LAGOS
– Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, the Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University, couldn’t mask her delight nor suppress the sense of fulfillment emanating from her as she listed the accomplishments of her tenure during a statement made on Thursday, April 10, 2025. This came shortly after she took office in September 2021 with specific objectives in mind.
Despite sporadic applause, the scholarly Amazon, overwhelmed with appreciation towards the Governor, Visitor, Deputy Governor, university Senate, every member of the management, faculty, and non-faculty staff—including all unions—expressed deep gratitude for their unwavering backing shown through their unified commitment to service. She then proceeded to list an array of significant accomplishments attributed to her leadership up until now.
This is my fourth consecutive convocation as Vice-Chancellor of this great institution. Since my appointment by Mr. Governor in September 2021, we have held convocation ceremonies annually without interruption, a testament to the stability and consistency that are the hallmarks of our university’s academic tradition.
Governor sir, the convocation ceremony’s weeklong events began on Thursday, April 3, 2025, starting with a press conference followed by a sports competition exclusively for faculty members later that same day. Below is an abbreviated version of the profoundly thankful remarks from the university’s highly dedicated second woman and ninth official vice chancellor of Lagos State University—the premier state institution in Nigeria striving relentlessly to secure the leading position across Africa.
On April 8, 2025, the Convocation Lecture entitled “Patriotism, Citizenship, and National Ownership: The Urgency of Shared Accountability for Nigeria’s Tomorrow” was presented by Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, the Honorable Minister of Education. This lecture was chaired by Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who serves as both the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Chairperson of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
On Wednesday, April 9th, 2025, which was the day before today, the university conferred diplomas, bachelor’s degrees, postgraduate diplomas, and master’s degrees upon 11,755 worthy graduates.
Today, we gather to celebrate the conclusion of the 28th Convocation. This occasion holds special significance as we honor the achievements of the 125 PhD recipients and 37 candidates for professional doctoral degrees who have demonstrated remarkable scholarly excellence and integrity in attaining the pinnacle of educational distinction provided by our institution.
The Senate plans to bestow the esteemed title of Distinguished Professor upon Professor Joseph Abayomi Olagunju, one of our most outstanding educators. Additionally, the Senate intends to grant honorary doctoral degrees to two notable Nigerians: Brigadier General Buba Marwa, CON Rtd., Chairperson of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and a previous military governor of Lagos State. He will be awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters with a focus on Infrastructure, Security, and National Development [Honoris Causa]. Notably, during his tenure as the Visitor to our university, he initiated both the approval and commencement of this auditorium’s construction.
The auditorium bears his name as a tribute to his significant contributions and substantial backing to the university throughout his tenure. The second recipient being honored is Otunba Olufemi Olusegun PEDRO, ex-Deputy Governor of Lagos State, who will be awarded an honorary Doctorate of Business (specializing in Banking, Entrepreneurship, and National Development).
I offer sincere congratulations to these distinguished individuals who have been recognized by our university’s Senate as deserving recipients of this prestigious award. Your efforts towards advancing both our institution and broader societal progress have been outstanding indeed.
Mr. Governor, sir, let us seize this moment not only to celebrate you but also to acknowledge several minor yet significant accomplishments from the past year, all made possible through your steadfast backing and guidance. Due to time limitations, I will touch upon just a handful of them here:
All courses have been accredited: The university achieved FULL ACCREDITATION for 43 out of 44 programs submitted during the most recent evaluation conducted from October to November 2023. One program was granted interim accreditation instead. Following the 27th convocation ceremony in June 2024, these findings were published, ensuring that every academic offering at Lagos State University met accreditation standards as outlined under our initial strategic objective.
At the Africa Centre of Excellence for Innovative and Transformative STEM Education (ACEITSE), we initiated Postgraduate Diplomas, Professional Master’s programs, and Academic Master’s degrees for the first time ever in this program’s history. At the prestigious 98th Annual Conference of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST)—the premier organization globally dedicated to STEM education—LASU led with the largest number of accepted paper presentations; specifically regarding the conference submissions.
Connections and Partnerships
Connections and international partnerships enhance global competence and facilitate the exchange of experiences aimed at achieving top-tier global educational standards.
