An undergraduate of Bowen University, Samuel Ajayi, has bagged the overall best delegate award at the 5th Abuja International Model United Nations programme.
The programme which was organised by the United Nations Information Centre in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held in Abuja recently.
The programme drew not less than 400 students from the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Abuja, University of Nigeria, Babcock University, Baze University and post-graduate students from various universities in the county as delegates.
Others in attendance at the programme are Ambassadors of Sweden, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, Gambia, India, Jamaica, Nigerian Minister of Women and Social Development, Dame Pauline Tallen, and heads of parastatals and agencies in the country.
A lecturer and programme coordinator of international relations at Bowen University, Dr Oluwakemi Onasoga-Molake, who led student delegates to the programme said Ajayi emerged overall best delegate and best delegate UN legal committee.
She said while Oreoluwa Ojo emerged the best delegate in Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC), the best position paper in DISEC was given to Rita Ojo.
According to her, the award received by Ajayi was the most coveted award in any model United Nations programmes.
The essence of the programme has been to stimulate the process of the United Nations with a focus to involve the younger generation in the business and affairs of the United Nations.
Ajayi who is studying International Relations at BOWEN attributed the varsity’s success story to the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Joshua Ogunwale’s encouragement and moral support to students’ academic progress.
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According to him, the university’s teaching and research standard, as well as the learning environment on the campus, are influential factors to the excellent performance recorded even outside the university system.
He said Bowen University students could compete and perform excellently well with their peers across the globe.
Professor Ogunwale while welcoming the Model United Nations awardees into the campus expressed happiness over the brilliant performance recorded among their peers from first generation universities in the country.
The performance of Bowen University students which he said is on the increase is a product of the ongoing repositioning process agenda of the present university administration.
According to him, a culture that will encourage high performance is evolving in the university academic system, to promote the core values of godliness, excellence, entrepreneurship, innovation and social responsibility.
“To make the university socially, spiritually and academically relevant to compete in all fronts globally, rebranding has become inevitable. This will involve re-jigging the academic content and mode of academic operations of the university. This exercise is changing both the internal and external outlook of the university.
“We use our Wednesdays to inculcate godliness, excellence and leadership into our academic modules, and the kind of entrepreneurship model we want to be known for is such that influences the thinking ability of our students to generate ideas, open up their creativity and innovation potential skills,’’ he said.
He appealed to every member of the Nigerian Baptist Convention to do more in their social responsibility towards the development of the university in terms of their donations to the university.
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