*As over 800 Students graduate from Ivory Tower
Former Minister of Health and former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Isaac Adewole, has identified some of the challenges faced by the Nigerian University system, such as inadequate funds, weak research infrastructure, transparency and accountability, lack of synergy between researchers and users of research outcomes, and perennial strikes, among others.
Prescribing the roadmap for change, he highlighted the following, implementation of the autonomy bill, cost-sharing strategies to reduce the burden of education on the government, branding, technology & innovation, entrepreneurial education, academia-industry collaborations, and improved web presence.
sector, among other dignitaries.
He said, “given these regular disruptions in the academic calendar and the inadequate infrastructure necessary for universities to function, it has become imperative to interrogate the essence of University education in Nigeria, x-ray its challenges, and suggest probable solutions”.
This commentary was made at the 10th Convocation Lecture of the Nile University of Nigeria in Abuja. The lecture with the theme, ‘Rebuilding & repositioning the crumbling walls in Nigerian Universities: A Road map for change’, played host to stakeholders from the academia, Government, and private.
Delivering the lecture, Prof. Adewole said this topic was appropriate when public Universities just returned from an eight-month shutdown occasioned by disputes between the staff Unions and the Federal Government. This follows a similar long strike by the academic staff unions of universities in 2020.
Prof. Adewole concluded that Nigeria requires universities to interact on international scientific platforms with foreign counterparts to be instrumental in studies that might galvanize Nigeria from poverty to the threshold of socio-economic prosperity.
He further charged the private sector to make the universities provide informed solutions to their business problems.
As part of the convocation week, over 800 students graduated on its 10th convocation ceremony across five faculties— Arts & Social Sciences, Management Sciences, Engineering, Natural & Applied Sciences, and Law. The ceremony served a dual purpose as it also featured the investiture of the Shehu of Borno, HRH Abubakar Ibn Garbai EL-Kanemi CFR, as Nile University’s Chancellor.
Speaking during the lecture, the Vice Chancellor of Nile University of Nigeria, Prof. Dilli Dogo, said 73 graduates bagged first class, 161 received second class upper division, 182 went home with second class lower division, while five got third class. He also added that Four hundred and twenty-one postgraduates were also graduating.
He further informed that the overall best graduating students were Obayomi Emmanuel Ayomide from the department of Accounting 5.0 C.G.P.A, Okon Precious Eteyen from Petroleum and Gas Engineering with 5.0 C.G.P.A, Taiwo Habiba Ayinke from the department of Mass Communication with 4.99 C.G.P.A, Egwakhide Mercy from the department Economics with 4.97 C.G.P.A.
About Nile University of Nigeria
Nile University of Nigeria is a private multidisciplinary university established in 2009 and located in Abuja, Nigeria. Nile University is committed to building future generations of professionals and leaders that can thrive and positively impact our globalized world by leveraging academic innovation, state-of-the-art facilities, and great talent. The University currently has six faculties and a School of Postgraduate Studies offering 38 undergraduate programmes and over 51 postgraduate programmes.
Nile University is a member of Honoris United Universities, the first and largest pan-African private higher education with 15 institutions across 10 African countries.
