Be Innovators, Entrepreneurs, Ajimobi Tells Pioneer Students

Uchechukwu Nnaike

The Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi has admonished pioneer students of the Technical University, Ibadan to take advantage of the quality of teaching at the university to acquire degrees and skills that will make them innovators and entrepreneurs that will change the landscape upon graduation.

The governor, said this at the matriculation ceremony for the pioneer students of the institution recently, stated that the university would not only emphasise academic excellence, but also good character and a sense of patriotism.

The event also featured the installation of the pioneer Chancellor, Chief Tunde Afolabi, a geologist and a major player in the oil industry.

Speaking at the installation ceremony, Ajimobi congratulated the chancellor and thanked him for being gracious in accepting the assignment which is a call to service.

He said when the vice-chancellor approached him to discuss the need to appoint a pioneer chancellor, he began to consider some personalities but among them Afolabi’s name stood out.

“I had no iota of skepticism in my mind. He has all the requirements for this appointment; his professional background, his passion for service as well as his extensive international connections which I am sure the Technical University will leverage on to give the institution a smooth take-off and also help in stabilising in no time.

“With the wealth of experience of the chancellor and the support of the pro-chancellor and the vice-chancellor, I have no doubt in my mind that this university will succeed. I can see the university taking its pride of place, not only in Nigeria but in international circles.”

In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ayobami Salami said the university was conceived and birthed by the governor to fill a yearning vacuum despite that there are several universities in the country out of which thousands of graduates are being turned out yearly.

“But as the number of universities and of graduates they produce are increasing, so is the gap between the suitability of the graduates and the requirements of the potential employers.

“This schism has been attributed to lack of entrepreneurial orientation and employability focus of the academic programmes on the one hand and rigidity of the academic managers in responding to the needs of the employers in particular and the larger society at large. This gap is what the Technical University was established and is growing to fill.”

Salami stressed that the institution strives to provide educational training that balances theoretical knowledge requirements with practical, hands-on experiences and skills in different academic disciplines, as well as vocations of interest to the students.

He said the university’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Vocational Studies within its short time of existence has already identified at least 10 inherent vocational skills among the current set of students to hone the skills in addition to and as a complement to their academic degree programmes.

“The students have also commenced their French Language programme and within the short period they have resumed studies, all of them can at least undertake basic communication in French Language.”

While thanking the governor for his support, the vice-chancellor said the partnership with all the local government areas in the state has made the university’s take-off point surpassing that of its contemporaries.