I am pleased to inform you that over the past year, the university has expanded its collaboration in both academic and professional spheres as outlined below:
– We successfully renewed the Partnership Agreement between LASU and Nigeria Air Force in October 2024, focusing on research and student exchanges.
– The institution will collaborate with the Nigeria Immigration Service to jointly organize the upcoming Nigerian leg of the African Borderlands Research Network conference—the event’s inaugural staging in our country.
– It brings me great pleasure to share that numerous domestic and international peer institutions have joined forces with us across multiple domains aimed at bolstering research initiatives, fostering innovation, and elevating educational standards. Notable partners encompass Kwame Nkrumah University in Ghana and Emmanuel Alayande College of Education from Oyo State, among several others.
Rankings
In the esteemed 2024 Times Higher Education Sub-Saharan Africa Universities Ranking, LASU achieved:
i. The position of second-best public university in Nigeria,
ii. The fourth spot as the top overall university in Nigeria,
iii. Ranked at number 30 among universities across Africa.
The A.D. Scientific Index Ranking recognized LASU as the leading state university in Nigeria for the year 2024.
Additionally, according to the 2024 UI GreenMetrics World University Ranking, LASU secured the title of the best university within the Sub-Saharan region—a feat accomplished for three consecutive years now.
Furthermore, we were honored with recognition from the ECOWAS Youth Summit as the premier institution for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in 2024.
Research and Innovation
To achieve Strategic Goal 2 under my leadership—to establish LASU as a pivotal research center driving national progress—we’ve made significant strides since our previous convocation:
1. We hosted the sixth annual Research and Innovation Expo at the university, uniting academia with industry stakeholders to tackle societal challenges.
2. Recently, the British Council endorsed an initiative involving both our institution and the University of Edinburgh focusing on “Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education Institutes in Nigeria.” Our aim is to formulate guidelines for reporting mechanisms and support systems aimed at shaping policy and practice.
3. I’m delighted to announce that we were gifted a well-equipped Center of Excellence dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and innovation—the Awori House—by Her Excellency, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, who serves as the Senior Special Advisor to the President concerning Sustainable Development Objectives. Managed collaboratively with UNDP, this contribution marks a critical advancement toward enhancing research activities, entrepreneurial ventures, and sustainability within our academic community.
4. Additionally, the Lagos State government has initiated work on constructing a tech park designed specifically to bolster research efforts here at the university.
5. Moreover, the Nigerian Copyright Commission granted us certification protecting copyrights associated with five groundbreaking items produced through our excellence-focused Sargassium studies:
– Fish Food,
– Chicken Feed,
– Rabbit Chaff,
– Pig Grains,
– Grasscutting Mix
Furthermore, all five types of livestock feed mentioned above secured official trademarks via the Trade and Investments ministry.
Consistent with our dedication to progress in technology, LASU has introduced an exclusive online meeting app called TALKSPACE.
The application can be accessed via the LASU website and offers flexible enrollment options for everyone. I’m thrilled to share that we’ve added yet another faculty during my tenure. The newly formed Faculty of Computing and Information Technology includes these departments: Department of Computer Science, Department of Cyber Security, Department of Data Science, Department of ICT, and Department of Software Engineering.
These departments will provide academic programs culminating in the granting of different degrees. At LASU, we have consistently allocated resources to bolster our ICT development.
In light of these circumstances, we set up a one-petabyte Tier 3 Data Center designed to store and offer data archival and repository solutions for carefully selected datasets within Lagos State and further regions. It gives me great satisfaction to highlight that this facility will robustly assist telecommunications sectors as well. Not long ago, we augmented our ICT capabilities by launching an advanced Computer-Based Testing center equipped with seating for 350 individuals.
Infrastructure Advancements
In terms of infrastructure advancement, several projects have been completed:
– A new Faculty of Arts building was constructed using funding from Tetfund.
– The establishment of an Academic Resource and Conference Center has been made possible thanks to support from TETFUND.
– Work continues on constructing a faculty building for the new School of Tourism, supported again by Tetfund.
Additionally:
– There’s ongoing work on a Computer-Based Testing (CBT) center capable of seating 2000 people, led by the Federal Ministry of Education under Honorable Femi Gbajabiamila’s facilitation.
– Another project involves developing a 750-seater lecture theater, facilitated by Her Excellency Princess Adejoke Orelopé-Adefolirẹ.
