He also urged them to take advantage of opportunities available to them to become self-reliant.

The deputy governor spoke at a National Youth Symposium with the theme “Nigeria: Guiding the youth on the path to self-reliance” to celebrate his 60th birthday held in Lagos.

Hamzat said Nigerian youth should see beyond present national challenges and take advantage of the country’s numerous opportunities, noting that youths had continued to excel in science, medicine, and music among others at the world stage.

The deputy governor further said the advent of the Internet had presented global opportunities to youths to excel and urged them to learn how to manage their time and resources to become more successful.

“We must engage and encourage our youth. These are pivotal moments in Nigeria. Many have lost hope in reversing negative trends. It’s not right that our youths have no future. I am upbeat and optimistic about this country because of our youth.

“Our music keeps the world dancing. Creativity in technology by our youths has soared very high. Your stars keep shining in the world of football. Nigerians are heading everywhere in the world. We must not allow negativity to define us, we must define ourselves. I salute the courage, resilience and tenacity of our young people,” he said.

He admitted that the country was facing socio-economic challenges and insecurity but despite the issues, he noted that foreigners were coming into the country to invest and make money.

“Our problems are surmountable and there are opportunities there. What is it that foreigners are seeing that we are not seeing? We must shine our eyes. We must look back at our history. Our youths are very dynamic,” Hamzat said.

In his contribution, the former Vice Chancellor of the Lagos State University, Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun, SAN, while speaking on the topic, “Why are we here”  said despite the challenges in the country, there were many untapped resources for youths to be self-reliant.

“You are not looking at any individual, you are looking at your own resourcefulness and resilience to take you through. The youths must learn not to depend on the system around them but on their own resourcefulness and resilience,” he said.

He urged the youth to emulate the deputy governor by being exemplary in their dealings.

“The deputy governor is an exemplary leader embodied by education. Government should remove obstacles that prevent youths from accessing resources of the land. It should not be only for the children of the rich. Nigerian youths should have access to these resources,” Fagbohun added.

He further urged the youths to make use of the knowledge garnered at the symposium to better their lives and the country.

“In a country as diverse as Nigeria and regions, Nigerian youth here should recognize that they are representing other youths. The knowledge you gain here, share it on various platforms, resonate it. Knowledge shared will improve you and deepen your knowledge,” he said.

Speaking during the symposium, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, said availability of land for agricultural purposes had been a challenge in the state and there were measures to ease access to land.

READ ALSO: Tinubu appoints governing board of North West Devt Commission

Olusanya said the state was developing organised markets to ensure even farmers from other states would tap into the opportunities.

She said the state government had put in place various programmes and competitions to empower youths in the agriculture sector.

“We have done capacity building and provided entrepreneurial support for the youth in the agricultural sector. If you want success in the agricultural space, you must have youths that are capable and have the skills to scale up the food production. We need to push for those who have agricultural qualifications.”

She added: “We have continually trained the youths especially those who did not have agricultural skills, supported and empowered them.

“Going forward, a lot will change as we try to make lands available for youths to do agriculture. We are giving the youths opportunity to push their products in the market space without the middle men.”

An IT expert, Dr. Stanley Muoneke, called on youths to learn various IT skills to explore opportunities to make them succeed.

He said knowledge was important but that there was a need for youths to have mentors and coaches to make them face the challenges that the sector might present to them.

Muoneke challenged the youths to do self-assessment of themselves to be able to determine their areas of strength.

“There should be self-assessment. The youths need to know what they are good at. You should get skills in the area you are interested in. You should network to build your skills. They must learn communication and teamwork. They should produce IT products that can solve problems.

He further urged them to embrace failure with a positive mindset and build relationships, adding that they must also be ready to sow their seeds rather than eating every of their income.

The Executive Secretary, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, said knowledge was key to success.

He also urged them to stop complaining about the economy and seize the opportunities existing within the same economy.

An entrepreneur, Dr. Funmilola Tella, called on youths to invest in themselves and their money in profitable ventures, while a youth entrepreneur and shoemaker, Ms Zainab Alayande, said knowledge of any field of interest was important to succeed.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Youths and Social Development, Mobolaji Ogunlende, said youths must believe in themselves and be ready to accept opposition as a force for success.

Ogunlende added that the ministry had continued to engage critical stakeholders to ensure youths in Lagos had a voice and the opportunity to execute their ideas.

