By Dayo Adesulu

lagos—In the face of the current sharp drop in oil revenues, President Muhammadu Buhari has tasked universities to  rise to the challenge of contributing their own quota to the efforts in diversifying the national economy and creating opportunities for economic growth. The President, who is the Visitor to University of Lagos, UNILAG, gave this charge yesterday in Lagos during the institution’s 48th convocation held at the Multipurpose Hall, Akoka, Lagos.

He said that universities must create opportunities for social development, scientific and technological advancement that will engender economic growth and empower Nigerians. The President also pledged to implement  the over N500 billion allocated to the education sector by his administration in this year’s budget. Buhari, whose speech was delivered by the Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission, NUC, Professor Julius Okojie said: “In the face of the decreased oil revenues, universities must, more than ever before, rise to the challenge of diversifying the national economy.”

This, the universities can achieve, according to him, by evolving other means of  supplementing what they receive as allocations and grants from government. “Research grants, proceeds from product patents and discoveries and other internally generated revenue brighten this prospect,” he explained. He enjoined universities to be more responsive to their immediate society, while also insisting that the private sector must  solicit the services of universities to help them in product development and service delivery.

The grand finale of the 2015 convocation ceremony held at the Multipurpose Hall, Akoka was the installation of Alhaji Dr. Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi as the  Seventh Chancellor of the University of Lagos. After the administration of oath in this regard by Professor Julius Okojie, on behalf of President Mohammadu Buhari, the new Chancellor was presented with a scroll containing the law of the University of Lagos.

In his acceptance speech, El-Kanemi said:”I stand here before this distinguished gathering to accept with humility and deep sense of history to be installed as the Chancellor of this great University.” The Chancellor who was visibly elated with the offer said that he was proud to identify with the academic achievements UNILAG had recorded over the years. “I very much share the vision and mission behind establishing the University and happy to be its Seventh Chancellor and preside over this convocation ceremony,” he said.

He assured Buhari, that he will be committed and dedicated to achieve the objectives for which the University was established. He also urged all stakeholders of the institution to continue to collectively promote and sustain the cherished values and acquisition of knowledge and skills which the University is noted for over the years. The Chancellor who appealed for stakeholders’ continuous and unrelenting support, called for their cooperation in helping the University pursue all its academic programmes peacefully.

He said: “With our collective resolve and support, I am sure that this university would keep standing for the present and future generations and meet its mandate as envisioned by its founding fathers by continuously providing the much-needed leadership and manpower requirements of the nation for many years to come.”

The new Chancellor who is also 20th Shehu of Bornu, lauded the academic excellence of the graduands, describing them as intelligent scholars. “We take pride in your achievements and it is our candid belief that you have acquired the requisite knowledge and skills towards contributing your quota to the progress and development of your dear country,” he said.

Speaking at the occasion, the Vice chancellor, Professor Rahamon Bello, assured the Chancellor that the institution would work with him. He said that the choice of Abubakar El-Kanemi as the Seventh Chancellor could not have come at a more opportune time, adding:  “He is a square peg in a square hole.”

The Vice Chancellor said that the Royal Eminence is an astute administrator, a reservoir of knowledge and wisdom. According to him, the issue of corruption and the multidimensional problems with the economy, along with terrorism and other security challenges, have come to make governance and development very challenging. At the grand finale of the third phase of the 2015 convocation, the Vice Chancellor said 5,435 graduands were awarded postgraduate Diplomas, Masters and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.

A breakdown of this showed that 71 had PhD degrees, while 4,973 got Masters degrees and 391 received postgraduate diploma certificates. He also informed that UNILAG had, in the past three days, graduated a total of 10,907 at the 2014/2015 convocation held at the Multipurpose Hall of the institution. Dignitaries at the occasion included the NUC Secretary, Prof. Julius Okojie who represented President Mohammadu Buhari; the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu; Senate Leader, Senator Aliyu Udume and all local government heads in Borno, to mention a few.