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Tag: UNILAG

  • N250m BoI grant for UNILAG entrepreneurship scheme

    The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has got approval for a N250 million grant from the Bank of Industry (BoI) to expand its entrepreneurship programme.

    Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the university, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, said the institution would soon begin offering interest-free loans of between N1 million and N2 million to students to set up businesses before they graduate.

    Speaking at the university’s pre-convocation briefing, Prof Ogundipe said: “I am glad to inform you that the Bank of Industry (BoI) has just approved the sum of N250 million to support the entrepreneurship drive of the university.  The university will be giving out loans of between one and two million naira to start-ups from this fund, depending on the proposal and cost required.

    “Our aim is that from next year about one per cent of students would graduate with a registered business.”

    Read also: UNILAG team wins UN crime hackathon

    Ogundipe said the university had also introduced other efforts to strengthen its entrepreneurship programme including the organiSation of a design thinking programme – the second of which was sponsored by Lufthansa with N70 million and the participation of its students in the ReadySetWork (RSW)– a work readiness programme of the Lagos State government.

    At the event, the VC announced that the university would soon start its Business School to offer professional programmes.

    “The University of Lagos Business School is set to take off.  When fully functional, the school would run short executive courses and professional degree programmes with highly experienced industry personnel as facilitators,” he said.

  • UNILAG to honour Olukoya, Okunnu, others at 50th convocation

    THE General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Dr. Daniel Olukoya and other alumni of University of Lagos State (UNILAG) will be conferred with honorary doctorate degrees at the university’s 50th convocation.

    Its vice-chancellor, Prof. Olwatoyin Ogundipe, stated this to reporters yesterday at a pre-convocation news conference.

    He said former Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing Mr. Lateef Olufemi Okunnu and the founder of Zenith Bank, Mr. Jim Ovia, will also be conferred with honorary doctorate degrees.

    About 12,811 undergraduate and postgraduate students will graduate during the 50th convocation next week.

    According to him, 5,405 postgraduate students, including 484 Post Graduate Diploma, 4,771 Masters’ Degree and 150 Ph.D., will receive their certificates at the event.

    According to him, 271 of the 7,406 students will be graduating with First Class grades during the award of degrees, which will hold between Tuesday and Thursday next week at the J.F. Ade-Ajayi Auditorium.

    “I am proud to announce that 271 students would be awarded First Class degrees of which 56 are from the Faculty of Engineering. The breakdown of the other classes of degrees are as follows: 2,277 in the Second Class Upper, 3,116 in Second Class Lower, 1,197 in Third Class, 13 in Pass and 414 in degrees or diplomas that are not classified,” he said.

    Read also: N250m BoI grant for UNILAG entrepreneurship scheme

    Prof. Ogundipe said three undergraduates shared the overall best graduating honour with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.96 each.

    They are: Ogechi Joedicta Ekeh (Pharmacy); Oluwaseyi Adeniyi Adeyeye (Insurance), and Daniel Chinaedum Ogbechi (Business Administration).

    In the postgraduate category, Oluwaseyi Ayodele Ajibade of the Metallurgical and Material Engineering department will receive the overall best Ph.D. Thesis award and the best Ph.D. Thesis award for Sciences. Olumide Oyewole Ajibade will receive the best Ph.D. thesis award for Humanities.

    Prior to the award of degrees, Ogundipe said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will deliver the convocation lecture, titled: “Nigeria rising: The path to prosperity”, on Monday April 1.

    The lecture will be chaired by Chief Arthur Mbanefo.

  • UNILAG graduates 12,811 students next week

    The University of Lagos is to graduate 12,811 undergraduate and postgraduate students during its 50th convocation next week.

    Its Vice-Chancellor, Prof Olwatoyin Ogundipe said at a pre-convocation press briefing on Wednesday that 271 of the 7,406 would be graduating with First Class grades during the award of degrees which would hold between Tuesday and Thursday next week at the J.F Ade-Ajayi Auditorium.

    “I am proud to announce that 271 students would be awarded First Class degrees of which 56 are from the Faculty of Engineering.

    “The breakdown of the other classes of degrees are as follows: 2,277 in the Second Class Upper, 3,116 in Second Class Lower, 1,197 in Third Class, 13 in Pass, while 414 in degrees or diplomas that are not classified, “he said.

    READ ALSO: How alumnus raped UNILAG student, stole her pants, by witness

    Former Federal Commissioner for Works and Housing, Mr Lateef Olufemi Okunnu; General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Dr Daniel Olukoya and Founder of Zenith Bank, Mr Jim Ovia, would be conferred with honorary doctorate degrees of the University on the third convocation day Thursday, during which 5,405 postgraduate students would receive their Post Graduate Diploma (484), Master’s Degree (4,771), and Ph.D (150).