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He said his administration from 2024 would pay N225,000 and N60,000 as scholarship and bursary to indigene students, as against the existing N200,000 and N50,000 respectively.

The governor also announced scholarships for the less privileged and physically challenged students in public tertiary institutions, noting that the scholarship would not be limited to Lagos indigene alone.

He also announced the appointment of four former Students Union leaders as his Senior Special Assistants, SSAs.

The appointed SSAs were Eniola Opeyemi, Kayode Samuel, Giwa Moore and Adeola Adewunmi.

Governor Sanwo-Olu spoke during a One-Day Interactive Session between him and Students Union Leaders and Stakeholders in Lagos State, organised by the Ministry of Tertiary Education, with the theme: “Students as Strategic Partners in the Governance Process: Challenges and Prospects for Youth Development.”

The event held at the Adeyemi Bero Hall, Alausa, was attended by members of the state cabinet, stakeholders in the tertiary education sector and delegates from 13 public tertiary institutions in Lagos State, which included Lagos State University, University of Lagos, Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Lagos State University of Education and Yaba College of Technology, among others.

Speaking during the interactive session, which lasted for over three hours, Governor Sanwo-Olu said his administration would continue to engage students constructively and enhance infrastructure in public institutions.

He said his administration would continue to develop an enduring and sustainable ecosystem to create a liveable as well as workable environment for students in all the public tertiary institutions in Lagos State.

Speaking on the importance of the interactive session, Governor Sanwo-Olu said the meeting was “apt because of the trending events in our state and Nigeria. It is a confidence-building process between the government and the governed. It is an opportunity for students and other stakeholders to vent their feelings, opinions, and suggestions on how to overcome challenges confronting our collective existence as a people.”

READ ALSO: IGP bans use of POS machines, others within police stations

Governor Sanwo-Olu while reiterating his government’s renewed commitment to Youth Development, Social Inclusion and Gender Equality in line with the ‘+’ in his administration’s THEMES+ agenda, rolled out key achievements of his government in different sectors, particularly in the tertiary education sector and called for collaborations to develop an ecosystem to build a solid Student-University-Government relationship.

The governor urged students to keep the hope alive and rest assured that their welfare and development would remain a top priority on his administration’s agenda.

Speaking earlier, Lagos State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Mr. Tolani Sule, commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for his support, assuring that the ministry would sustain the legacy of excellence as it continued to dialogue and engage students and management of tertiary institutions, as well as stakeholders in its bid to foster an atmosphere of peace.

The commissioner said Governor Sanwo-Olu’s presence at the interactive session was a further demonstration of his administration’s commitment to quality tertiary education and youth development.

He said: “A stakeholder engagement like this becomes necessary in view of the noble role that our youths have to play in our development agenda. I, therefore commend Mr. Governor for giving accelerated approval to this programme, knowing fully that our youths hold the key to a greater tomorrow for our dear country.

“In spite of the present social economic challenges in the country, it is gratifying to note that the Lagos State government has continued to sustain the tempo of excellence in our tertiary institutions. Students and staff welfare have remained a top priority of the State government while various infrastructural development projects are either completed or ongoing across our campuses.

“This is leadership at play. In the last four and half years of this administration, it is remarkable to note that not any of our institutions have witnessed any student unrest nor staff industrial disharmony to warrant strike or closure of any of the State-owned institutions.

“Our academic calendars have been running smoothly since the beginning of this administration. We have continued to enjoy unprecedented stability in our academic calendars in the last four years. To me, it is a reflection of leadership quality and administrative excellence at the helm of affairs.”

Also speaking, the Guest Speaker and immediate past Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, described Governor Sanwo-Olu as a man of legacy.

He commended the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration for its constructive engagement, dialogue, collaborative problem-solving techniques and consultation.

Prof. Fagbohun also restated the need for regular consultation and prioritisation of students in the state for constructive criticism and engagement of government policies.

He also urged the state government to invest more in infrastructure, rethink student scholarships, subsidised health care services and establish fresh food markets on campuses as well as provide counseling and support for mental health issues to challenge the students to excel.

The panel of discussants, which comprised of Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab; Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing, Mrs. Barakat Odunuga-Bakare; former Majority Leader of Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade and former Students Union President of Lagos State University (LASU), Lukman Amolegbe, said stakeholders in the tertiary education sector must work together with government to strengthen education in Lagos State.

