LAGOS—President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed his administration’s determination to tackle the challenges facing universities.
In his address as visitor to the University of Lagos, at the second day of the convocation ceremony read by Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, yesterday at the multipurpose hall of the institution, he said government has increased university funding significantly and improved the welfare of faculty and staff.
"We have also embarked on a difficult, but necessary economic reform programme intended to guarantee us a better future," he added.
Reminding the congregation that no nation has ever become great without good quality leadership at the economic, political and intellectual levels, the president declared, "our universities and research centres have the responsibility for intellectual leadership and universities remain the repositories of our intellectual strength and the beacon of our scientific breakthrough and technological development."
Obasanjo charged universities to provide leadership in such areas as quality research that will not only earn the scholars their chairs but also move the nation forward.
He urged universities to "partner with government in the provision of Civic Education, so that the citizenry will understand their role in protecting infrastructural investments, promoting our collective interests, contributing to economic growth and development and defending our democracy."
He bemoaned the situation in which the average youth is in a hurry to leave this country because of lack of faith in the country’s ability to provide opportunities for them.
"May I once again challenge the universities, through their general studies and citizenship education programmes, to shape the minds of our youth to appreciate what is theirs and look to the future with greater enthusiasm and hope," he said.
Asking for a little more patience, and a brighter future will soon become a reality, the Nigerian leader noted that, "the country belongs to all of us irrespective of age, education, class or religious affiliation." He described the cornerstone of university autonomy, which this government has championed, as deregulation, noting that "public universities must be aware that private universities now compete with them in the provision of high quality education."
According to him, the time has come for the quality of education to improve, especially with the contribution of parents, students, teachers, the university and the government. He assured that the government will continue to provide the enabling environment for improvements in education.
Earlier, Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, accompanied by Governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos state, Bola, Minister of Education, Professor Fabian Osuji, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe, and other personalities commissioned some projects in the university of Lagos, such as the multi-million naira Julius Berger lecture theatre complex and the University Community Radio (UNILAG 103.1 FM).
Yesterday’s ceremony featured awards of degrees and diplomas to 3411 students making a total of 6619 this year. The spread on basis of disciplines showed that law has 317, business administration 826, pharmacy 59, College of Medicine 204, and school of postgraduate studies 2005, of which 29 received PhDs in various disciplines.
