ADDRESS BY THE VICE-CHANCELLOR:DAY 1: MONDAY, 14 NOVEMBER, 2022
DAY 1: MONDAY, 14 NOVEMBER, 2022
ADDRESS BY THE VICE-CHANCELLOR,
PROFESSOR K.O. ADEBOWALE, FAS, mni
AT THE CONGREGATION FOR THE AWARD OF CERTIFICATES, DIPLOMAS AND ADMISSION INTO FIRST DEGREES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN ON MONDAY, 14 NOVEMBER, 2022.
PROTOCOL
· Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration)
· Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
· Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation & Strategic Partnerships)
· Registrar
· Bursar
· Acting University Librarian
· Provosts of the College of Medicine and of the Postgraduate College
· Deans of Faculties, and of Students
· Directors of Institutes and Centre
· Heads of Departments
· Members of Senate
· Members of Congregation
· Members of Council
· President and members of the University of Ibadan Alumni Association World wide
· Members of the Students’ Representative Council & Executive
· Honoured Graduands
· Proud Parents and Guardians of our Graduands
· Gentlemen of the Press
· Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
It is with great delight that I welcome you all to the University of Ibadan, the first and the best, on this special occasion of the first day of the 74th Convocation and Graduation Ceremonies of the University of Ibadan.
I am grateful to the Almighty God whose decision it is, to preserve us, in order that we may witness another landmark event in our march towards excellence and greatness.
May I therefore take this opportunity to warmly welcome our guests and, well-wishers to this great occasion and to congratulate, especially the proud parents and guardians of our graduands, who have come to share the joy of today with their children and wards. I welcome very specially all the academic and non-teaching staff that God used to nurture our graduands while on campus and at one point or the other.
The graduands of today, more than anyone else deserve our special congratulations on the successful completion of your programmes. You have individually applied yourself thoroughly to the intensive academic challenges. As one would expect, it is not everyone who started the race with you about 3, 4, 5 or 6 years ago as the case may be, who is present here today due to one reason or the other. Such reasons include poor academic performances, health challenges, character deficiencies or even, in some highly regrettable cases, death. You are all therefore, witnesses of God’s grace and favour.
It is heart-warming to note that in spite of the obvious academic challenges and protracted industrial actions, you have invariably been found to be worthy both in character and learning, hence your graduation today. The University of Ibadan is truly proud of you all!. By the moto of the University, recte sapere fons. To think straight, is the fount of knowledge. Your thinking has been clear, focussed and not perturbed by anything that can derail you, hence you are present today. I Congratulation you all.
Since assuming office as Vice-Chancellor effective 1 November 2021, I and my Management Team have been relentless in our efforts to key into the Federal Government’s Public Sector Reform drive, which we consider as a guiding principle in navigating the turbulent waters of implementing radical reforms in an institution such as ours.
Today’s ceremony marks the culmination of the 74th Anniversary celebration of the University of Ibadan, which came into existence in 1948 as a College of the University of London and located in this historic city of Ibadan.
On behalf of the entire University community, I most heartily welcome to the University, Visitor, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, for his representation and those in his entourage.
At 74, the University has good reasons for modest pride derived from indisputable and varied contributions it has made towards the development and sustenance of modern Nigeria. Apart from its continuing thrust in the spreading of academic leadership light, throughout the country and the globe, the number of its Alumni are a source of enviable pride and strength to the University and its friends.
Ibadan graduates have come to hold key positions everywhere in the occupational milieu: in staffing, curricula and practice of our Universities; in the Administrative Services, in the professions, notably - Teaching, ICT, Medicine, Law, Engineering, Politics, Business, Corporate environment and even in the Armed Forces.
In the same vein, it is heart-warming to note that our products are well entrenched in the diaspora globally doing valiantly. Our alumni are the proof that despite the challenges that confront higher education in Nigeria, we continue to make remarkable progress. The University of Ibadan is committed to the development of this nation through human capital development, among other means.
Mr. Visitor, Sir, one of the biggest challenges the University has had to contend with over the years is gross under-funding. Being a public institution, the main source of funding is the government which, owing to the prevailing hostile economic environment has increasingly been unable to cater for much of our financial needs. However, the University continues to thrive with a great ray of hope that better days are ahead.
Distinguished audience and graduands, it is cheering that a total of 5,227 candidates are being awarded First Degrees and Diplomas today and tomorrow out of which some are participating physically, while others are joining virtually.
The breakdown is given in Table 1.
Today, our graduands are from the Faculties of Arts, Science, Clinical Sciences, Dentistry, Basic Medical Sciences, Agriculture, The Social Sciences, Education, Renewable Natural Resources, Distance Learning Centre, the Affiliated Institutions, Veterinary Medicine, Technology, Law, and Pharmacy. These candidates will receive their First Degrees and Diplomas in various programmes.