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Speaking in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, while meeting the labour leaders, the governor acknowledged that the subsidy removal would have effect on Nigerians, especially the disposable income earners.

The governor promised that his administration would look into ways of ameliorating the impact of the subsidy removal on the residents of the state.

“I called this meeting so that we can rub minds to find different options in view of the recently announced long awaited deregulation of the Premium Motor Spirit otherwise known as petrol by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“We are not, as a responsible administration unmindful of the consequences that the regulation would cause in terms of its effect on the disposable income of the workers.

“We have noted that the price of Petrol is now N500 from slightly above N200. There is a relationship between cost of PMS and transportation and cost of transportation and cost of goods and services.

“Since the announcement, as the governor and a player in the industry, I have been concerned on the multiplier effects as it would affect workers going to and from work and how it would affect their responsibilities and wellbeing,” Abiodun noted.

The governor said it was imperative that both government and the labour leaders sat and came up with implementable options that would make life bearable to the people, adding however that the options should not be seen as compensation for the increase in the price of product, but to reduce the impact.

“What obtained in the past was that N4 trillion was spent annually. We had to borrow the money to subsidize our energy cost and it was not efficiently utilized. Our petrol made their way to Cameroun, Benin Republic, Togo and other West African countries around us.

“We are confident that with this action, we can know the true consumption of PMS in Nigeria and the savings can be used for other sectors for the benefit of our people,” he said.

Abiodun observed that though the subsidy removal was a hard decision on the part of President Tinubu, it was imperative as there was no budgetary allocation for it from June 2023.

Briefing newsmen later, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Hameed Benco Ademola, said the meeting was called at the instant of the governor to find ways of cushioning the effect of the deregulation on civil servants and those in the informal sector.

Ademola disclosed that the meeting was divided into committees with Thursday this week as the reporting date.

He commended the governor for showing concern about the plight of workers in the state, saying the gesture would go a long way in meeting their needs.

Those present at the meeting were chairman and secretaries of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Joint Negotiation Council, JNC.

Also at the meeting were the Head of Service, Mr. Kolawole Fagbohun, and the Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Establishment and Training, Mrs. Lydia Fajounbo.

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Governor Abiodun, while presenting the official cars to them at the Government House, Isale-Igbein, in Abeokuta, said it was in fulfilment of his promise to take care of the workers’ welfare, adding that the gesture was to ease their mobility and enhance productivity.

The governor, represented by the Head of Service, Mr. Kolawole Fagbohun, said he would always look into the wellness and wellbeing of the workers and the citizenry at large by spreading dividends of democracy across the state.

Governor Abiodun asked the beneficiaries of the car gifts to continue to put in more efforts, add value and improve their leadership qualities to help the service grow.

“I want to call on the Permanent Secretaries and indeed, the whole civil service, to continue to support our government in the ‘Building Our Future Together’ agenda. Let’s join hands together to move the state forward,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Permanent Secretaries, Hospitals Management Board (HMB), Dr. (Mrs.) Olayinka Elemide; Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Mrs. Oluwatosin Oloko, and Bureau of State Pensions, Mr. Adesoji Adewuyi, appreciated the governor for the good gesture extended to them and promised to further put in their best to continue to keep the flag of the state flying.

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Fagbohun stated this while delivering a lecture titled “The Laws of God and the Laws of Man at the Intersection of Justice”, at the thanksgiving and reception programme for Mr Adeleke Agbola who got elevated to the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

The programme was organised on Saturday by the people of Ere-Ijesa Town, Oriade local government area of Osun, to recognise and appreciate Adeleke Agbola (who hails from the town).

The professor explained that religious leaders in the country had become conspirators in the corrupt activities of members of their congregation.

He said a lot of people were living what he called “split personality”, meaning they are living and presenting one personality to their religious leaders and living another personality outside religion.

He said religious leaders knew the truth and the rot going on in the society but chose to turn a blind eye because of what they tend to gain or what comes to them from the proceeds of corruption.

He said religious leaders, as custodians of ethics and moralities, had dropped the ball and were now dinning and giving coverage to people with questionable characters.

He said in situations where religious leaders were driving in motorcade, owning private jets, wearing expensive clothes and living flamboyant lifestyle, it encouraged get rich quick mentality, which he described as part of the reason for increasing money ritual killings.

He said if the law of God (ethics and morality) is applied and enforced in the implementation of the law of man, we will have a better society.

