Prof. Toyin Falola, a renowned professor of History, has urged students not to place premium on certificates but utilise their brains and capacity to create an expansive economy.
He stressed the need for them to be dynamic and explore other fields to be well-rounded.
Falola was the guest speaker at the Lagos State University (LASU) Second Distinguished Lecture Series organised by the Department of History and International Studies.
In his lecture entitled:”History and the nation,” the don said it was imperative to be knowledgeable about the history of the nation.
“Task your brain and don’t limit yourselves to certificate because human capacity can create an expansive economy. He also advised them that with their knowledge, they can place value anywhere in the world.
“The human capacity can create an expansive economy, depending on your own imagination and your ability to improve on all skills and your creativity in creating a dynamic network,” he said.
The Distinguished Professor of History at University of Texas, United States, hailed Africans for their resilient spirit in the face of challenges. He noted that Africans were not powerless,adding that the strong American economy would not have emerged if not for the slave trade.
“We survived colonial trade, colonial conquest, wars, different diseases like tuberculosis, COVID-19 which they said will kill us. That capacity for survival is one of our contributions to civilisation. It will make us one of the greatest continents because we have the human capacity of coping. We are not powerless. What you call the strong American economy would not have emerged if not for the slave trade,” he said.
He advised students to be confident, stressing that can work anywhere outside the country. He urged them not to be discouraged by claims by whites that they were irrelevant.
His words: “If you finish in LASU, it does not mean you must work in Nigeria. You can work anywhere in the world. It depends on transferring that knowledge into use. They criticise our academic system, but still end up recruiting our doctors. If our academic system is not good,they won’t recruit our personnel to work in their country.”
Also, in tackling some of the challenges facing the nation, Falola said it was important to empower women through entrepreneurship because ‘they play a very delicate role in the development of any nation’.
Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, who was represented by Prof. Toyin Akeusola, Dean of Management Science, said the nation’s problems can be attributed to poor knowledge of history.
“The bulk of problem we have in Nigeria today is that we do not seem to be good students of history. Our ability to look at our past will help us overcome such problems. There is hardly any problem we are going through that has not happened in the past. If we understand history, we will be able to understand our culture and identity,” he said.
Head of Department, History and International Studies, Dr Adewunmi Falode, hailed the guest speaker for his contributions to academics and for presenting a well-thought out lecture.
Chairman of the occasion, Oba Adeyemi Abdulkabir of Awori Kingdom, urged students to learn the nation’s history.He advised them to be serious with it while engaging in other things.