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Tag: Landmark Varsity

  • Think contributions, Oyedepo challenges youths nationwide As Landmark Varsity concludes 4th convocation

    Think contributions, Oyedepo challenges youths nationwide As Landmark Varsity concludes 4th convocation

    “Think contributions, so you don’t die in frustrations!”

    This was the charge handed over to the youths nationwide by the Chancellor Landmark University Omu Aran Kwara State, Dr David Oyedepo as the institution wrapped up its fourth convocation at the weekend.

    Oyedepo who expressed his bitterness about the level of unemployment in Nigeria,  challenged youngsters and the entire Nigerians to henceforth be creative and think of how they can be productively engaged in improving the nation’s economy.

    He said it is about time youths exhibited a stronger presence and determination to find their feet amid growing unemployment globally and economic recession at the home front.

    Oyedepo was alluding to the new certificate and diploma in Agripreneurship, an initiative newly introduced by LMU and was conferred on graduands in addition to their various degrees in the university’s seven years’ existence.

    At the convocation tagged: ‘Release of pathfinders, Noble Set Class 2017’Oyedepo said the Agripreneurship initiative was to lay bare the stark reality that youths must embrace a new paradigm in agriculture rather than searching for jobs that are no longer there.

    Said Oyedepo: “The idea (behind Agricpreneusrhip) is that we realised we need to be blunt with these youths that the (white collar) jobs they are looking for are no longer there. So by this initiative, we intend to raise a new army of entrepreneurs that will be agriculturally conscious. An agric entrepreneur can never be a liability or burden, but an asset and to his country.

    “No matter how highly sophisticated medical laboratory is, no single tablet produced from there however effective, can heal hunger. So until life ceases to be, food will continue to remain forever relevant.

    Oyedepo who is the presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church worldwide, lamented that Nigerians generally have the ‘possessive’ and not the ‘contributory’ mindset, noting that while the former seeks to continuously amass wealth rapaciously, the latter thinks how much he can plough back from his little resources to develop the society.

    “Highly possessive people are never known to be contributors. The less possessive we are as individuals, the more contributors we will be,” he added.

    While the diploma in Agripreneurship is for students of the university, the certificates are meant for all regardless of individual’s qualification, the cleric said, adding that LMU would remain committed to propagating the gospel of agrarian revolution, which is its core mandate.

    “This initiative is our modest contributions of encouraging Nigerians to take part in agricultural revolution. Interestingly, we do not need so much to start. You can begin a small garden in your home or at your backyard and from there begin to expand. We must all be a part in addressing food insecurity in Nigeria and africa,” he concluded.

    Keynote speaker and immediate past Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Prof Suleiman Bogoro; challenged universities to come up with groundbreaking research that will address some of the challenges in agriculture in Nigeria.

    Speaking on the theme: ‘Revolutionising Agriculture: A catalyst for up-scaling development and transformation in Africa’ Bogoro described as ‘unacceptable’ the fact that Nigeria still imports about 45 per cent food. This, he said, is despite Federal Government identifying about 14 ecological zones where Nigeria has comparative advantage on crop production.

    “At the moment we are importing 45 per cent of our food. That is unacceptable!,” Bogoro bemoaned.

    “We hoped we would have stopped rice importation two years ago. Now we are still importing it.”

    To further generate money for the economy, Bogoro urged governments to invest more in the livestock subsector over crop.

    “Nigeria has invested inadequately in the livestock subsector. At the moment we have about 12 research institutes that are crop=based; but in livestock there are only two. That is lopsided. In developed countries, you get more support from the livestock subsector than the crop,” he said.

    Bogoro continued: “There are problems that are basically agriculture including value addition. We just started exporting cassava and yams a few weeks ago, but Ghana has been doing that. Someone said Ghana has been exporting Nigerian yams and they have their way of getting them over to Ghana. This is an embarrassment to us because we are the one producing it. We need to meet international market requirement for packaging them.”

    Earlier the vice Chancellor LMU, Prof Aize Obayan, recalled that the 468 graduands that bowed out of the institution yesterday, was led by the best graduating student Oluwatobi Oladiran a graduate of Accounting with Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.88.

    Aside having all its programmes accredited by the National Universities Commission, Obayan said LMU is championing an economic diversification, particularly towards agriculture.

    “We have come to realize that economic diversification holds great potential to increasing Africa’s resilience and fortune. The path to unlocking prosperity in Africa lies in promoting effective agric strategies. Interestingly, many experts agreed that the economic development prospects in Africa depend on efficient sustainable agricultural productivity. Landmark University could not have come at a better time to spearhead agrarian revolution,” she concluded,

  • Landmark Varsity begins admission screening

    Landmark University at Omu-Aran in  Kwara State has begtun this year’s admission screening.