Earlier, while delivering the thanksgiving sermon at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, Ere-Ijesa, Rev. Isaac Oluyamo, pointed out that God knew everybody and the things we did, admonishing all to ‘be careful’.

Oluyamo, however, called on sons and daughters of Ere-Ijesa Town, living in other states and towns, to invest and develop their home town, asking them to emulate Adeleke Agbola who has a foundation, through which he has been giving back to his people.

He further appreciated those already empowering the youths of the town and asked for people to be committed to the works of God, just as some are already doing.

The celebrator, Adeleke Agbola, thanked God and the people of Ere-Ijesa for honouring him, asking other sons and daughters of the town not to forget their humble background and give back to their community without having any fear that village people would come after them.

Source: NAN

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The persons are said to be working in collaboration with some external forces.

Some of the states targeted are Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Rivers, Oyo and states in the South East.

In a statement on Monday titled ‘Plots to incite religious violence in Nigeria’ by its Head, Public Relations Officer, Peter Afunanya, the DSS, called on law-abiding citizens (and residents) to report suspected breaches of peace around them to the nearest security agencies.

The statement reads:  “The Department of State Services wishes to alert the public about plans by some elements working with external forces to incite religious violence across the country. Targeted States include Sokoto, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Rivers, Oyo, Lagos and those in the South East.

“Part of the plans is to cause inter-religious conflicts as well as use their foot soldiers to attack some worship centres, religious leaders, personalities, key and vulnerable points.

“Consequently, Nigerians are advised to be wary of these antics and shun all divisive tendencies aimed at inciting or setting them against one another.

“While the Service pledges to collaborate with sister agencies to ensure that public order is maintained, those hatching these plots are warned to desist from such in the interest of peace, security and development of the country.

“However, law-abiding citizens (and residents) are encouraged to report suspected breaches of peace around them to the nearest security agencies.”

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Oke succeeds the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, VC, Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun (SAN), whose five-year tenure ended on January 11, 2021.

Mr Ademola Adekoya, the institution’s Head of Centre for Information, Press and Public Relations, said this on Monday in Lagos.

Adekoya said that the members of the Senate of the institution approved the appointment of Oke as the Acting Vice-Chancellor after their voting process.

He said, “Oke had over 61 votes while Prof. Elias Wahab, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) had 51 votes.

“His appointment is for 45 days according to a statement by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu released on January 8.

“Prior to his appointment, Oke was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) of LASU,  a Professor of Plant Pathology and the former Dean, Faculty of Science,” he said.

Earlier in the day, the former V-C, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun (SAN), urged the entire LASU community to support the administration of whosoever would be his successor in office.

In a statement he issued, he also advised them to ensure that the rule of law and justice continued to thrive in the institution.

Source: NAN

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The governor further directed that a fresh process that would terminate in forty five days should commence immediately.

According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, Governor Sanwo-Olu’s decision on the cancellation came after a thorough investigation and stakeholders engagement, which were necessitated by various petitions against the selection process.

“Governor Sanwo-Olu was inundated with petitions arising from the selection process of the Vice Chancellor by the Governing Council. After a thorough evaluation and investigation of the various complaints, Mr. Governor, in his capacity as the Visitor to the University ordered the cancellation of the process,” he stated.

The outgoing Vice Chancellor, Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun, has also been directed by Governor Sanwo-Olu to convene an emergency Senate meeting for the purpose of appointing one of the Deputy Vice Chancellors, who is not a candidate in the cancelled selection process as Acting Vice Chancellor from Monday January 11, 2021 when the tenure of the incumbent Vice Chancellor, Professor Fagbohun expires.

The governor further directed that the Senate should select among its members, a protem chairman to superintend the meeting and conduct of election of Acting Vice Chancellor.

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The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, announced this at the physical and virtual award ceremony for the first degrees, diplomas, postgraduate diplomas and masters degrees.

2,620 graduating students were awarded higher degrees, which included 35 doctorates, 1,034 professional masters, 664 academic masters and 887 postgraduate diplomas.

Fagbohun commended the graduating students for their hard work, tenacity, resilience and determination to succeed.

“You demonstrated to the world during your studentship that the best can come out of our institution.

“My advice to you all is not to rest on your oars.

“Go out there and prove to the world that you are the best.

“Always remember that line of our anthem which says ‘blaze forth, shine for humanity’,’’ the VC said.

