academic standard in UI is with great expectation, as it makes competition very stiff among students. In her words: “If you can survive UI, you can survive anywhere else. In UI, even if you wanted to fail, you still have to read.”
She admonished her colleagues to continue to leverage on technology to operate on a wider scope; learn more skills with technology.
One uniqueness of this year’s event and in line with the new normal is that the live events have been arranged to be viewed via physical and virtual modes as experienced today through the following links:

Zoom: Meeting ID: 97516068150
Passcode: 996619
Youtube: University of Ibadan 2020 convocation ceremonies