Nigeria's former president and Balogun of Owu-Kingdom, Olusegun Obasanjo has showered praises on the late founder of Crescent University in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Prince Bola Ajibola, as the university celebrated its 20th Founder's Day with Long service awards to 94 staff including the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ibraheem Gbajabiamila, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof.R. O Kareem and Registrar, Mr Zakariyya Ajibola for their immeasurable contributions to the growth of the institution for the past two decades of its existence
Three other distinguished Nigerians including Secretary-General of the Ogun State Muslim Council, Asiwaju Kamal'deen Akintunde, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Adeleye Oyebade (retired) and Aare Kazeem Bakinson, Ph.D were also honoured with the 2026 Bola Ajibola Community Service Awards during the event held on Saturday at the main authority of the university
Obasanjo speaking at the event, described the late Prince Bola Ajibola as a great man of Owu, Ogun State and Nigeria, right from his childhood till the last day on earth, one who committed his resources to ensure the survival of Crescent University
The former president then lauded the successor and Chairman of Board of Trustees of the university, Prince Mohammed Maruf Adesegun Ajibola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria for sustaining the rich legacy of his late father
Proprietor of the university, Prince Ajibola shortly after public presentation and launch of a book titled *Trend In Constitutionalism and Constitutional Adjudication In Nigeria*, in his honour, appreciated the staffs for their commitment and believe in the vision of his father in establishing Crescent University which has continued to experience growth in physical infrastructure and students enrollment
He called for more support of the well to individuals while appreciating the contributions of the past awardees of Bola Ajibola Community Service Awards to the development of the university
Vice-Chancellor of the university Prof. Ibraheem Gbajabiamila also acknowledged the effort of the proprietor for sustaining the legacy of the late founder, revealing that the institution now boast of over 3,500 students spread across the 36 states in Nigeria.
Crescent University according to him, has started developing its College of Medicine with the construction of the multi-million naira Medical Science Laboratory Complex donated by Abdul Samad Foundation of BOA Group of Companies
He equally appreciated the staff for their dedicated service to the university and believe in the vision of the founder, despite more lucrative opportunities in other institutions in the country
The pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the university Prof. Fola Lasisi also shared his personal experiences with the gathering on the efforts made by the late founder to actualize the dream of establishing Crescent University in Abeokuta
He equally praised the successors for the sustenance of the university while acknowledging the role of the former president in the actualization of the university project in 2005
Delivering the Founder's Day Lecture titled *Collapse of The Rule-Based World Order: Wither International Law and Institutions*, Director-General, Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Abuja, Prof.Abdul-Qadir Abikan, expressed concern over how powerful countries influenced most of the strict conditions of the global financial institutions including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund which prioritize fiscal discipline over development of State-building which has made developing countries in the world, particularly in Africa to depend on the advanced countries for economic survival
The don emphasized the need for Africa countries to begin to build local capacity to address the challenges of food insecurity, energy and industrial capacity
"A more industrialized , coordinated and self-reliant Africa would be better placed to shape and benefit from global rules rather than experience them as external impositions"
"The path forward therefore, is neither disengagement from the global order nor naive reliance on it .it is a dual strategy, build internal capacity to secure materials sovereignty, while engaging multilateral institutions to entrenched fairness, predictability and collective governance. If successfully executed, this approach would allow Africa not only to escape dependency but also to emerge as a pillar of a more genuinely rules-based international system, where law is reinforced, not undermined by the distribution of capability", he submitted
High point of the event included formal presentation of Bola Ajibola Community Service Award to the three recipients, Asiwaju Kamal'deen Akintunde for promotion of youth development and inter-faith harmony in the country
Other two awardees, DIG Adeleye Oyebade (retired) who was honoured for promotion of security reform and community policing while Aare Bakinson represented by wife, received the award in recognition of his services to Societal development and education
The Proprietor of the university, Prince Mohammed Maruf Adesegun Ajibola also received award of excellence in appreciation of his effort towards the growth Crescent University
The event was graced by eminent Nigerians including the Ogun State Chief Judge, Justice Mosunmola Dipeolu , Alake of Egbaland, Oba (Dr) Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, Olowu of Owu-Kingdom Oba Prof Saka Adelola Matemilola represented by one of the Owu Chiefs, Sikirulai Ogundele Ph.D, Osi of Egbaland, Bode Mustapha, Olota of Ota, Oba(Prof) Abdul-Kabir Obalanlege , Kemi
Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Mutiu Agboke, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Chief Doja Adewolu amongst others
No comments:
Post a Comment