Deputy Governor Urges University to Harness Alumni for Development 

The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, has urged the management of the University of Ibadan (UI), to harness the University alumni for the development of the University.

He gave the charge when he paid a courtesy visit on the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Ibadan, Professor Kayode Adebowale, in the VC’s office.

Dr Hamzat, who was at the UI as the Special Guest of Honour/Keynote Speaker at the induction ceremony into graduate membership of the Nigerian Society of Engineers for the 2021/2022 graduands of the Engineering Department, noted that government alone could not fund tertiary education, saying in developed countries, the alumni provide support for the development of their alma maters.

Recalling, with nostalgia, that he never knew any place where the passion for teaching was as vibrant as it was with his lecturers in UI, the deputy governor stated that it was the responsibility of the alumni to ensure the continued existence of the university for future generations.

He disclosed that he had received the most fantastic education in the University of Ibadan and described UI as undoubtedly the greatest university in Nigeria and Africa, commending the present and past managements for keeping the University standing.

Hamzat obtained his first and second degrees in Agricultural Engineering from UI in 1986 and 1988, respectively.

In his response, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Kayode Adebowale, said the University greatly appreciates its alumni and would certainly leverage them for its development.

He informed the deputy governor about the celebration of the University’s 75th anniversary coming up later in the year and disclosed that Dr Hamzat would be decorated as a UI@75 Ambassador.

Professor Adebowale said the Lagos deputy governor is one of the Alumni that the UI@75 Committee had identified as worthy ambassadors and management had approved his decoration.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the UI@75 Committee, Professor Peter Olapegba, said the deputy governor had certainly exhibited the UI core value of excellence and would be duly celebrated.

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The Acting Head of the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Dr Mobolaji Omobowale, recalled that the deputy governor had donated a solar-powered inverter to the department in 2014, to alleviate power shortage.

In his keynote address to the inductees entitled: “Developing innovative strategies for building a sustainable career as a young Engineer in the 21st century”, the deputy governor noted that the future belonged to those who were ready and willing to adopt or adapt to technology development as a way of life.

Dr Hamzat charged the inductees to never stop learning, believe that nothing is impossible and to bear it in mind that if they could dream it, they could achieve it.