THE Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) will hold its maiden convocation ceremonies and has slated three retired secondary school principals for honours for their contributions to educational development of Nigeria.
Vice Chancellor of FUOYE, Professor Kayode Soremekun, told newsmen in Oye-Ekiti, on Wednesday, that the institution took the step of digging up the three elderly, retired secondary school principals for honour because of their roles in moulding younger Nigerians, and not because of what the institution could get in return for awarding them the degrees.
Professor Soremekun said it is not for Nigerian universities to make conferment of honorary doctorate degrees to be exclusively for the wealthy people in the society, saying that “the labour of our heroes past should indeed not be in vain.”
Soremekun hinted that FUOYE would confer Doctor of Educational Administration (honoris causa) on the first indigenous Principal of Queens College, Lagos, Mrs Efunjoke Coker; 89-year old retired school Principal, Mr Francis Daramola and 100-year old former Principal of Ekiti Parapo College, Ido-Ekiti, Chief Adepoju Akomolafe.
According to Soremekun, “these people, in their own ways, built Nigeria, the gesture is to remember these great Nigerians, who had in their own ways contributed to scholarship.”
He noted with regret that “it is sad that we are all suffering from amnesia, which makes us forget people so easily. The people we readily remember are only politicians and moneybags. With this, we will be setting a new moral standard for this country.”
He said apart from the university’s maiden convocation, a total of 3,310 students were matriculated for the 2016/2017 academic session, and added that the institution had got three more faculties and introduced 19 new programmes in the last one year that he came on board as the Vice Chancellor.