Date: 2018-08-24

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Sulyman Age Abdulkareem, yesterday declared that he joined the services of the university as one of the richest academic staff.

He denied reports in a section of the social media about how he made his fortunes after being employed as a lecturer in the institution.

Abdulkareem made the clarification in Ilorin while receiving in audience the executive committee of the Kwara State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by its Chairman, Mallam Umar Abdulwahab. He told the visiting team that he was in the United States for 22 years and Saudi Arabia for two years where he worked comfortably before relocating to Nigeria.

Abdulkareem, who stressed the importance of information in human society, regretted that social media platforms were being used to propagate falsehood.

The Unilorin VC stated that it would be difficult to checkmate social media reports because the platforms had made everybody journalist even while many of them did not have requisite professional training. "Your (NUJ) profession is a noble one. It is one of the oldest in the world. As you know, information plays crucial role in human society. If not for the opportunity to be informed from time to time, we would have been in the dark.

"I want to say that as important as information is, the problem we have these days is that we have social media that makes everybody to be journalists, there is nothing we can do about it,’’ Abdulkareem said.

He thanked the state council of NUJ for choosing him as a patron, assuring that the institution under his vice-chancellorship would do its best to partner with the union.

The state chairman of NUJ, Mallam Umar Abdulwahab, had earlier congratulated Abdulkareem on his appointment as the Unilorin helmsman and commended him for elevating Mr Kunle Akogun as substantive Director, Corporate Affairs Directorate of the university.

Prior to his visit to the vice-chancellor, Abdulwahab in company of other members of the executive had earlier inaugurated the new executive of Unilorin FM Chapel where Tajudeen Babamale emerged as chairman of the chapel.