By Kunle Akogun
By all conceivable standards, the just concluded 39th Convocation Ceremonies of the University of Ilorin was suffused with all the trappings of a world class outing. At the ceremonies that held on October 21st and 22nd, 2024, a total of 12,042 graduands convoked. Of this number, 256 came out with First Class, 3,842 Second Class (Upper Division), 6,178 Second Class (Lower Division), 1,299 Third Class and 62 Pass. It also included 124 MB;BS graduands, 64 Nursing graduands, 35 Optometry graduands, 30 Veterinary Medicine graduands, 103 Pharmacy graduands, 33 Physiotherapy graduands, 16 Diploma holders, 92 Postgraduate Diplomas, 1,280 Masters, 179 Professional Masters, 1 MPhil and 323 Ph.Ds.
Meticulously conceived and superbly executed, this year’s convocation will, for a long time, remain the subject of positive discourse both within and outside the University campus. It was one of the best organised in recent times.
Not only were the habitual traffic jams, often associated with convocation days, dramatically absent this year, the main convocation arena –the surroundings of the University Auditorium – was devoid of the din and unruly hurly-burly that usually hallmarked the scramble for seating spaces by graduands’ parents, guardians and other guests desirous of having vantage views of the convocation proceedings inside the Main Auditorium.
To stave off unnecessary crowding of the Auditorium grounds this year, the Ceremonials Committee, headed by its workaholic Chairman, Prof. Adegboyega Adisa Fawole, had put in place superb arrangements whereby guests were comfortably seated in the expansive UNILORIN Multipurpose Hall, where they watched everything happening inside the Auditorium live on giant television screens! No moment was missed, as it was just like being inside the Auditorium itself.
The well-paved Pavilion behind the Auditorium, which was hitherto reserved for seating the guests in years past, was exclusively reserved, this year, for graduands who could not accommodated inside the Auditorium. They too were comfortably seated under special canopies, watching everything that transpired inside the Auditorium live!
But beyond the fantastic organisational acumen of the Ceremonials Committee, the real essence of the two-day events –award of various degrees and prizes – was the real deal that gave the 39th Convocation Ceremonies its defining character. The array of guests, which included the representative of the Visitor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; the representative of the Governor of Kwara State, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq; the representative of the Chancellor, the Emir of Katsina, HRH Alhaji (Dr) AbdulMumini Kabir Usman, CFR; the Pro-Chancellor and Governing Council Chairman, His Excellency, Surv. Abiodun Jacob Aluko; the Convocation Lecturer, Hon. Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi; several Vice Chancellors from across the country, various traditional rulers, captains of industry, and many others, added great colour and intellectual verve to the occasion.
On hand to receive the guests was the multiple award-winning Vice Chancellor, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, ably assisted by his ever-supportive management team members. Throughout the ceremonies, you could feel the air of satisfaction going through the mind of the erudite Professor of Jurisprudence and International Law, who had, about five days earlier, at his traditional Press Briefing, enthusiastically reeled out a long list of achievements recorded by the University in the past 365 days.
But by far the most heart-warming and soul-lifting event of the convocation was the Visitor’s Address, read on behalf of President Tinubu by the immediate past Minister of State for Education, Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu. In the Address, the President poured torrents of encomiums on the University of Ilorin, which he described as a veritable Centre of Excellence!
According to President Tinubu, the University “has continued to do well in fostering a diverse and inclusive learning environment where students from diverse backgrounds come together to explore, learn and grow.”
The President expressed great delight in the giant strides of the University staff in groundbreaking patented research endeavours, while acknowledging the accomplishments of its students and Alumni in debates, quizzes, sports and other national and international competitions.
He particularly congratulated the Governing Council, Management, Staff, and Students of the University “for making the nation proud over the years”, noting that the University recently received an award as the most subscribed University in Nigeria, with a cash award of N500,000,000 from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The President pointed out that “this award is a reward for hard work, dedication, and commitment to always doing what is right,” saying, “I wish the University of Ilorin more success as I hope others would emulate the University.”
President Tinubu was not done yet, as he also congratulated the University on its recent award of the Best Federal University in ICT Integration by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, a development he described as “a further testimony to the giant strides of the University.”
He also congratulated the University on the forthcoming celebration of the 50th anniversary of its establishment. He noted that “the event is indeed worthy of celebration as the University is doing quite well in every realm”, adding that “alumni of this University are doing very well within and outside Nigeria and one can say without any fear of contradiction that the University of Ilorin is a front-liner among the nation’s Universities.
For the Better by far University, that lavish presidential kudos was the veritable icing on the proverbial cake of a very successful convocational outing! All thanks to the Midas’ touch of ‘Mr Efficiency”!
Akogun is the Director of Corporate Affairs, University of Ilorin