A former Governor of Osun State and a National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Adebisi Akande, has attributed the recent ranking of Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti as the best state university in Nigeria by Times Higher Education to a product of knowledgeable leadership.
According to a statement by Bode Olofinmuagun, the Deputy Registrar/Head, Directorate of Information & Corporate Affairs of the institution, Chief Akande made the remark while receiving the Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Professor Joseph Babatola Ayodele and other Principal Officers of the University during a courtesy visit to his residence in Ila Orangun, Osun State.
While commending the university Management on the various achievements recorded in the university in recent times, most especially, the recent ranking which has placed EKSU in the front line among the comity of Nigerian universities, the political stalwart advocated holistic migration from traditional ways of doing things in our educational institutions in order to avert the risk of being left behind in the global competitiveness.
According to the elder statesman, “if you want global competition, you can’t wait”, emphasizing further that, universities should avoid producing graduates that could not add value to the economy.
He also maintained that the award of degrees without relevant skills required for national growth and economic development should be discouraged in the Nigerian educational curriculum.
The statement reads, “the former Governor, who is also an alumnus of the university, received the university management with great joy because of the good news he had heard about the university.
“The Vice Chancellor, Professor Joseph Babatola Ayodele, while delivering his speech, stated that the university needed a well experienced National leader like Chief Bisi Akande, who he described as a lover of peace and progress for fatherly advice.
“Professor Ayodele informed the gathering that no student graduates from the university without acquiring relevant skills in one vocation or the other, such that would be enough to prepare such students for profitable engagements after graduating from the university instead of hunting for white collar job.
“He thanked the former governor for his hospitality, which was accompanied by the warm reception accorded by the delegation from the university.”