    The screening, which started last Saturday as Landmark University Scholastic Aptitude Screening (LUSAS), will hold on all Saturdays in June.

    Vice Chancellor Prof Aize Obayan was excited about the impressive turnout.

    Addressing parents during a reception in their honour, Obayan said the screening was meant to identify the competency of prospective students who would be offered admission on merit.

    The vice chancellor, who warned that Landmark has zero tolerance for unethical practices, added that the institution offers undergraduates life-applicable education that will give parents good  returns on investments in their chirldren.

    She said: “Here, we assure that values for the money invested on education are guaranteed through specialised education system committed to students’ intellectual and spiritual advancement, uninterrupted academic calendar, world-class teaching and research facilities, as well as a friendly mode of payment of tuition, which is effected in four installments, among others.”

    Many of the excited parents hoped their wards would make it to the institution.

    A parent, Mrs Mute Olori, from Abuja, said: “I am not disappointed to bring my child here today. What I saw on the web is not just photographs but real.

    ”Locating Landmark University off the noise, the hustle and bustle of the city is quite commendable,” said another parent, Mrs N. Nwanchukwu.

    “This will allow students to concentrate on their studies. In fact, I am astounded by the beautiful landscape and the spacious environment.”

  • ‘Landmark Varsity, NIM marriage an inspiration to us’

    Vice Chancellor Landmark University Omu Aran Kwara State Prof Aize Obayan, is optimistic that the parnership between the university and the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) is a springboard for the actualisation of the university’s visionary path, with respect to providing a strong base for the students and the institution as a whole.

    Obayan made this known during the signing of the MoU by the two institutions on ‘Students’ Management Certification’ programme at the institute’s premises located at Idowu Taylor VI Lagos.

    “We want to say that very soon Landmark University will become the hub of university and management excellence when higher education is mentioned globally,” Prof Obayan boasted.

    Obayan said the university reposed  confidence in NIM as a professional body of excellence, adding that the relationship would afford Landmark undergraduates to acquire  professional management training before graduation.

    According to her, the Living Faith Church Worldwide which is the proprietor of Landmark University encourages her younger students to build capacity in line with global best practices, adding that NIM is providing a solid foundation along this line.

    Reacting on the development, NIM Registrar/Chief Executive Mr Tony Fadaka, stated that the Students’ Management Scheme is one of the routes to becoming a member of the institute. It was conceived as a means of giving undergraduate students the opportunity of imbibing the ideals and values of professional management as well as practising and demonstrating management professionalism at the early state of their career development, he added.

    Fadaka said the Landmark’s disposition to the MoU, has further confirmed its commitment to building a culture of management professionalism amongst its students. The NIM boss therefore assured that the partnership would open up the university to the institute’s network of international organisations with increased benefits.

    Barely two months ago, the university signed an MoU with the Association of Chattered Certified Accountants (ACCA). It also gained full professional accreditation status from Institute of Chatered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN) and Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), respectively. Similarly, the Computer Professional Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) conferred full accreditation status on the Computer Science programme of the university.

  • Landmark varsity fights bush burning

    Landmark University (LMU), Omu-Aran, Kwara State, is seeking stakeholders’ collaborations to stem bush burning, which it claims has caused great losses in most communities.

    Its Vice Chancellor, Prof Aize Obayan, made the call while flagging-off a campaign against bush burning organised by the institution in Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area.

    The campaign tagged: “Stop bush burning campaign”, was organised as part of the activities to mark the 59th birthday of Pastor Faith, wife of the Chancellor of LMU. Dr David Oyedepo.

    Pastor Oyedepo is also the Vice-President, Education, Living Faith Church Worldwide.

    The event, held on Sunday, was jointly organised by Landmark University Community Development Impact Initiative (LMUCDII), College of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Physical Planning and Omu-Aran Fire Service outstation.

    The sensitisation campaign, which involved distribution of hand bills to enlighten the people on the dangers inherent in bush burning, also took the team to Eleyin and Ipetu-Igbomina communities.

    A free medical outreach by the institution’s medical centre held simultaneously at Oke-Igbala Leprosy Hospital, Oke-Igbala, a suburb of Omu-Aran.

    No fewer than 200 patients benefited from free tests, diagnosis, drugs and treatment for different ailments during the exercise.

    Obayan, who decried the negative impact of bush burning on human, soil and environment, noted that the menace had become a stumbling block to the socio-economic development of the communities.

