The Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has said that the institution has been able to attract a research grant of N17 billion during his tenure.
This is what Ogundipe said at the UNILAG Law Alumni event; “The Great Homecoming” which took place on February 12 at Harbor Point, Victoria Island, Lagos.
According to him, no other university in the country can boast of reaching such an amount for research purposes in four years.
“To the glory of God, in four years we have been able to obtain a research grant of more than N17 billion that no other university can claim to achieve.
would like to be remembered as a man who emptied himself to improve what he found on the ground when I took over as UNILAG deputy foreign minister,” he said
However, the Chancellor appealed to Law School alumni to sponsor the improvement of facilities to make learning more conducive and accessible, especially for the physically handicapped.
He said that the faculty building that was established since 1962 needed to be renovated, to build an additional block that would provide an elevator for people with physical disabilities.
“In the years that I have spent as UNILAG vice-chancellor, we have had more support from friends of the university than from alumni.
“A friend from university spent over N200 million to upgrade the Human Resources Development Center (HRDC) facilities.
We have been talking to former students of the Law School about having an elevator to take students with physical disabilities to the top floor, but we have not received support yet,” he said.
Ogundipe, a botanist, challenged the alumni to improve the existing facilities so that everyone, including the physically disabled, can easily access the upper floors.
“I think we should be able to add another building to the college, as well as provide an elevator for people soon, given the caliber of people the college has produced.
UNILAG can be like Harvard and Cambridge if it can get support from its alumni in terms of infrastructure development and academic improvement and research,” he said.
Also speaking, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Ige Bolodeoku, said that in demographic terms, the faculty has around 2,000 students and 57 academic staff members.
“17 of this staff are professors, six of them are associate professors, 13 are full professors, 7 are professor 1 and 14 are professor II.
“The faculty is doing a wonderful job in terms of succession and I am confident that even when the current generation of faculty leaves, we have others to replace them.
The faculty can boast Vice President of Nigeria Professor Yemi Osinbajo and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila as alumni among many Ministers, SANs and Excellencies of State,” he said.
Therefore, the dean asked the alumni for a new building on the faculty to accommodate the growing number of students and staff for a better conducive learning atmosphere.
