The 2014/2015 convocation of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) ended on a sad note on Thursday with the announcement of the death of Umar Abubakar Garbai in an inferno which occurred in the Guest House of the 54-year-old institution.
Garbai was the brother of the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar El-Kanemi.
The Shehu was installed as the seventh Chancellor of the university on Thursday.
Garbai was in the entourage that accompanied the monarch to the ceremony.
Garbai and other guests from Borno State were staying in the Guest House when the fire started.
He was said to have died of suffocation.
Others suffered varying degrees of injuries.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed the incident.
Zonal spokesperson of the agency, Ibrahim Farinloye, said: “There was a fire outbreak involving members of delegation of Shehu of Borno at UNILAG.
“The incident happened at the Shehu of Borno Guest House in UNILAG and one person died of suffocation.
“The deceased was a brother to Shehu of Borno, Umar Abubakar Garbai.
“Guest House A12 was involved.
“The deceased will be flown to Maiduguri for burial today.
“There are four guest rooms affected altogether – A12, A13, A14 and A15.”
Effort to speak with officials of the university, about the incident yielded no result as everyone claimed to be busy with the convocation events and could not talk to the media.
Meanwhile, the Shehu of Borno has advised students in the nation’s universities to always maintain peace and pursue their studies with vigour and seriousness.
He gave the advice in his address shortly after he was installed as the seventh Chancellor of UNILAG.
The installation climaxed the three-day 2014/2015 convocation of the institution.
El-Kanemi charged the students to shun violence and other social vices but should maintain peace within and outside their respective campuses.
According to him, Nigeria is a country that has what it takes to reach greater heights, adding that the students have great roles to play in actualising its potentials.
“You are the future leaders of this great, diverse, united and indivisible country.
“You should all remember what your parents, guardians and, indeed, the government put at stake to see you through your education.
“This is in anticipation of your being good and patriotic citizens that will become pillars of the nation’s growth and development,’’ he said.
He remarked that he was humbled by the honour done to him, by being installed as the seventh chancellor of the university.
The Shehu said that the University of Lagos had come a long way since its establishment in 1962 and that he had accepted with humility and deep sense of history to be so honoured.
“I am indeed proud of the academic achievement this university has been recording over the years and I feel very humbled to be associated with it.
“I share the vision and mission behind the establishment of the university and happy to be its seventh chancellor and preside over this convocation.
“Your Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari and the university community, I want to give you my assurances, commitment and dedication to achieve the objectives, for which this university was established,’’ he said.
He noted that collectively, the university community would continue to promote and sustain the cherished values and acquisition of knowledge and skills, which it had been known for over the years.
Prof. Rahmon Bello, the Vice -Chancellor of the institution, in his address of welcome, said that the country was currently facing economic and security challenges.
According to him, while Nigeria is not the only country with such challenges, the situation has become worrisome out of mismanagement and neglect.
Bello said that the issue of corruption and multidimensional challenges with the economy, along with nascent terrorism and other security challenges, had come to make governance and development very challenging.
“As academics, we have not folded our hands and have also taken the role as think tank for the nation through the pulling together of multidisciplinary research centres.
“This is targeted, specifically, to review, continue to study and make available findings to relevant government agencies on long, medium and short term solutions to these national issues,’’ he said.
Giving a breakdown of the graduating students for the third day, Bello said that 5,435 students would be honoured with postgraduate Diplomas, Masters and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees.
He said that 71 of them would be honoured with the PhD degrees, 4,973 with Masters Degrees and 391 with postgraduate diploma certificates.
