Less than four years after it commenced academic activities, Kwara State University, Malete recently graduated its first set of students. The school which commenced lectures for its pioneer students in December 2009 some months after it was established held its first convocation ceremony this June where 231 of the students graduated.

The convocation ceremony celebrated with some innovations coincided with the inauguration of the first Chancellor of the university, Prof Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, former Nigerian Permanent Representative at the United Nations (UN).

The graduating students were conferred with various first degrees from Colleges of Humanities, Management and Social Sciences, Pure and Applied Sciences, Information and Communication Technology and Education.

Five of the graduates bagged First Class honours out of which three came from the College of Humanities, Management and Social Sciences while the remaining two were from the college of Pure and Applied Sciences. 61 graduated with Second Class Upper Division, 146 with Second Class Lower Division and 19 with Third Class.

The ceremony began with what the university tagged ‘community procession' in which members of the institution and those of the host Malete community and adjourning communities marched from the Malete's market square to the school campus before going into the venue of the programme.

The university said it did this to promote relationship being built between it and the communities. This, it said was aimed at creating opportunities for social economic activities that would improve the lot of the people.

Vice Chancellor of the institution, Abdulrasheed Na' Allah, congratulated the students on the successful completion of their programmes and advised them to make use of the entrepreneurial skill on which they had been trained to become self-employed and job creators rather than seekers.

"Graduands of today have every reason to be grateful to God for sparing their lives and crowning their efforts with success. As we all know, it is not always the case that all who start a race do complete it at the same time. In some cases, some never reach the finishing line. Some were unable to complete their programmes for various reasons ranging from academic deficiency, financial constraint, misconduct to ill-health and death.

"That you have pulled through is indeed, a manifestation of your being found worthy in character and learning. It shows that you have kept faith with the oath you subscribed to at matriculation. There is no doubt that the Kwara State University has laid the foundation to enable you take the challenges of the 21st century and demands of present day global labour market. It is therefore, your responsibility to build on this foundation and make your mark in highly competitive labour market.

"The training you have received in entrepreneurship has adequately equipped you for self-employment rather than being job-seekers. You are to create wealth and not become parasites on our nation. You should deeply think about this and engage yourselves in activities that will make you more relevant to the needs of the larger society," he stated.

The Vice Chancellor who commended immediate past governor of the state, Bukola Saraki for the vision of his administration in establishing the university and the present administration of Abdulfatah Ahmed for building on it, said that within the four years of its existence the school had gained tremendous recognition both nationally and internationally. He said the institution has continually upheld its mission of being "the fulcrum of knowledge driven-society, building human competences and fostering determination among people through the instrumentality of modern technology."

Na' Allah disclosed that the most remarkable achievement of the university in the last four years was the accreditation it recorded in all the 24 courses that it presented to the National University Commission last year. He said out of the 24 courses assessed, 20 were granted full accreditation while four were granted interim status.

He stated: "It is gratifying to note that the ceremony we are holding was made possible as a result of the success recorded in the accreditation exercise. In this regard, I wish to thank the pro-chancellor and chairman of the Governing Council, Senator Mohammed Sha'aba Lafiagi and other members of council for their immense contributions to the success of the accreditation exercise."

The Vice Chancellor said as part of efforts in promoting community development philosophy of the university, the institution had established a strong partnership in diverse areas especially in research activities with its immediate communities.

In his address at the occasion, the state governor and the visitor of the university, Abdulfatah Ahmed, stressed the need to promote entrepreneurial training in the tertiary institutions to make the graduates job creators rather than seekers.

He stated: "Right now, most tertiary institutions are only producing graduates who are mere job-seekers – especially white collar jobs. The rate at which we are creating jobs is a far cry from the speed at which the Universities are springing up.

"We are more or less breeding a generation of educated but despondent youths who do not have a clear direction of how or where to address their minds after graduation.

"Our Universities must now innovate and consider new ways of providing such entrepreneurial experience as would make our graduates job-creators and employers of labour rather than job-seekers. The curricula should be completely overhauled to include vocational programmes that would imbue the graduates with the spirit of self-sufficiency and innovation after leaving the Universities."

Ahmed disclosed that this problem of graduates seeking employment was one of the challenges that were critically considered when Kwara State University was to be created. He said the mission of the government was to create a university whose ideology would be different from the traditional Universities in the Country.

The governor who hinted that the government meant a university that will be at the forefront in the provision of quality and functional higher education and said that in spite of its meager resources, the government had lived up to expectations.

"The infrastructure and other municipal services which the Government has put on ground are comparable with those of other state-owned and Federal Universities in Nigeria.

"In this regard, I must commend and congratulate the former Visitor and architect of Modern Kwara, our Leader and distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki,whose extraordinary vision for a world-class institution translated into the establishment of this great university," he stated.

He said in continuation of the legacy, his own administration also guarantees prompt release of the monthly subvention to ensure that salaries of staff are paid as and when due while it recently undertook the construction of additional block of classrooms and offices for the use of staff and students.

Before he presided over the convocation, Gambari was inaugurated by the governor, the visitor as the chancellor of the university. The former Nigerian envoy at the UN who said he finished his primary school in the Malete town urged the graduating students not to rest on their oars but keep working hard and be hopeful of brighter future.

Gambari who is also a former special envoy of the UN while explaining how Africa can emerge a leading continent in economic development in the world in the nearest future said that the continent had an advantage of greater youth population than most of the other continents who if it invests in would promote its socio-economic development.

He stated that Africa would in no long time control about one third of the world youth population and said that with systematic and strategic investment in education, health, employment and civil participation of the people the continent would become a force to be reckoned with economically in the world.

He stated: "Africa remains the only continent with a significantly growing youth population. According to UN estimates, in less than three generations, 41 percent of the world's youth will be African. By 2035, Africa's labor force will be larger than China's.

"It is, therefore, of central importance that, Africa in general and Nigeria in particular uses its growing young population to its advantage. The energy, resourcefulness and enthusiasm of the young people have the potential to lift the continent from its current challenges towards increasing socio-economic development".

The former UN envoy said also advised that youth must be encouraged and not marginalised in political participation saying this would promote political and social stability that could foster economic development.

Gambari urged Nigeria to resolutely face challenges of the youth in the country and convert them into opportunities for progress in the nation.

Dignitaries that graced the ceremony aside the governor and his predecessor, included Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, former Acting National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abubakar Baraje, Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Razak Atunwa, Secretary to the state government, Ishaq Gold and traditional rulers in the state led by their chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, the Emir of Ilorin.