He said that this year’s convocation was remarkable because the best graduating students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels set a new university record.

“Oladimeji Shotunde of the Department of Business Administration graduated as the best graduating student with a CGPA of 4.95 while Olusola Aanu Olabanjo with a CGPA of 5.0 graduated as the best M.Sc. graduates.

“I commend your efforts in achieving this great feat.

“You have demonstrated to the world that truly our students are of world class standard.’’

The VC remarked that his stewardship in the last four years and 11 months had “been quite intriguing and interesting.’’

He said that he cherished being part of a unique community of inquisitive and creative men and women from world class students to academic, non-academic colleagues and committed alumni across the world.

“In exactly 24 days, I will be handing the responsibility of vice chancellor over to an excellent successor.

“I will never cease to feel that Lagos State University is where I belong,’’ he said.

Fagbohun said that apart from the challenges that came with COVlD-19, the institution had not witnessed downtime in academic activities as a result of any local crisis since January, 2016.

In her remark, Mrs Bamidele Abiodun, First Lady of Ogun said that education was the main legacy to leave for one’s children and acquisition of quality education was very important.

“We celebrate the giant strides Lagos State University has made in recent years under the worthy leadership of the VC, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun.

“I congratulate the graduating students for putting in hard work,’’ Abiodun said.

She urged education stakeholders to seek conclusive and enduring solutions to strikes in the university system.

Source: NAN

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For no fewer than four years, ACSPN enjoyed the privilege of being led by the versatile Communication expert and scholar based at LASUSOC, Prof Lai Oso. Oso’s versatility, incidentally, has been generously democratized. A Leicester University alumnus, he has two others, yours sincerely and Agboola Odesanya behind him in his department. A multiple award winner, Dr Jide Jimoh, and yours sincerely, again were awardees of the top flight Chevening and Social Science Research Council, SSRC. A dexterous reporter and editor with an enduring bond with the industry, Oso again has cultivated public intellectuals in the mould of the sitting Head of Journalism Dept, Dr Jide Jimoh, constant with his regular media interventions as well as yours sincerely sitting on the board of the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism, PTCIJ, publishers of Africa’s foremost online newspaper, Premium Times.

Oso’s leadership of ACSPN may be tough to match in many respects: Not a year passed without a national conference with heavy turnout from both the academia and the industry inclusive of the print and broadcast media as well as advertising and public relations. The association has equally been consistent with production of knowledge through its publications and occasional interactive sessions with leaders from the industry and the academia.

That’s the stuff with which LASUSOC was originally made. Twenty years ago when it was taking off, LASUSOC broke new grounds in communication scholarship which it sustains till date. How?

LASUSOC, with its soaring prestige, has kept on attracting inimitable patronage from local and international civil society groups, academic institutions and industry leaders with collaboration offers on research and training.

In December 2019, the National Universities Commission, NUC, formally presented a new curriculum for communication studies in Nigerian academic institutions.  Until then, all universities in Nigeria, except LASU, had been running a single department of Mass Communication. The new programme announced to the audience of representatives of all leading communication programmes in the country comprised Journalism and Media Studies, Information and Media Studies; Public Relations;  Advertising and  Broadcasting.  From inception in 2001, LASUSOC had done this unbundling and shared its appeal with all who cared.

Not too long after LASUSOC commenced business, this novel approach it pioneered in Nigeria became the bride of both aspiring communicators and even the established ones. Within its first ten years, LASUSOC attracted sabbatical scholars from far and near.  One of the earliest, Prof Anthony Olorunnisola, is currently Head of Broadcasting, Film and Video Studies and Vice Dean, College of Communications, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Penn State, United States.  A distinguished Fullbright Scholar, Olorunnisola not only devoted his all to the teaching of both undergraduates and postgraduates, he also shipped down cartons of books for the enrichment of the LASUSOC library. He remains, till date, a major source of scholarly inspiration not only to LASU but also the Communication and Language Arts programme of the University of Ibadan, which beat LASU to mere second place in the latest ranking.

Soon after Olorunnisola, LASUSOC  became heavily star-studded.  The faculty got enriched further by  Prof Femi Sonaike, former editor of Daily Times who later veered into full time lectureship in the US thus breasting tapes of optimal accomplishment in both career tracks of practice and scholarship.

