Okebukola hails Buba Marwa as he bags LASU honorary doctorate degree

 

A renowned scholar and former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Peter Okebukola, has expressed great delight over the honorary doctoral degree awarded by Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, to the former Military Administrator of Lagos State and current Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), retired Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa, saying the honour is well-deserved.

Marwa, who was once a Visitor to LASU, received the honour (Doctor of Humane Letters in Infrastructure, Security and National Development) at the recently concluded 28th convocation ceremony of the university in Lagos. He was honoured alongside a former Deputy Governor of the state, Mr Femi Pedro (Doctor of Business in Banking and Entrepreneurship), as well as a faculty member of the university, Prof Joseph Olagunju, who was awarded a distinguished professorship.

Okebukola, however, described Marwa as a great patriot and extraordinary individual whose contributions have left an indelible mark not only on LASU and Lagos State but on Nigeria as a whole.

He reflected on the period during which Marwa was the Military Administrator of the state while he (Okebukola) served as Acting Vice-Chancellor of LASU between 1996 and 1997, saying Marwa’s administration had a significant positive impact on the university.

According to Okebukola, Marwa’s administration doubled the government subvention to LASU just a few days after inauguration.

He highlighted some other contributions of Marwa’s administration to LASU, including the establishment of the university’s College of Medicine (LASUCOM) in Ikeja, the inauguration of its Epe campus, and the initiation of several physical projects, which he said have been instrumental to the quality of education being offered by the university to this day.

ALSO READ: Marwa, Pedro, Olagunju bag LASU’s honorary doctorate degrees

Also reflecting on the administration’s achievements beyond the education sector in the state, Okebukola described the honouree as a phenomenon, stating that there was no sector left untouched by Marwa’s impactful governance.

According to him, one such initiative was ‘The Operation Sweep’ — aimed at flushing out criminal elements from society — which remains a model not only in Nigeria but across Africa today. Another was the Direct Labour Agency he introduced, a scheme that utilised local content to tar Lagos roads without the government spending a fortune.

He added, “Marwa also strengthened tourism in the state while his model of governance, especially working for long hours through Permanent Secretaries (technocratic civil servants), saved the state government huge sums of money that would have been drained by the overhead on commissioners.

“Similarly, the tricycle he introduced back then and labelled ‘Keke Marwa’ has continued to be a symbol of cheap and efficient transportation not only in the state but across Nigeria.

“So, as a decorated armoured corps officer who pierced the armour of development in Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole, your achievements inspired some of us scholars to document them in a book with that title,” he noted.

While congratulating him on LASU’s honour, Okebukola mentioned that Marwa’s current role as the Chairman of the NDLEA, waging war against drug pushers, barons, and users, is another commendable task for the benefit of humanity and society, wishing him well on the journey.

ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

---