Use your talents to develop Nigeria, Okebukola urges graduating students

Prof. Peter Okebukola, former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, (NUC)  has urged graduating students of the Caleb University, Imota, Lagos to deploy their God-given talents and quality training to develop Nigeria.

Okebukola, who is the Chairman, Board of Trustee of the institution, made the appeal at the institution`s seventh convocation on Friday in Lagos.

He told the graduates to allow their entrepreneurial spirit come alive and stick to the noble ideas and core values of the institution.

He listed such core values to include Godliness, innovation, service, integrity, teamwork, excellence and creativity.

“To my ‘Emerald Graduating Class’, the entire country looks forward to you to be God-Solution Persons (GSP’s).

“You must be ready to deploy your God-given talents and the quality training, you have received at Caleb, to action beginning from your time at the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme,’’ Okebukola said.

Brig.-Gen. Mobolaji Johnson, (rtd) who is the University`s Chancellor, urged all the alumni to be worthy ambassadors of the university.

Johnson commended the Council, Senate, and Management of the institution for maintaining high academic and moral standard.

Prof. Fola Tayo, the University Pro-Chancellor, advised the graduating students to be an unusual and strange person, “who is out to make a change’’.

“Be an odd person that cannot be fitted into the Nigerian corrupt and inhuman cage.

“Be a man or a woman, who can ask questions and will never compromise the standard of established laws, regulations and procedure.

“Remember, you are answerable to God, not man and in the choice between obeying man or God, you are enjoined to be on God’s side,’’ Tayo said.

Also, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Daniel Aina, remarked that the seventh set of graduates produced by the university, “comprise of the most brilliant minds, who will positively affect the future of Nigeria and Africa’’.

“That they are the seventh set itself is a study in excellence and perfection, and for us, that is a journey and it begins with these privileged individuals,’’ he said.

The VC said the institution produced 405 graduates this year as against 355 graduates in 2016.

He said 361 out of the 405 graduates received the Bachelor degree honours while 44 post-graduate students received the Master’s degrees.

“In the breakdown of the 409 graduating students, 14 persons made First Class honours, 142 are in Second Class Upper, 162 are in Second Class Lower divisions while 47 finished with Third Class division.

“Others in the class of higher degrees were 12 for Master Business Administration and 32 MSc Architecture’’, he said.

Aina named the best graduating student as Miss Elizabeth Nejo from the Department of Mass Communication.

Nejo made a Commutative Grade Point Aggregate (CGPA) of 4.85.

According to the VC, Mr Qadri Ahmed of the Department of Architecture is the best post-graduate graduating students with a CGPA of 4.91.

He announced that the certificate and transcript of the new graduates were ready, signed and would be issued to them, once they have been cleared by the university. (NAN)

The post Use your talents to develop Nigeria, Okebukola urges graduating students appeared first on The Nation Nigeria.