Oliver Alawuba, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the United Bank for Africa, has stated that the task of maintaining public universities should not be left only in the hand of the government considering the huge resources required.
Alawuba reasoned that the private sector needed to contribute its own quota for the Nigerian universities in a bid for them to measure up to global standards.
The Chief Executive Officer of UBA spoke recently at his investiture and decoration as a UI@75 Ambassador in Lagos. Commending the management of the university for a job well done, he assured them that the UBA Group would extend a hand of fellowship to the university.
He said the UBA Group would, henceforth, encourage students of the University of Ibadan, UI, in its Graduate Management Accelerated Programme, scholarship programmes and sporting activities.
According to him, one flag that is flown with pride within the UBA group is that of the University of Ibadan because the UI alumni outnumber that of other universities within the management team.
He stressed that without equivocation, UI remains the first and the best university in Nigeria. For this reason, he said that he was happy during his visit to the university earlier in the year.
He noted that the ageing structures and the environment were well kept and looked better than they were in 1991 when he left the university after bagging a Master’s degree.
The UI@75 thematic projects is forward-looking and a well-defined agenda to move the university forward, he said. Disclosing that the UBA Group would also be 75 years old in 2024, he said it had a formidable presence in 20 African nations.
He assured that the UBA Foundation would be brought in to market the University of Ibadan to foreign students in a bid to earn foreign exchange for the university.
The Executive Director, Finance and Risk Management of the Bank, Ugo Nwaghodah, also an Alumnus of UI, expressed gratitude to UI for building their foundation.
He promised that they would ensure that they do their best to give back to the university that made them.
The Vice-Chancellor, UI, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, said the university aligned with the UBA principles of Enterprise, Excellence, and Execution because knowledge which is the driving force of the university is a common denominator.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor Administration, who is also the Chairman of the UI@75 Anniversary Committee, Prof. Peter Olapegba, said that the projects being targeted are in line with the vision of the VC to raise $200 million during his 5-year tenure to further consolidate the development of the University.
The decoration of Alawuba as a UI@75 Ambassador was performed by the Registrar, Ganiyu Saliu.