    Obayan said the crusade against incessant bush burning, especially at the grassroot, had gone beyond what government alone could shoulder.

    Obayan suggested checkmating activities of some animal hunters whom she accused of deliberately setting bush on fire and causing unquantifiable losses in the process.

    She listed the negative consequence of bush burning as depletion of soil nutrient, environmental pollution, reduction in farm yield and income, rendering farm harvest unsafe for consumption, as well as destruction of the ecosystem.

    Obayan who paid glowing tributes to the celebrant, equally described Bishop Oyedepo as a man with ‘unquantifiable affection for spiritual devotion’ with a mandate to liberate and restore the dignity of the black race.

    “These activities were geared toward honoring a woman of immense spiritual values who detest human oppression in all its ramifications,” Obayan noted as a part of her tribute to the celebrator.

  • Landmark varsity’ll solve Africa’s food crisis, says Oyedepo

    Landmark varsity’ll solve Africa’s food crisis, says Oyedepo

    Chancellor Landmark University (LMU), Omu-Aran in Kwara State, Bishop David Oyedepo, has said the institution is poised to solve food insecurity on the African continent.

    Oyedepo in his address titled: “Living the Landmark University mandate-Our vow to lead agrarian revolution,” at the seventh matriculation of the university, underscored the need to address Africa’s food crisis, which he said was capable of wiping out the entire black continent.

    The cleric called on Nigerians to join the university’s campaign to salvage the country from her current food crisis.

    “This is why Landmark University is poised to work at solving the glooming food crisis in the continent. This is our vision-to spearhead an agrarian revolution in the continent,” he stressed.

    In addressing the problem, he said every student of the university, their courses of studies notwithstanding, is allocated a farm plot which they are expected to take responsibility for up till harvest.

    This vision, Oyedepo explained, informs the institution’s commitment to excellence and determination not to bend the rules.

    “We have a passion to see this change take place in our land and our time.  We vow to maintain discipline as our watchword. We want to assure all matriculating students and indeed all students of Landmark University and our beloved parents and guardians that we will remain in covenant with you regarding this end,” he said.

    Oyedepo counselled the 664 freshers to be focused on their studies and have foresight.

    “No one ever arrives at a future he cannot see. At the same time, no one arrives at a future he is not prepared for.  You must have a vision of what role you see yourself playing in this whole thing and you must adequately prepare yourselves during your stay at Landmark.

    “Remember, there is nothing extraordinary on its own; it is one’s extraordinary input that makes it so. Therefore, work on yourself as much as you can, in order to make the most of your future,” he counselled.

    LMU Vice Chancellor, Prof Aize Obayan, noted that the seventh matriculation resonates with the institution’s seven core values- integrity, diligence, spirituality, possibility, mentality, capacity building, and sacrifice.

    Obayan said since matriculating its first set of student in June 2011, the university has enjoyed uninterrupted academic calendar. She was therefore optimistic that by 2020/2021, the new set would be ripe for graduation.

    “I can assure that we are unrelenting in our visionary quest towards becoming a leading world class university. It is also gratifying to note that our state-of-the-art and cutting edge infrastructures have earned the university a reputation and prestige from distinguished individuals and reputable organisations within and outside Nigeria,” she added.

  • Landmark Varsity seeks partnership with Kwara on agriculture

    Landmark Varsity seeks partnership with Kwara on agriculture

    Landmark University (LMU)  Omu Aran Kwara State, has paid a courtesy visit to Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed. Leading the delegation was LMU vice chancellor Prof Aize Obayan and Registrar Dr Daniel Rotimi.

    The visit was to seek possible ‘agricultural marriage’ between government and the institution as both parties share some compatibility in their commitment towards revolutionalising agriculture, said Obayan in her opening remarks.

    Prof Obayan described the agrarian drive of LMU a ‘masterpiece’ that has brought the institution accolades and a testimony of its success. The university which held its third convocation in August, would remain resolute towards restoring the ‘dignity of the black man’ through sustainable agriculture, Obaya added.

    Shewho presented a proposal to the governor on behalf of the institution,  praised Kwara State government for instituting some agricultural programmes that have further portrayed the sector as a serious business. She also identified likely areas of partnership the university is considering with government.

    In his response, Alhaji Abdulfatah, described the proposal of the university as a ‘welcome development’.

    The governor eulogised the Chancellor/Founder Dr David Oyedepo for his contributions to human capital development of Kwara State in particular and the nation in general. He also identified with LMU agrarian drive which according to him, also focuses on resuscitating the nation’s economy.

    The high point of the visit was the presentation of a customised portrait which bears the governor’s portrait  as well as LMU signature.