By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Egbewole, has reiterated the commitment of his administration to creating an enabling environment to ensure that the University achieves its Smart Agenda.

The VC, who stated this over the weekend at the 2024 Annual Iftar with journalists in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, stressed that: “We need to create an enabling environment for our students to learn, for our staff to ply their trade, and for the University to achieve its Smart Agenda.

“The SMART University mantra entails that my administration, with your support, will be purposefully geared towards achieving sustainable development, monumental achievements, adaptive capacity, rapid response to change and team building.”

It would be recalled that Egbewole had during his inauguration as Vice Chancellor declared: “I believe strongly in the human capital interest of this great University. Together, we can take the University to the topmost league in Africa, if we are SMART.”

Optimistic that the progress the University is witnessing would not wane, Egbewole added: “We are also hopeful that we will ensure that the stride is not in any way diminished, and that is why I can confidently tell you that the current Semester Examination is going to an end without any form of disruption in our academic calendar and we intend to continue to maintain that our position by God’s Grace.”

The Vice Chancellor, who also stressed the need for Universities to do things differently in order to become global players, said that was his pursuit in the University of Ilorin, adding: “If we really want to be global players then we need to do things differently and that is why I believe that we are positioning ourselves as a University to the point that we should be self sustaining because that is the essence of an academic. You need to think outside of the box, that is the only way we will end up becoming global players.”

He highlighted the modest achievements recorded in the University under his watch, including infrastructural development, and enhancement of staff and students welfare, among others.

He said: “A number of infrastructural additions have come to our University. We completed the Chemical Engineering Department. We have also added value by creating the car park that is befitting. We have also renovated a number of facilities as we speak, we have also completed a number of new hostels.

“We believe that the welfare of our students will be better taken care of. We have been able to add to our workforce by recruiting the approved number of 201 staffers, academic and non teaching staff, into our University. Our relationship with the Alumni has continue to improve between our last meeting and now. I’m pleased to inform you that the University of Ilorin produced another Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in person of Dr. Jamila Bio, who is Minister of Youth Development, among others.”

Egbewole lauded the labour unions in the University for being responsible and supportive to the administration, particularly during the recent NASU’s and SSANU’s 7-day warning strike for ensuring that the ongoing Semester examinations were not disrupted.