The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, has applauded the disposition of the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman of the Kwara State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, towards non-indigenes living and doing business in Ilorin.

Prof. Egbewole, in a statement issued on Tuesday by the University's Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Kunle Akogun, congratulating the royal father on his 86th birthday, described the Emir as a unifying leader and a remarkable statesman whose reign has brought innumerable positive developments to the Emirate and Kwara State at large.

The Vice Chancellor, who is also a Member of the Body of Benchers (BOB), said that the Emir has made several significant marks in regional and national development and particularly in the realm of jurisprudence as a legal luminary and a former Justice of the Court of Appeal before his historic emergence as the 11th Emir of Ilorin in August 1995.

Prof. Egbewole was particularly grateful to the Emir for being a father to all, saying that the monarch's dispositions to non-indigenes living or doing business in his domain have been very fascinating and devoid of any form of discrimination whatsoever.

The Vice Chancellor, who is also the Secretary-General of the Association of West African Universities (AWAU) and Vice President (West Africa) of the Association of African Universities (AAU), added that these fantastic dispositions, more than any other factor, have contributed significantly to making Ilorin one of the fastest growing cities in the country.

Prof. Egbewole specifically thanked Alhaji Sulu-Gambari, who is also the Chancellor of Bayero University, Kano, and Muhammad Kamalud-Deen University, Ilorin, for the consistent fatherly roles he has been extending to the University before and since his ascension to the stool of his illustrious forebears.

The Vice Chancellor, who is equally the Chairman of the Consortium of Kwara Universities (KU8+), said that the prevailing peace being enjoyed by the University and its sister institutions within the Emirate cannot be divorced from the peace-building efforts of the Emir and his people, pointing out that the University is peaceful because its host community epitomises harmony.

Prof. Egbewole reiterated the fact that the Centre for Ilorin Studies (CILS) at the University was specifically established to promote and preserve the intellectual, spiritual, cultural and material heritage of the people of the Ilorin Emirate and their neighbours and to cement the existing cordial relationship between the University and its host community.

The renowned Professor of Jurisprudence and International Law assured the Emir that the University would continue to support other developmental aspirations of its host community.

The Vice Chancellor wished the foremost traditional ruler more years of fruitful service.