Former Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma,has said the issue of poor funding of university is a universal problem that is not peculiar to Nigeria alone.
He made the observation during his decoration as a UI@75 Ambassador Extraordinaire in Lagos.
Danjuma, who noted that, “even America, the supposedly wealthiest country in the world, does not fund its universities, but rather give loans to the students.”
He added that any public university that did not source for funding to argument the subvention given by the government would go down.
He commended the management of the University of Ibadan for the efforts being made to revitalise the university.
He, however, cautioned that the management’s laudable aspirations must be gradually achieved through strategic planning.
General Danjuma, who was visibly elated, thanked the UI@75 anniversary committee for the honour bestowed on him and wished the institution success in all its efforts.
He promised to assist the university further after he was presented a list its thematic projects by the chairman of the UI@75 anniversary committee, Professor Peter O. Olapegba.
General Danjuma was supported by his wife, Daisy, who would herself, be conferred with the honorary degree of Doctor of Law by the University of Ibadan during its 2023 Convocation ceremonies and 75th Foundation Day on November 17, 2023
General Danjuma is a 2020 Honorary Doctor of Letters Graduate (D. Litt. 2020) of the University of Ibadan. He is the founder of the TY Danjuma Foundation which had earlier donated a sum of N342 million towards the upgrading of the Akinkugbe Kidney Centre as a Centre of Excellence in Research, Diagnosis and Treatment of renal complications.
The vice chancellor, Professor Kayode O. Adebowale, had earlier reiterated that the University of Ibadan, then as a College of the University of London in 1948 began with 103 students in three faculties.
Today, according to Professor Adebowale, the university has over 42,000 students at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in 18 faculties and a School of Business.
The University of Ibadan is amongst the best 1000 universities in the world; its College of Medicine is adjudged as the best in sub-Saharan Africa, while the Postgraduate College is considered as the flagship of postgraduate education in Nigeria with an annual turnout of over 3000 degrees of Master, and 450 Doctoral degrees in various disciplines.
The university also hosts the Pan African University Life and Earth Sciences Institute with over 400 students from 46 African countries.
. TheWitness