– New accommodations for catering services have been built within the university’s primary location.
On our Epe campus:
– Boundary fences continue being erected around the premises.
– An auditorium named after Honorable Olatunji Bello is currently undergoing final stages before commissioning.
– Development includes another CBT facility designed to accommodate up to 400 individuals, backed financially by Tetfund as well.
– Infrastructure improvements include buildings dedicated specifically to housing departments related to environmental sciences studies.
– Rehabilitation efforts target enhancing agricultural school resources such as farms, chicken coops, pigsties etc., ensuring their operational efficiency moving forward.
– Facilities like studios meant exclusively for use within faculties focusing on environment-related disciplines remain works-in-progress too.
As academic year 2024–2025 begins, full residence status will officially start across campuses following readiness checks conducted internally. Accommodations tailored explicitly towards providing comfortable living spaces for differently abled learners now stand ready for occupancy among student residences. Selected dormitories even played crucial roles hosting participants during recent All African Universities’ Games hosted jointly between this institution alongside fellow educational body – University Of Lagos (UNILAG).
Improvements haven’t just stopped at lodging options alone but extended into refurbishing various sports complexes along with associated offices utilized daily throughout operations hereatLASU.
To increase our self-generated income, our management team has implemented several initiatives:
– Set up the LASU Water Plant for producing LASU Bottled and Sachet water.
– Officially opened the LASU Academic Resource and Conference Centre as both a multipurpose conference venue and guest house.
– Launched various popular short courses.
– Enhanced our consultancy services to boost overall efficiency.
Development in AthleticsI’m pleased to report that we’ve accomplished Strategic Objective 6 under my leadership: positioning LASU globally through enhanced engagement in athletics and recreational activities. This has led us to jointly host the 11th All Africa University Games alongside the University of Lagos back in September 2024. Notably, this wasLASU’s inaugural experience hosting such an international sporting event.
At the conclusion of the games—where representativesfrom 68 institutions across Africa competed—the LASU team distinguished themselves by securingsecond place overall inAfricaandfirstplaceinSub-SaharanAfrica. The LASUFemaleFootballTeamexcelledby winningthe gold medal at the women’s football tournament, qualifying themfor thenext FISUniversiade taking place inChinaSeptember 2025.
OurteamsarecurrentlypreparingfortheupcomingFISUgamesaswellasthewestAfricanUniversitiesGames(WAUG), where I remain optimistic about their success.Inclosing,Iamproudofthesubstantialadvancementwehaveachievedasauniversity.Althoughchallengesarose,weturneditintostepstonesforgrowth,andthisyear’sthedevelopmentof 11,917graduatesdemonstratesourcommitmenttoexcellence,SirGovernor.IfeelprofoundprideinthefruitsofourcollectiveeffortsthatnotonlyraisedLASUsprofileamongNigerianandinstitutionsbutalsoestablishedintherankingsacrossAfrica.BytheendofmyadministrationinSeptember2026,IconfidentlyanticipateanevenhigherstatusforeducationandexcellenceatLASUwithinthewiderWestAfricancircle.
AppreciationLadies and gentlemen, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Mr Governor, Babajide Olushola Sanwo-Olu for his invaluable contributions to the development of our university. Specifically, I want to thank him, for recently approving the renovation of LASUCOM Histology/ Anatomy Laboratories in Ikeja as well as conversion of the CACOVID Centre, Mainland Hospital Yaba AND the Cardio Renal Centre Gbagada into Annexes of the College.
I would like to express my appreciation to Deputy Governor Dr. Kadri Hamzat and Commissioner for Tertiary Education Hon. Tolani Sule, as well as Chancellor Professor Gbolahan Elias, SAN, Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council Sir David Sunmoni, FCA, KJW, all members of the Governing Council, and other supporters who have contributed to the growth of this institution.
Additionally, I want to convey my sincere thanks to the members of the University Management, Senate, faculty, staff, and students for their significant contributions towards making the university successful. Special recognition goes to the Staff and Students’ Unions whose active involvement in discussing welfare policies has maintained industrial tranquility and ensured consistency in our academic schedule throughout the last three and a half years.
To today’s graduates, allow me to offer my warmest congratulations once more and wish you every success in your upcoming pursuits.
Provided by GAPTEKZONE. (
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