    Ogundipe said three undergraduates shared the overall best graduating honour with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.96 each.

    They are: Ogechi Joedicta Ekeh (Pharmacy); Oluwaseyi Adeniyi Adeyeye (Insurance) and Daniel Chinaedum Ogbechi (Business Administration).

    In the postgraduate category, Oluwaseyi Ayodele Ajibade of the Metallurgical and Material Engineering department would receive the overall best Ph.D Thesis award and the best PH.D Thesis award for Sciences while Olumide Oyewole Ajibade would receive the best Ph.D thesis award for Humanities.

    Prior to the award of degrees, Ogundipe said the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo would deliver the Convocation Lecture titled: “Nigeria Rising: The Path to Prosperity” on Monday April 1. The lecture would be chaired by Chief Arthur Mbanefo.

    Other programmes to feature at the convocation include: Exhibitions (April 1); Chancellor’s reception; UNILAG Alumni Association edutainment; and Alumni reception and convocation play.

  • Why Chinese are making it in Nigeria — Don

    Prof. Muyiwa Falaiye, the Director of the Institute of African and Diaspora Studies (IADS), University of Lagos (UNILAG), on Tuesday said the Chinese had seen opportunities in factors that posed challenges to Nigerians.

    Falaiye told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that it was so because Nigerians at home and abroad had yet to realise the huge opportunities in their country due to perceived challenges.

    According to him, Chinese are smiling to their banks from the opportunities in Nigeria, while young Nigerians daily craved for travelling abroad because of their perceived challenges in the country.

    “What our nationals and young Nigerians wanting to travel to Europe and other countries do not know is that Nigeria, in terms of creativity and development, is a virgin land.

    “Nigeria, we must know is a virgin land. Nigeria is a country that is abundant in opportunities, but Nigerians are just not looking for opportunities around them.

    “We complain and give excuses too much. We complain of problems of insecurity, unstable power supply and all of those challenges, but here we have the Chinese making so much money from these challenges.

    READ ALSO: State woos Chinese government, business community

    “We concentrate too much on the negative things and always fail to see the positive things. Why the Chinese are seeing opportunities in what we see as challenges, they are making a lot money that we nationals should have been making,’’ he said.

    Falaiye said that Nigerians at home and abroad rather than support the governments in managing the nation’s challenges had continued to give excuses for their failures and inactions.

    The institute’s director, who decried the increasing rate of illegal migration by young Nigerians, added that it was imperative for them to know that those destination countries were developed by their nationals.

    Falaiye said that it was wrong for Nigerians abroad and young Nigerians planning to travel Europe and other countries to continue to think that nothing good could happen in Nigeria.

    The director enjoined the Federal Government to intensify its ongoing effort at creating the enabling environment for Nigerians to join foreigners in harnessing opportunities in their country.

    Falaiye also advised young Nigerians against the mindset that there were better opportunities for them abroad.

  • Unilag gang-rape suspect seeks bail to write exam

    A 20-year-old rape suspect, James Aguedo, Monday asked an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Special Offences Court to grant him bail so he can sit for a university examination.

    Aguedo, a Babcock University student, is one of the five students charged with the 2017 gang-rape of a University of Lagos (Unilag) student within the premises of the institution.

    His co-defendants are: Moboluwaji Omowole, Chuka Chukwu and Peace Nwankama, all aged 19, as well as Josephine Osemeka, 20.

    Aguedo made the bail application through his counsel, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), before Justice Abiola Soladoye.

    Pedro prayed the court to allow Aguedo to write the examination scheduled for April.

    He said: “By April, he is to start his examination in Babcock University; we urge your lordship to exercise discretion on the most compassionate grounds and grant the defendant bail for him to take part in the examination.”

    Pedro noted that Aguedo had a health challenge and was charged with a misdemeanor.

    “The defendant is suffering from a recurring back ailment. We brought not just a medical report, but the history, because he has been attending an orthopaedic hospital,” he added.

    But lead prosecution counsel, Mrs Fehinti Ogbemudia, opposed him.

    “The prosecution submits that the application for bail lacks merit and should be refused,” Ogbemudia said.

    Following the submissions, Justice Soladoye adjourned till April 18 for ruling.

    Aguedo and his four co-defendants were arraigned on February 26 on a three-count charge of defilement of a child, permitting defilement of a child on a premises and procuration.

    They pleaded not guilty, following which the judge ordered their remand at the Kirikiri Prisons, Lagos.

    In the course of the trial, the complainant testified that she was lured by Nwankama, who was her roommate to High Rise, a staff quarters in UNILAG.

