No fewer than Forty-three students in the Faculty of Technology, University of Ibadan, have graduated with first-class honours in various technology fields, with 112 making second class honours, upper-division.
This was disclosed by the Dean Faculty of Technology, Olaosebikan Fakolujo, at an induction ceremony for 299 students of the 2018/2019 session as graduate members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).
He said that the induction ought to have taken place in 2020 but had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ASUU strike and other national and global crises
‘I am highly excited to inform this gathering that 43 of them, which constitute 14.7 per cent, graduated with First-Class Honours,’ the dean said.
‘Two are from the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, one is from the Department of Civil Engineering, 18 are from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 10 are from the Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, nine are from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and three are from the Department of Petroleum Engineering.
‘One hundred and twelve of them graduated with Second Class Honours, Upper Division. A total of 127 of them graduated with Second Class Honours, Lower Division, while 10 of them graduated with Third Class Honours and one of them graduated with a Pass Degree.’
Fakolujo stated that ‘it is crucial for you to identify with the reality that Nigeria needs to cease from being a consuming nation and wake up from her slumber by engaging in productive activities that can guarantee rapid industrialisation, earnings from exportation and economic transformation. Technological development is undoubtedly a prerequisite to industrialisation and economic development in any nation of the world.’
He enjoined the graduands to acquaint themselves more with modern technical and management skills to be relevant engineers nationally and internationally.
‘I am glad and confident that today’s inductees have received very sound engineering training that will make them a spectacular workforce desired for impactful national and international technological advancement and growth, there is a need for you to continuously acquaint yourselves with modern technical and management skills acquisitions that will make you an excellent asset for the emerging economy of the world. To be relevant Engineers in the emerging economy, you are expected to constantly be abreast with state-of-the-art skills and technology in order to be well prepared for critical roles in the following core areas.’
Speaking on how the success was made, the best graduating female student, Favour Victoria Aiyegbeni, stated: ‘I was not actually aiming high and I am making sure I understand my courses. I didn’t want to go out there without knowing what I know. It was such a motivation to be the best at what I knew that pushed me. I see myself doing a lot on robotics and AI. I have actually started working on stuff like that and I see myself also delving into business as a consultant and business owner.
‘We need to create awareness and enabling environment by the government to those pushing innovation. I have seen a lot of people build some things which are fine but are not cool for African settings. So its good to be innovative but it must be tied to solving a societal problem.’
The best graduating student, male, Emmanuel Nwachukwu, said: ‘Africa’s greatest resource is her people. They are bright, intelligent and have the potentials but when the environment is not set right for you it will be very difficult to flourish. I don’t see looking oversees as an end; it’s a means of building competence. I can then go and know how to do it better and come back here and solve problems. I am investing in myself to leverage on technology knowledge, programming languages and data science.’
