LASU to graduate 76 first class as deposed Kano’s emir, Sanusi chairs 24th convocation

A total of 76 students of Lagos State University, LASU, Ojo, would be graduating with First Class honors in various disciplines at this year’s convocation ceremonies.

The number are part of the 8, 959 students (for 2018\2019 academic session) across levels-certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate studies- who made the graduation list and it is the highest in the history of LASU. Only 57 made First Class last year while 26, 26 and seven made that of 2018, 2017, and 2016 respectively.

Also, Shotunde Oladimeji Idris from Business Administration Department with a Cumulative Gradient Points Average (CGPA) of 4.95 out of the obtainable 5.0 points emerged the overall best in the set even as the English Language Department produced the first person graduating with First Class in the anal of the university.

They will all be conferred with their academic titles at the convocation ceremonies, which is 24th in the series, holding at the main campus of the university in Ojo between Friday, March 20 and Friday, March 27th.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Olanrewaju Fagbohun, made the disclosure on Friday at a press conference to kick-start a week-long ceremony which will also feature the recently deposed Emir of Kano and former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Muhammadu Lamido Sanusi, and Prof Benedicvt Oramah, President of African Export-Import Afreximban, as the chairman and lecturer of the convocation lecture, respectively.

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He said the choice of Sanusi to chair the convocation lecture had been concluded and sealed long before he was deposed and that he is still very much interested to perform the role, giving the topic of the lecture as “The future of developing economies in a digital world.”

Breaking down the statistics of graduands, Fagbohun, a Professor of Law, said out of the total graduands, 6, 197 of them would be honoured with first degrees in various disciplines while 2,620 and 215 would be conferred with higher degrees and diplomas in that order, noting that the total number of graduands this year is fewer than those of the previous two years because of a dwindling backlog of arrears of students on part-time studies.

While also disclosing that honorary doctorate degrees would be conferred on six notable individuals in the country including Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Dr Oba Ayoola Otudeko, Mr Segun Agbaje, Hon. Justice Opeyemi Oke and Aderemi Makanjuola, Professor Olanrewaju added that the university would equally named some roads and facilities after some personalities including the two former governors of the state, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Mr Raji Babatunde Fashola, Akin Kekere-ekun, Professors Abisogun Leigh, Lateef Akanni Hussein, John Obafunwa, among others.

He said the university decided to honour them based on their immense contributions not only to LASU and the education sector but to the country’s development generally.

He, however, said all the graduands, just as those before them, had been thoroughly baked as total graduates for global relevance.