Funmi Ogundare
It was celebration all the way weekend, as Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun, graduated 823 scholars with 47, bagging first class from the Colleges of Natural and Applied Science, Management Sciences, Engineering, as well as College of Environmental Sciences.
A breakdown of the statistics of graduating students showed 823 graduated with BSc (regular: 388; topup: 435), 177 postgraduate and one PhD.
Speaking at the 14th convocation ceremony for the conferment of honorary degrees, award of first and higher degrees/diplomas, and presentation of prizes, held at the institution’s hall, the best graduating student, Miss Rahmat Arogundade of the College of Engineering with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.0, recalled how she got to the institution with self-esteem issues and a huge gap on her confidence chart, adding that she had to latch on one of the words of Nelson Mandela and a verse from her Holy Quran which had paved the way for success for her.
She advised her fellow graduands not to allow their problems to imprison their minds but to use them as an opening to chart a better path for themselves.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Jeremiah Oludele Ojediran, said Nigeria needs to wake up to its responsibilities to fund higher education properly.
Ojediran, who expressed concern about the recently called ASUU strike, said, “It is pertinent to note that education, in every sense, is one of the fundamental factors of development, and no country can achieve sustainable economic development without substantial investment in human capital.”
The VC expressed concern about the recent downturn in the global economy, wondering “if we are all really aware that whatever actions or inaction we engage in today will always come back to haunt us, sometime later in life.”
Ojediran appealed to the graduands not to drop the baton in the race of life but be good ambassadors of the university.
The trio, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Chief Kola Jamodu, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Prof. Bart Nnaji and the Chancellor, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwabo, congratulated the graduands for their achievement, diligence, discipline, and resilience. They disclosed that the institution was graduating its fourth set of direct entry students who came in through Higher National Diploma (HND).
The programme witnessed the conferment of a doctor of science (D.Sc.Honoris Causa) on the former Chairman of the Board of Governors, the Bells Educational Services, Dr Ayodele Patrick Aderinwale.
