Osun gov bags Adeleke University’s honorary doctorate

The Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, on Sunday, bagged an honorary doctorate from the Adeleke University, Ede, affirming that he was fully aware that the honour comes with a corresponding responsibility to use his capacities to support the founding spirit of trust, truth and creativity for which the University is reputed.

The governor, who appreciated the gesture, said he would never take it for granted because “it was a major recognition from the home front. It is an honour for my family and my governmental team. It is indeed my great honour to gratefully receive an Honorary Doctorate from Adeleke University.”

Speaking at the 2025 convocation ceremony of the Institution, Adeleke remarked, “I would like to thank the Pro-Chancellor, my dear brother, Dr Adedeji Adeleke; the governing council; the Senate; and the entire management of the university for conferring the Honorary Doctorate on me. I am further challenged to deliver more as the governor of Osun State.

“I congratulate the graduating students for their achievements of academic excellence. You are transitioning to the bigger society, which needs your expertise for personal and communal development. I joined your families and well-wishers to felicitate with you on this great milestone.

“This award for me is coming at a critical juncture in the life of our government and that of the people of Osun state. We have served the people diligently for almost three years now. Our administration has demonstrated that good governance is achievable with political will and the deep interest of the people.

“Our deliverables, which have surprised many observers within and outside the country, are products of a passionate urge to serve the people. We innovate, we sacrifice, and we think out of the box to positively transform several sectors of our society. Our waking and sleeping agenda has been and will always be the people’s welfare and aspirations of the people.

“Osun people have been our strength. They continue to be our strengths. As in every true democracy, the people are the ultimate determinant of power. The power of voters to enthrone leaders through the ballot has been our greatest asset. We belong to the people, and we acknowledge the love and the deep love from the street and every corner of Osun State.

“I will take this new recognition of our modest contributions to state development as a fresh endorsement to push hard on the path of service delivery. We will not waver in our passion to take Osun to the greatest height possible now and in the near future.

“Taking this opportunity, I would like to extend my best wishes for more successes to Adeleke University. With the above said, I am deeply humbled to accept this honorary doctorate degree, ” he concluded.

In his speech at the occasion, the Pro-Chancellor of the University, Dr Adedeji Adeleke, told the graduating students to look in the mirror and ask themselves as they are going into the work if they are ready to do what it takes “to make Nigeria a country we all can be proud of, love for the country, making like easy for the fellow Nigerian citizens, in their places of work or wherever they  find themselves.”

He, however, affirmed that “the very first step in building a society for a country we all can be proud of, is by every citizen of this country to insist on free, fair and credible elections.

“We  need a country where the citizenry can fire those that they have elected if they fail to keep their promises and perform as they have promised, if they have done things that the majority of the electorate does not like.

“That is the first step of having a country that we all can be proud of. This starts with you, young people, 60% if not more, of our society is still under the age of 30. You have your whole life ahead of you; you can still make a change in this country in the next ten years.

“All of you, as young people, should make an effort and say to yourselves that you are determined to have a country that you all can be proud of, and you are going to contribute your best.

“It starts with you because most of you will work as ad-hoc staff of INEC, election is around the corner, if you refuse to be compromised, insist on doing the right thing as officials of INEC, then, you are looking yourself in the mirror and say you are going to do your best to have a country that we all can be proud of.

“We can not turn around and accept payment to do what is not right and later complain that we don’t have a country, that things are not working right, no jobs, that no one is coming in to create jobs.

“It is not our politicians that go out there to rig elections; their families are not involved, their children are somewhere in America or Europe, away from the chaos that they are causing in Nigeria.

“It is the children of ordinary citizens that are involved. It is the children of those that need a country that they can be proud of, those that do not have any alternative than Nigeria, those that supposed to insist on having a good country. They, that don’t have any other place to go, are normally used to undermining their own country and making it a country that they are not very proud of.” If you see policemen and security agencies aiding and abetting election rigging, I shake my head and I said they don’t know the damage they are doing to their own children, because if you don’t have access to direct foreign investment and people coming in to invest in an economy, there would be no room for employment and development. 

“When we have electorate insisting on selling their votes, then how can you have a good country. You can not eat your cake and have it; you can’t insist on selling your vote and complain that the people you elected are not doing what they are supposed to do; it is not going to work.”

“In other countries, our young people contribute to the election of those that they believe in their policies and can best represent them when they get to power, so politicians get donations from their citizenry, not the other way round.

“In Nigeria, we insist that anybody that is running for an office should go and look for money to give to the electorate and even mobilise them to come and vote. They will insist that they must pay for their vote. In fact, they will vote for the highest bidder. How can you expect somebody that paid you before you vote to represent you well?” He asked. 

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