The management of Ajayi Crowther University on Friday conferred honorary doctorate degrees on Governors of Oyo, Rivers, and Lagos States respectively, Seyi Makinde, Nyesom Wike, and Babajide Sanwo-Olu respectively.
Governor Makinde was conferred with a Doctorate of Science in Engineering (Honoris Causa), Wike was conferred with a Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) while Sanwo-Olu was conferred with a Doctor of Public Administration (Honoris Causa).
Speaking on behalf of the trio at the 14th convocation ceremony of the institution held at the Oyo campus, Makinde thanked the university for its immense contribution to the development of the state.
“I came in as an ordinary engineer. Now, my colleagues and I are going out with doctorate degrees. I want to use this opportunity to congratulate the graduates of today and yesterday. Today is majorly for PhD graduates. What you have is the peak of academic qualification.
“So, for most of you it’s a journey to taking a very big leap because some of you are not going to come back to school, you will join us in the real world. Because in the controlled environment here, you can basically predict how things will go but when you come out there, it is a different ballgame.
“You should be ready to take on further responsibilities. Whatever your plans are. This university has done its part to give you the necessary academic and moral training. So as you leave, you will always remember where you’re coming from.
“Let me say that this university has contributed immensely to the development of our state. The chairman of the road maintenance agency is an alumnus of this university. Before he came on board, they were abusing me that we weren’t paying attention to the inner roads. Since he came, the abuse has stopped,” he said.
Meanwhile, the university also awarded various categories of graduands of the institution including 1,547 graduates who bagged bachelors of science degrees, 583 who bagged postgraduate degrees, and 34 who bagged doctorate degrees.
The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof Timothy Adebayo, also noted that 41 undergraduate students graduated with first-class honours.
He urged the graduates to be totally self-reliant and not to stop learning as knowledge is a continuous adventure.
“From this moment, begin to practicalise the knowledge that you have acquired in Ajayi Crowther University, through constant learning and self-development. Albert Einstein, the celebrated German Physicist, once said that, ‘education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.’
“We, therefore, charge you to keep updating and upgrading yourselves to meet up with the completions and opportunities in our ever-changing world. We recognize the fact that you have made significant contributions to global scholarships,” he said.
He also announced that the school has gotten approval of the National Universities Commission (NUC) to run a nursing degree programme, adding that it is a step forward towards having more courses on offer in the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, which will, in no distant time, midwife the birth of the College of Medicine.
