A 20-year-old female student of Baze University, Morenikeji Adebanjo, has emerged as the overall best student at the 10th convocation ceremony of the university.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Adebanjo, a graduate of Law, came overall best with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.81 on a scale of 4.0, from the 388 undergraduate candidates.
Speaking during the convocation ceremony of the institution in Abuja on Saturday, Adebanjo, an indigene of Ogun State, attributed her success to the collective efforts of her lecturers, families and the institution.
Adebanjo, while promising to be a helpful member of the society through mentorship, said this was the only way to give back to the school and the society at large.
“A lot actually inspired me. First is God, second my family and this achievement is not an individual achievement but a collective achievement through Baze University.
“My lecturers also were of great help to me. Sometimes I go to meet them for extra explanation and they take the time to really make me understand, I appreciate their efforts. It was a collective effort.
“I will try to be a helpful member of society in any way I can. I intend to help first the undergraduates, give them some advice on how to succeed, and use law as an instrument of change,” she said.
Also, Oseloka Zikora, a Mass Communication student, came overall best with a 5.0 CGPA on a scale of 5.0 in the Master’s programme among 225 candidates.In an address, the acting Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Kathleen Okafor, said the university had recorded a notable milestone, including growing academic programmes from 72 in 2022 to 102.
Okafor said this comprised 43 undergraduate courses, 41 post-graduate programmes and 18 Ph.D. programmes.
She said that the convocation was also to honour two Nigerians, the late Justice Mohammed Bello with the Honorary Doctor of Letters, and the late Mrs Maryam Babangida, with an Honorary Doctor of Science degree.
“Today, we present a list of 613 graduands, 388 at the Undergraduate level and 225 at the Postgraduate (Masters Degrees) level.
“To us, the pleasure of producing another set of excellent intellectuals for the nation and the international community is limitless. We return all glory to the Almighty God who has made this possible.”
The acting VC also said that women must participate in the quest for economic regeneration and engage in the family and national resources for fairness, equity and justice.
She said that universities must henceforth impact education that is relevant and ethical, combating genocides and poverty, and blatant breaches of the rule of law.“The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and World Bank research reports show that exposure of women to economic activities shot productively from about 17 per cent to 37 per cent within two years.
“Women must be in this quest for economic regeneration, they must participate, they must collaborate and engage in the family and national resources for fairness, equity, and justice. There can be no peace without justice,” she said.
She, therefore, advised the graduating students to pursue self-development in their specialised discipline and as well join relevant professional associations to sharpen their digital skills.
She said this was necessary because, with the age of digital innovation and entrepreneurship, they would be well equipped to face the difficulties of workplaces.
Another graduating student, Roosevelt Ken-Ebeku, encouraged the graduands to share and inculcate the values and lessons learnt from the school to the society at large.
The Student Union Government President of the institution, Ken-Ebeku, commended the institution’s management for the numerous social activities the school offered.
He said that the 10th convocation was the first of its kind the institution had witnessed.
NAN