Table 1 Breakdown for First Degrees 2019/2020 by Class
FIRST DEGREES
|
PROGRAMME |
1st Class Honours |
2nd class Honours (Upper Division) |
2nd Class Honours (Lower Division) |
3rd Class Honours |
Pass |
Unclassified |
Total |
|
1. ARTS |
21 |
11 |
234 |
25 |
2 |
393 |
|
|
2. SCIENCE |
35 |
105 |
224 |
31 |
9 |
454 |
|
|
3. MEDICINE (i) MB, BS |
19 |
19 |
|||||
|
(ii) BDS |
6 |
6 |
|||||
|
(iv) B. (Physiotherapy) |
4 |
19 |
6 |
29 |
|||
|
(v) B. Nsc. (Nursing) |
6 |
30 |
7 |
1 |
44 |
||
|
(vi) B. Sc. (Biochemistry) |
- |
3 |
21 |
18 |
42 |
||
|
(vii) B. Sc. (Physiology) |
3 |
19 |
15 |
37 |
|||
|
(viii) B. Sc. (Human Nutrition) |
1 |
6 |
19 |
5 |
31 |
||
|
4. AGRICULTURE & FORESTRY |
23 |
99 |
86 |
13 |
2 |
2 |
223 |
|
5. THE SOCIAL SCIENCES |
2 |
38 |
129 |
27 |
2 |
2 |
198 |
|
6. EDUCATION |
17 |
91 |
252 |
46 |
8 |
414 |
|
|
7. DISTANCE LEARNING CENTRE |
3 |
70 |
413 |
158 |
12 |
656 |
|
|
8. AFFILIATED INSTITUTIONS |
44 |
346 |
1212 |
327 |
1929 |
||
|
9. VETERINARY MEDICINE (DVM) |
78 |
78 |
|||||
|
10. TECHNOLOGY |
47 |
106 |
100 |
11 |
2 |
266 |
|
|
11. LAW |
18 |
91 |
43 |
1 |
5 |
158 |
|
|
12. PHARMACY |
- |
70 |
|||||
|
13.RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES |
8 |
60 |
50 |
2 |
120 |
||
|
14. ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT SCIENCES |
4 |
26 |
27 |
2 |
1 |
60 |
|
|
GRAND TOTAL |
233 |
1204 |
2842 |
731 |
44 |
173 |
5227 |
Table 2 Analysis of Degree of the 2019/2020 Session. First Degree Graduates at the University of Ibadan.
|
Class of Degree |
Number of Candidates |
Proportion of the Total (%) |
|
First Class |
233 |
4.46% |
|
Second Class Upper |
1204 |
23.03% |
|
Second Class Lower |
2842 |
54.37% |
|
Third Class |
731 |
13.99% |
|
Pass |
44 |
0.84% |
|
Unclassified |
173 |
3.31% |
|
Grand Total |
5227 |
100% |
It is therefore with pleasure that I report that these graduands, who are being awarded the various Diplomas and Degrees of this University, have kept to the Oath to which they subscribed during their Matriculation. They have been therefore found worthy in character and learning.
Our achievements
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to inform you that members of staff and students continue to make commendable strides in their unrelenting contributions to knowledge in their various fields.
It is therefore my pleasure to report some of the notable achievements and significant events:
Ø Reading Remediation Project
The Department of School Library and Media Technology commenced the reading remediation project in June, 2022. The reading remediation project is aimed at addressing and correcting reading difficulties among Nigerian pupils. Reading difficulties were identified as major cause of poor reading habit, high level of illiteracy and poor academic performance among pupils in Nigerian schools. The project, which is anchored by the academic staff at the Reading Literacy Unit of the department, had selected pupils of Abadina Primary Schools 1 & 2, University of Ibadan as participants in the project. The project is currently at the data collection stage.
Ø Future Creative Leaders Academy FCLA PITCHER Festival Awards
The Department of Communication and Language Arts on the 21 May, 2021 won the Second Place Position in this year’s Future Creative Leaders Academy Pitcher Festival Competition for undergraduate students in various schools and Departments of Communication and Language Arts as well as Mass Communication in Nigerian Universities as the case might be. The University of Ibadan also won the School of the Year award for the Second Year running.
Ø Staff Matters
Dr Omolade O. Olomola of the Department of Private and Property Law was nominated by the Directorate of the Technical Aid Corps, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to serve the Federal Government in a two-year volunteer service in Uganda.
Ø Collaborative Research and Development Activities
The Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology hosted the capacity building workshop on ‘Seed Research Methodology, Data Analysis and Reporting from 25 to 29 October, 2021 under the auspices of the National Agricultural Seed Council. The workshop, the 3rd of its type, incorporated interaction between resource persons and the participants in terms of hands-on training in the use of GENSTAT for the analysis of morphological and molecular data. The workshop was coordinated by Professor Morufat O. Balogun.
Ø The 2018/2019 Food Technology Graduates were inducted into their profession by the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFS).
Ø The Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science successfully registered and indexed 47 BMLS students with the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN) in September, 2022.
Ø NUC Full Accreditation
The under-listed programmes bagged NUC full accreditation:
a. B. EHS – Environmental Health Sciences
b. B.Sc. – Human Nutrition and Dietetics
c. B. Food Technology and
d. The Department of Industrial and Production Engineering was awarded full accreditation for another five (5) years.