    She said she was gang-raped at High Rise by eight students, adding that the sexual assault was videotaped.

    According to the student, she was also blackmailed with the video and further gang-raped on other occasions by the defendants and their accomplices who are now at large.

  • UNILAG don urges Ansar-Ud-Deen on political inclusiveness

    The Chairman of University of Lagos (UNILAG) Muslim Community, Prof. Lai Olurode has called on the members of Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria (ADSN) to engage with political parties and seek inclusiveness in the national polity.

    He stated this during the ADSN Lagos State Council 40th Anniversary in Ikorodu.

    Prof. Olurode, the UNILAG Department of Sociology, senior lecturer said Ansar-Ud-Deen has to adequately engage the state.

    “You must work on spreading membership to achieve the best for the organisation. By now, there has to be a sincere action plan on seeking inclusiveness,” he said.

    He stressed that the society should work on more visibility for the women folk in the organisation.

    “More policies that will make women more visible in our engagement with the stakeholders in our national polity should be enhanced. Women are very influential in driving the mission of any organisation,” he said.

    The Deputy-Governor of Lagos State, Dr Idiat Adebule, urged Ansar-Ud-Deen to continue with operations that will address the modern realities and engender sustainable society.

    Represented by Alhaji Abdukrazak Adetola, Mrs Adebule enjoined the leadership of the organisation to intensify efforts on programmes that will ensure peaceful coexistence of adherents of various faiths.

    She assured that the government would continue to provide the enabling environment and make policies that will address religious disharmony.

  • ‘How ex-UNILAG student raped undergraduate, stole her underwear’

    A prosecution witness, Insp Nkem Ejelonu, on Tuesday told the Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court in Ikeja how John Otema, a former student of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), allegedly raped a female undergraduate of the institution and stole her underwear.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ejelonu, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) in the case, gave the testimony while giving evidence during the trial of Otema who is charged with three counts of rape and assault occasioning harm.

    Otema is accused of raping two students of the institution.

    Ejelonu, who is attached to the Adeniji Adele Police Station and has 20 years experience in the Nigerian Police Force, said that following the allegation of underwear theft by Student X (name withheld), she executed a search warrant to find the missing clothing.

    Led in evidence by the state prosecutor, Mrs Arinola Momoh-Ayokanbi, Ejelonu said: “Student X said the defendant left with her pant, bra and handkerchief after he raped her in his car.

    “I went to the Igbosere Magistrates’ Court to sign a search warrant on Feb. 6, 2018, we went to the defendant’s house at No. 6, Adeleye St., Bariga Lagos to execute the search warrant, the items were not found.

    “We found only kitchen knives and on Feb. 7, 2018, the case was charged to court.

    “I had earlier visited the scene of the incident which is the area of Distance Learning Institute (DLI) of UNILAG, to check if I could find the pant, bra and handkerchief but I could not find anything, hence the search of his house,” she said.

    Earlier in her evidence, Ejelonu narrated how the police was alerted about the rapes by UNILAG officials.

    “On Feb. 5, 2018, two officers from Alausa came to our office that they received a distress call from UNILAG that they needed our support.

    “The then Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Ayodele Onujose, detailed myself and Sgt. Osasua, we went to UNILAG and saw the school counsellor and we went to the security cell and we saw the two girls who were about 19-years-old,” she said.

    The IPO also told the court how the first complainant, Student X was allegedly raped by the defendant.

    “On Jan. 17, 2018, the defendant offered to give her a ride in his car on campus, he took her to DLI, had sexual intercourse with her and took away her pant, bra and handkerchief,” she said.

    Ejelonu also told the court how another complainant, Student Y (name withheld), was allegedly raped by Otema.

    She said: “Student Y said sometime in 2018 she saw the defendant on campus and they went to the canteen to buy food, the defendant went to the bank and gave her back N2, 000 for the meal.

    “Then both of them became friends, she told the defendant that she already had a boyfriend but he said that they should be friends with benefits.

    “Student Y said she demanded for a laptop and the defendant gave her N20,000 and promised that he would give her N30,000 later.

    “On Jan. 30, 2018, the defendant picked her up and took her to his house and wanted to sleep with her and she demanded for N100,000. The money was not given to her.

    “He had sex with her, during that period her boyfriend called her, the defendant dropped her off on campus at 11.30pm.”

    While being cross-examined by Mr Fred Onyeka, Otema’s defence counsel, the IPO revealed that the defendant’s car was still in police custody.

    “One of the complainants said he had sex with her in the vehicle, the vehicle is with the exhibit keeper at the Adeniji Police Station,” she said.

