By OLADAPO UDOM

The Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has said that the institution has been able to attract research grant of N17 billion during his tenure.

Ogundipe said this at the UNILAG Law Alumni event; “The Great Homecoming” which held on Feb.12 at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos.

According to him, no other university in the country can boast of achieving such an amount for research purposes within fours years.

“To the glory of God within four years we have been able to get research grant of over N17 billion which no other university can boast of achieving.

“I would like to be remembered as a man who emptied himself to improve on what he found on ground when I came in as vice chancellor, UNILAG,” he said.

The vice-chancellor however, appealed to alumni of the Faculty of Law for sponsorship to improve on the facilities so as to make learning more conducive and accessible especially to the physically challenged.

He said that the building at the faculty which was established since 1962 needed to be renovated, build additional block that will make provision for elevator for the physically challenged.

“In the years that I have spent as the vice chancellor of UNILAG, we have been to get more support from the friends of the university than the alumni.

“A friend of the university spent over N200 million to improve on the Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC) facility.

“We have been talking to the alumni of the Faculty of Law for us to have an elevator to take the physically challenged students to the top floor but we are yet to get support,” he said.

Ogundipe, a botanist, challenged the alumni to improve on existing facilities so that everyone including the physically challenged can have easy access to the top floors.

“I believe that we should be able to add another building to the faculty as well as provide a lift for people soon given the calibre of people that the faculty has produced.

“UNILAG can be like Harvard and Cambridge if it can get support from it’s alumni in terms of development of infrastructure and improving on academics and research,” he said.

Also speaking, the Dean, Faculty of Law, Prof. Ige Bolodeoku, said that in terms of demography, the faculty has about 2000 students and 57 members of academic staff.

“17 of these staff are professors, six of them are associate professors, 13 are senior lecturers, 7 are lecturer 1 and 14 as lecturer II.

“The faculty is doing a wonderful work in terms of succession and I am confident that even when the present crop of professors leave, we have others that will take over from them.

“The faculty can boast of the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, as alumni among many ministers, SANs and excellences of the state,” he said.

Therefore, the dean appealed to the alumni for a new building in the faculty to accommodate the growing number of students and staff for a better conducive learning atmosphere. (NAN)

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