AWARDS, FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS AND VISITATIONS
Ø The University of Ibadan won the West African Cup of Arab/Africa International Collegiate Programming Contest held in December, 2021.
Ø The University of Ibadan has been designated as a TETFUND Centre of excellence in Agriculture.
Ø A team of students from the University won the African ICPC Contest held in Benin Republic.
Ø Akin-Adewumi Akinpelumi, a 400 Level Dentistry student won the 5th JKF Annual Essay Writing Competition.
Ø Ayomide Elesho, a 200 Level Political Science student won N1 Million and a Laptop in a competition organized by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.
Ø Adetutu David of the Faculty of Dentistry won an Award of N125,000 in the Education Research Forum Essay Competition.
Ø A team of students of the University made the Institution proud at the 2021/2022 Huawei ICT Competition where they made it to the global finale of the competition and clinched 1st and 2nd Prizes respectively.
Ø Ibekwe Chibueze Emmanuel (207200), a 400- Level student of the Department of Computer Science was among the team selected from the University of Ibadan to attend the final stage of the HUAWEIICT Competition Bootcamp and Global Finals in Abuja from 5 to 19 June, 2022.
Ø ODEJO Israel (Matric No: 214892), a 400 level student of the Department of Computer Science was selected to attend the Deep Learning Indaba 2022 Workshop from 20 to 27 August, 2022. He was awarded both travel and accommodation grants.
Ø Mr. Oladimeji Arowolo Abiola of the Department of Computer Science visited Birmingham City University to attend a staff mobility exchange within the framework of the Erasmus+ Programme (Staff Mobility for Teaching). The visitation took place during the period from 25 -29 April, 2022.
Ø The Department of Computer Science received Dr. Mariam Adedoyin-Olowe from Birmingham City University, UK between 23 and 27 May, 2022 for the ERASMUS Fellowship students staff exchange programme.
Ø Professor Moshood N. Tijani of the Department of Geology was elected Vice-President, (Africa) of the International Association for Engineering Geology and Environment.
Ø Professor Prisca Adejumo of the Department of Nursing won an Award of the 2022 International Nurse Resources.
Ø Prof. Olawale Ogunkola of the Department of Economics has been appointed a Visiting Professor by the London School of Economics and Political Science from 1 November, 2022 to 1 February, 2023.
Ø Professor Olasebikan Fakolujo, the immediate Past Dean of the Faculty of Technology, was appointed Vice-Chancellor Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun State, effective 1st October 2022.
Ø Prof Ogugua Charles Aworh of the Department of Food Technology was conferred a fellow of the African Academy of Science on 31 October, 2022. In addition, he has also been appointed President, International Academy of Food Science and Technology from 2022 – 2024.
Ø Engr. Prof. Emmanuel A. Ajav of the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering was conferred Fellowship of the Nigerian Society of Engineers FNSE on 1 November 2022 at Abuja
Ø Prof. Iromidayo Bamidele Olu-Owolabi of the Department of Chemistry and Prof. Simeon I B Cadmus of the Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine were conferred Fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Science FAS on 12 May, 2022.
Ø Prof. Selim Adewale Alarape of the department of Veterinary Public Health in the Faculty of Veterivary Medicine was awarded the 2022 BactiVac Catalyst Training Grant. The award is a laboratory Exchange towards Vaccine development for the circulating Aeromonas strains in Clarias Gariepinus
Commencement Keynote Address
At this occasion, we will have the 2022 Convocation/Award of 1st degree commencement keynote address. It will be delivered by Prof. Peter Babatunde Olaitan, Chief Medical Director, UniOsun Teaching Hospital. It is my belief that his address will positively impact and change the mindsets of our graduands.
My Charge to the Graduands
We live in a season of amazing paradoxes. Global wealth is rising in the same vein global poverty is also rising. There are more billionaires in the world today than the world ever had but there are also more people living in poverty today that was ever the case. You are leaving this venue today to walk into that paradox. I assure you that if you hold on to the values that you acquired here, the values of hard work, diligence, honesty, transparency, and integrity, you will walk into the door of prosperity. It will take creativity, courage, being technologically savvy and enterprising. But you came this far because you cherished those skills and values. Keep on going higher.
Nora Ephron says: “Your education is a dress rehearsal for a life that is yours, to lead”. Now the dress rehearsal is over. Get on the real stage and do great things in the life that is yours to lead.
Closing Remarks
Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentleman, permit me to thank our gallant academic and non-teaching staff for the commitment to duty and positive projection of the University of Ibadan brand which have enabled U.I to earn its recognition as a foremost destination for intellectual enterprise in Nigeria.
I would also like to express our profound gratitude to all our benefactors, friends of the University and donor agencies especially the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) for the interventions and generous support, which have boosted the academic and infrastructural base of this University. Indeed, the University of Ibadan has enjoyed the cordial relationship thus far.
I wish you journey mercies back to your various destinations.
Thank you and God bless.
Professor K.O. Adebowale, FAS, mni
Vice Chancellor