On Sunday, October 21, Covenant University Ota, Ogun State, will clock 10. ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA reports on how the university achieved the monumental strides that have set it apart from other public and private universities in Nigeria.
Precisely on October 21, 2002, the Covenant University (CU) in Ota, Ogun State, opened its gates to 1,500 pioneer students admitted to pursue programmes in three colleges, —Business and Social Sciences (CBS), Human Development (CHD), and Science and Technology (CST). In 2009, the CHD and CBS were merged into an entity – the College of Development Studies.
Now, unlike some private universities, CU no longer woos students. It strives to select the best from the legion of candidates seeking places annually.
Its student population stands at about 7,000, managed by 912 academic and non-academic members of staff.
The Chancellor and founder of the university, Bishop David Oyedepo, a renowned evangelist, has a big vision to make the institution rank among world-class universities within the shortest possible time.
It only took him a few years of starting out to turn the university into an architectural masterpiece that sits on about 300 of 530 acres of land acquired by the Living Faith Church, owners of the university.
It is perhaps the only university in Nigeria to welcome its pioneer students to purpose-built facilities at its permanent site.
Covenant University was ranked the best Private University in Nigeria in the July 2012 edition of the World Universities Web Ranking. It is also ranked the best private university by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
Bishop Oyedepo’s plans for the university are encapsulated in the CU’s mission and vision. Its vision is: “To be a leading world-class Christian mission university, committed to raising a new generation of leaders in all fields of human endeavour.”
The mission is to “create knowledge and restore the dignity of the black man via a human development and total man concept-driven curriculum employing innovative, leading edge, teaching and learning methods, research and professional services that promote integrated, life-applicable, life-transforming education relevant to the context of Science, Technology and Human Capacity Building.”
A decade down the line, doubting thomases are convinced that CU is not merely a vision but a reality, and that the university has lived and is living up to its commitment, with its core values – ‘Spirituality’ ‘Possibility Mentality’ ‘Capacity Building’ ‘Integrity’ and ‘Responsibility’ being displayed by its products and staff.
On the driver’s seat is the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Aize Obayan, who took over from the Acting Vice-Chancellor, Dr Jonathan Aremu, in February 2005.
A professor of Counseling Psychology, Prof Obayan is one indefatigable scholar, who successfully mapped out strategies to actualise the founder’s vision.
Through thick and thin, Prof Obayan has remained focused.
One anthem she keeps singing is that CU will be a catalyst for social and economic transformation on the black continent. Little wonder the university hardly concludes one local or international seminar, conference or workshop before coming up with another. This, Prof Obayan said, keeps the school relevant to the needs of the society.
“Here, at the Covenant University, we want to remain at the cutting-edge of excellence and innovation. We are creating a leverage whereby we look into issues in any facet afflicting the black continent socially, economically, spiritually or otherwise, and come up with a platform to address such issues with eminent resource persons seeking lasting solutions. And because we have a Chancellor who is ready to accommodate good ideas, he gives his approval and the thing gets done.”
On the conference and workshop front, the university has scored many firsts in organising or hosting countless local and international events. Last year, CU became the first private university to host the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) Conference. Last month, it hosted the Fulbright Alumni Association annual summit. It is the first private university to do so.
One of the cornerstones of the university, from the outset, is the use of an innovative curriculum.
Echoing Bishop Oyedepo, Prof Obayan said no institution could sustain relevance while operating an obsolete curriculum, hence, the need for a complete overhaul of existing curricula in tertiary institutions. She said this belief informed the introduction of the Total Man Concept (TMC) and Towards a Total Graduate (TTG) programmes into CU’s curriculum. Its Entrepreneurship Development Studies (EDS) was rated the best and recommended as a template for other institutions by the NUC.
Prof Obayan said every student must take up one entrepreneurship trade from 300-Level.
“Today, EDS has raised a lot of graduates who have established several businesses, raising giants in industry. Our counterparts in Asia have not done more than what we are doing in driving human capacity,” said Prof Obayan.
Further, she said CU believes in capacity building of all workers, especially teaching staff, to drive innovation and research. She added that CU has enjoyed a string of successes because of coordination.
Her words: “CU is being driven on the wheels of vision. We have been able to engage, think and plan the vision through our graduates. And then, there is active engagement between the visioner, the principal officers, the church, the proprietor base and even membership of the church.”
Since inception, accolades for the school, from within and outside the country, have not ceased.
At the maiden convocation of the university in 2006, former Minister of Education under President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mrs Chinwe Obaji praised the institution for doing better than older universities.
She said: “As you graduate from Covenant University today, you are graduating from possibly the best tertiary institution in Nigeria. I say this with every sense of responsibility because, during my very brief stint as the Minister of Education, I was very surprised that the NUC had not only accredited all the programmes of Covenant University but it had also ranked the university and most of its programmes better in performance than the older generation universities, including the University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello University and Obafemi Awolowo University. I say this with great authority because the Chief Executive of the NUC is here.”
At its second convocation, the NUC Executive Secretary, Prof Julius Okojie, shared his experience of visiting CU: “What I see here are possibilities driven by vision and supported by exemplary leadership; and this shows me what this country can be if we could replicate this in every nook and corner of this country. Covenant University: thank you for bringing hope to Nigeria.”
When CU hosted the AVCNU Conference in June, last year, its chairman, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, could not hide his feeling.
“I believe this is a well-planned university; a university that is based on a vision and mission that is really very strong. I believe that the Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor are doing a wonderful job,” he said.
CU may have achieved so much but its founder says there is much more to come. In an interview with the Information Unit of the university, Bishop Oyedepo said CU would make Africa proud in 10 years.
He said: “In the next 10 years, there will be more than enough to produce for the world to see, from the student platform, alumni platform, the faculty platform and from every platform. This is a new generation Harvard. My understanding is that in 10 years from today, it will be very clear that Covenant University has achieved a world-class rank in the first 10 in the world. In the next 10 years, we are going to make Africa proud because we will be sitting side by side with the top-most of universities. In 1986, Harvard celebrated 350 years. As at that time, they had 1.3 million titles in their library. They have been working hard and it will not take us anything to get there.”
