The Vice Chancellor, Chrisland University, Abeokuta, Prof. (Pharm.) Chinedum Peace Babalola, has challenged Nigerian graduates to develop themselves and see the need for doing every legitimate thing that could earn them income in the wake of current economic realities of the country.
Prof. Babalola made this passionate appeal in the course of her speech at the recently held 4th convocation ceremony of the university, where 52 graduates were turned out, with nine making first class, 27 second class upper, 14 second class lower and two third class.
According to the African Laureate; “One advice I will give you is, do not have one source of income. Do not be fraudulent, avoid internet crime and immorality. I can confidently tell you that the people we have honoured today do not have such history and yet they are in their wealthy and exalted place because they have made clean money and clean success of their careers.’’
“How much time are you spending on your phone for self-development? There are many opportunities and materials on that phone for self-development, including digital programmes for writing, design, data analysis, knowledge acquisition, skill acquisition, business and the likes.”
The first female pharmacist Fellow, African Academy of Science further charged the graduands of the day, and by extension other graduates, students, as well as youths, to be mindful of the company they keep, as one’s company could make or mar one.
In an exclusive interview with CEOAFRICA, the first pharmacist to become vice chancellor in the country advised the graduands to leverage partnerships, as they could achieve a lot while working together with people of like passion.
Meanwhile, the convocation’s guest lecturer, Dr (Pharm.) Ajoritsedere Awosika, who is the Chairman, Access Bank PLC and Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic, also stated, in the course of her lecture titled, “The Visible and Invisible Hands of Development: Interrogating the Roles of Tertiary Institutions and the Financial Sector in Nigeria.” that one of the benefits of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it has opened up opportunities for virtual (inter) national employment.
Prof. Babalola also noted that within the course of her five years as the vice chancellor of the school, numerous remarkable feats have been recorded ranging from the addition of two colleges, taking the students’ population from 57 to over a thousand, recording successive increment in graduations from 7 to 52, staff welfare, research and development, to commissioning of structures, upgrade of the Department of Nursing to a faculty status in few months, among others, while thanking the management for finding her worthy of service’ extension.
The school also saw the award of her first ever Doctorate (Honoraris Causa) to two illustrious Nigerians, whose contribution to human capital development can never be quantified; they include Apostle Folorunso Alakija, the second richest woman in Africa and one of the five richest black women in the world and His Royal Majesty Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, the Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland.