For the Vice Chancellor of the First Technical University, Ibadan, Professor Adesola Ajayi, 2023 can be described as a year of honour. The same year he was honoured by the Nigerian Society of Engineers, he was awarded the Thomas Sankara for Leadership Prize, as the Pan African Icon of Educational Transformation.
The award was presented to him on Friday by the Youth Partnership for Africa’s Development (YOUPAD), a platform on which young people discuss, research and analyse issues relating to foreign and domestic policies, security, climate change, governance and development. YOUPAD also honoured Tech-U as an institution at the investiture held on the campus, attended by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Iyiola Tella; the Registrar, Mrs. Olayinka Balogun; the Bursar, Pastor Kehinde Olatokun; and the Director, Vice Chancellor’s Office, Mrs. Olanrrewaju Omolola.
In the YOUPAD’s delegation led by Mr Henry Nwafor were Coulibaly Hameed, its Ivory Coast President, Kewul Majoro, Secretary, South Africa; Daniel Donald, Nigerian Logistic Director and Nwankwo Henry, Nigerian Country Director. Nwafor said the organisation was present in 48 African countries with the core objective of building the youth in leadership and entrepreneurship for the purpose of providing the continent with intellectually equipped virile minds.
He said YOUPAD’s cherished goal demanded that it seek mentorship by associating itself with patriotic Africans of integrity, while also recognising their efforts and achievements. According to him, it is on that basis that YOUPAD identified Professor Ajayi as deserving the Sankara Prize.
Nwafor told the Vice-Chancellor: “We recognise your hard work and dedication to national development through the educational sector, your exemplary lifestyle that promotes the African moral values; your well-articulated policies driven by high administrative acumen and the burning passion to lead the First Technical University Management, staff as well as students to achieving its excellent goal of worthy in character and learning.”
The YOUPAD’s official expressed delight that Tech-U is building youths that, he said, would be able to confidently navigate the future to contribute to building a new Nigeria and Africa in general.
He, however, requested two things from Ajayi. He said, “That you should under no circumstance deviate from the true Prof Ajayi that we are here to celebrate today; and that for the sake of our dear continent you shouldn’t allow your high leadership acumen to end at this level. You should take it to a higher level politically where your good work and policy-making style can affect the larger society.”
In his response, the Vice Chancellor thanked YOUPAD for the awards, saying he and the institution were inspired to do more.
According to him, YOUPAD’s cause and structure are significant as it is able to pool youths across the Africa which, the VC stressed, was the continent of the future based on its potential. He commended the team for the plurality of their experiences and academic wherewithal which, he explained, aligned with the versatility of Tech-U’s mandate.
Ajayi said, “I am glad that YOUPAD is a continental youth organisation pursuing a cause that is very noble. It is good that your agenda cuts across phenomena such as security, climate change and good governance which are central to African development. You therefore deserve the support of all strata of society.”
While noting that he would continue to propel Tech-U’s Management and other stakeholders towards accelerated growth – as ‘requested’ by YOUPAD – Professor Ajayi encouraged the youth organisation to extend its membership and activities to the First Technical University, Ibadan, noting that Tech-U’s students were intellectually, socially and morally prepared for prosecuting YOUPAD’s ideals.
The VC added: “In line with the motto of this University, which is ‘Building Brains and Training Hands’, we are not particular only about what our students learn (knowledge) or acquire (skill) but equally about what they can do and accomplish with what they know (entrepreneurship) to make the society better through the imprints of their endeavours. Every Tech-U student runs three programmes concurrently – Bachelor degree programme, and two Diploma programmes respectively in Entrepreneurship and French Language. We have received inspiring and motivating stories about the performance of our students from several places where they have gone to do their industrial attachment. Among those that have graduated and those graduating today, several of them are already earning a living and increasingly becoming less financially dependent on their sponsors even while being students.”