Yet another big masquerade was Prof Ralph Alabi Akinfeleye who retired recently from the Mass Communication Dept of the University of Lagos.  As they say, only gold can attract another gold easily. Ebullient Akinfeleye was rather too enthusiastic to join Prof Idowu Sobowale, his former colleague at the University of Lagos, who had emerged as the first dean of LASUSOC. Indeed, LASUSOC was a special manifestation of Sobowale’s service to the Lagos State. He was Special Adviser to Governor Jakande who ruled the state from 1979 to 1983 during which time LASU was conceptualized and founded.  Sobowale again made the list of commissioners when Asiwaju Tinubu became the governor of the state in 1999.  On leaving government in 2003, he was rather too eager to nurture the communication programme he had joined others to formulate. Promptly, Sobowale further attracted renowned Prof Moemeka also based in the US for a sabbatical stay. LASUSOC thus became the toast of leading communication practitioners and scholars across Nigeria and even the West African subcontinent. In 2018 for instance, the annual Idowu Sobowale Conference was hosted in Sierra Leone.

It’s therefore easy to guess what the quality of LASUSOC graduates may be, compared with those of other Nigerian universities.  A good number of our graduates who sought postgraduate qualifications at the University of Lagos came top of their respective classes.  As I write, that department won’t let go Dr Shuaibu Hussein even after concluding his doctoral programme, on account of his ultra capability for multi-tasking and multiple professional orientation roundly cultivated at LASUSOC. Hussein is a holder of a first class degree of LASUSOC.

At LASUSOC, the enduring and consensual culture is that whatever is worth doing is worth doing well with the constant projection that tomorrow can only be better. Soon, very soon, our competitors will no longer be ones within the shores of Nigeria.

Back home, LASUSOC also cherishes own graduates. Currently a Dubawa Research Fellow and member of the LASU Annual Research and Innovation Fair, Dr Raheemat Adeniran, holder of three LASUSOC degrees has also flown the flag of LASUSOC to far away Birmigham as an Erasmus Mundus Fellow at Birmigham University. A good number of others in the public and private sectors of the economy, locally and internationally have added no less values or reputation to LASUSOC, endearing it to the world and by extension, the umbrella institution, LASU. This much height was attained by LASUSOC for LASU before the entry of the most accomplished VC of LASU in the recent time, Prof Lanrewaju Adigun Fagbohun.

Enter, the young and energetic VC, Olanrewaju Adigun Fagbohun in 2016. The gangling figure and Professor of Environmental Law nicknamed Obama of LASU by one of my Feature Writing classes came, prepared with a published, feasible agenda.  The current level of efficiency of LASUSOC today derives from Fagbohun’s listening ears and appealing personality coming especially after a regime least desired by the university.

Shortly after Fagbohun’s assumption of office for instance, Kehinde Bamigbetan, his fellow ex-Ife, as University of Ife alumni prefer to hail themselves, then Special Adviser to Governor Ambode volunteered to support LASU Radio.  That station has since been performing creditably, selling LASU to the world, far and near. Undoubtedly, this station with the backing of the professional expertise and leadership provided by the longest serving and indefatigable Dean of LASUSOC, Prof Rotimi Olatunji, contributed immensely to the unprecedented ranking of LASU as the second best university in Nigeria. LASU Radio’s ubiquitous and relentless presence online is unmistakably impressive.  It is interesting to note that LASU achieved being repeatedly rated best State university also under Fagbohun who routinely declares LASUSOC as a most reliable and supportive programme.

LASUSOC, with its soaring prestige, has kept on attracting inimitable patronage from local and international civil society groups, academic institutions and industry leaders with collaboration offers on research and training.  Some of these have been, not unexpectedly, accompanied by some ‘turbulence.  Pulitzer laureate Premium Times trained our students on a variety of new journalism skills, enriching their capacity.  Earlier, Prof Oso was persuaded to lead the Nigerian leg of the Global Internet Policy Project, GIPP, by the Washington based Internews, among other global research undertakings.

At LASUSOC, the enduring and consensual culture is that whatever is worth doing is worth doing well with the constant projection that tomorrow can only be better. Soon, very soon, our competitors will no longer be ones within the shores of Nigeria.

*Tunde Akanni, PhD, Senior Journalism Lecturer at LASU, is a member of the International Advisory Board of Dubawa, Nigeria’s first indigenous international fact-checking organization. Follow him on Twitter:@AkintundeAkanni

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