    NAN reports that during Ejelonu’s evidence-in-chief, the IPO’s report was rejected as an exhibit by the court based on Onyeka’s objection that the prosecution did not include it in their proof of evidence.

    Following the rejection of the report by the court, Momoh-Ayokanbi, the state prosecutor had asked the court to declare the police officer a hostile witness on the ground that she was in communication with the defence.

  • Reps inspect CBN’s ‘Centre of Excellence’ project in Unilag

    The Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency yesterday inspected the ongoing University of Lagos (Unilag) ‘Centre of Excellence’ project site funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The Unilag Centre of Excellence Post-Graduate School project is the apex bank’s  Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme meant to give back to the society and improve the learning environment within the university.

    The project comprises of a Faculty Building, a 150 room hostel, auditoriums, restaurants, lounges, lecture halls and more to create a conducive learning environment and promote financial education.

    The same initiative is being replicated in  other universities nationwide such as the University of Ibadan and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and the University of Nigeria, Enugu

    Speaking at the end of the inspection, the Chairman House Committee on Banking & Currency, Hon. Jones Onyereri said the philosophy behind the apex bank’s CSR initiative is laudable and urged for a speedy completion of the project.

    Onyereri said although every project has its own challenges, but the success recorded so far on site is commendable. He said the oversight functions carried by the legislators has also helped.  He said: “We had a lot of challenges with the CBN with respect to the interventions of this project but as God would have it, immediately we started undergoing this oversight visit and seeing in reality what is on ground, most of us changed our minds if not everybody because it is obvious that the projects are laudable and not just being laudable but it’s been done in an excellent form.”

    “Yes in all things like in life you could still have challenges here and there and part of it is what we have experienced here and it’s our duty to help them with the challenge.”

    Furthermore he urged the bank to work in increasing the pace to complete the Lagos project so the Post Graduate students of the university can commence learning with the facility.

    He further assured the CBN of their support to ensure that it completes the projects it had embarked upon which would benefit the citizen

    He added: “I would have expected that the project would have gone further than that but the explanations given so far, what is left of is to ensure that between the three parties that are in this involved in this project as it is that all is well to make sure that we also give them the necessary backing to make sure that project is completed on time.”

    On his part, the Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN,  Isaac Okorafor, said:  ”It is in the interest of this country and our nation that this project should be completed.”

     

  • UNILAG launches first campus TV station

    THE University of Lagos (UNILAG) has set the pace with its first campus television station in Nigeria.

    The station, which operates on Channel 184, will be transmitted on StarTimes digital broadcast platform.

    It will deliver local, national and international programmes.

    At the launch of the station, Vice Chancellor Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe said UNILAG TV would be a reference point in sport, documentaries, entertainment as well as an instrument of educational advancement for the promotion of the cultures of the school’s immediate environment.

    He added: “UNILAG TV Channel 184 will have a time belt for our Distance Learning Teaching packages. In other words, UNILAG TV will serve as an instructional facility for our Distance Learning students.

    “The station will promote the culture of our immediate communities, regularly highlighting the ideas, languages, customs, folklores and social behaviours of our immediate communities, in line with the provision of the National Broadcasting Commission’s (NBC’s) code.”

    In line with the university’s entrepreneurship and skills acquisition programme, Ogundipe said the station would be a platform for unleashing the potentials of students.

    The vice chancellor said the station would not be limited to students in the Art faculty, adding that it would also be used as a medium to keep students informed of the happenings in the university through its one-hour news.

    He noted that the station would boost the ranking of the university and attract international students.

    Ogundipe expressed satisfaction that the dream of having a station was actualised, despite the challenges the university faced in the course of actualising the dream.

    The vice chancellor thanked the President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the station’s licence.

    The chairman of UNILAG Multi-Media Ventures, Prof Muyiwa Falaye, said the station would run in accordance with the codes of the NBC.

     

  • Unilag launches first campus TV

    University of Lagos has blazed the trail again with the launch of the first Campus Television Station in Nigeria. The new campus television station would fly on the platform of Star Times digital broadcast Channel 184. The TV station which boasts of state of the art technical facilities would deliver premier local, national and international news as they unfold. The new station, will also serve as a reference point in sports, documents, quality entertainment and as an instrument of educational advancement.

    “It is the desire of Unilag TV station to always meet the needs of audience by delivering the highest standard of production values that would surpass the expectations of viewers. It is our aim to make the new Campus television the most trusted news source in Nigeria by being impartial, creative, factual, credible, timely and innovative.

    Our team of professionals will inject fresh ideas and energies that will take broadcasting to the next level in Nigeria,” Adebisis Seth Dare, told The Nation.