Gifts N3m to six LAUTECH graduates
Senior Special Adviser to the President on Industrialisation, African Development Bank (AfDB) and Professorial Fellow, United Nations University, The Netherlands, African Development Bank Group, Prof Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, has said Nigeria must pursue a seven per cent growth rate and double its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to achieve the much-desired $1trillion economy.
He gifted six graduands of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Oyo State, N500,000 each as the guest lecturer of the 17th convocation of the institution.
The six graduands came out top in their classes. President Bola Tinubu had said the vision of his administration was to achieve a $1 trillion economy. Oyelaran-Oyeyinka made the call while delivering the 17th Convocation Lecture of LAUTECH.
The professor, who spoke on the theme, ‘Can Nigeria Thrive in Times of Tumultuous and Rapid Technological Changes?’, said the country needed to pursue rapid structural transformation through industrialisation and modernisation of the agriculture sector.
He said: ‘’Let me begin to answer the questions I posed in the beginning. What should Nigeria do to thrive in the face of a world moving at breakneck speed? First, Nigeria must protect its economy from external shocks.”
It must aim for accelerated economic growth of at least seven per cent. For Nigeria to double its GDP and reach the trillion-dollar economy in the next decade, the growth rate must be seven per cent. It must therefore look to other sources and sectors other than crude oil.
“To shield the economy from perennial shocks, Nigeria must pursue economic diversification. The lessons of the last 50 years of Africa’s post-independence show clearly that our country continues to lag far behind in technological capacity. We should pursue rapid structural transformation through industrialisation and modernisation of the agriculture sector.”
THE lucky six included the Overall Best Graduating Student of the University in the 2023/2024 academic session, Adeduntan Badirat, who had a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.86 in Science Laboratory Technology, and five Engineering graduates.
The Engineering graduands are Komolafe Teslim with a CGPA of 4.77 in the department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering; AbdulRasheed Wasiu with a CGPA of 4.72 in Chemical Engineering, and Oladipo Johnson Omoniyi with a CGPA of 4.71 in Civil Engineering.
Others are Oyelade Oluwaseun Oluwafikunmi of Computer Engineering with a CGPA of 4.67 and Eniade Miracle Stephen with a CGPA of 4.62 in Mechanical Engineering.
Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, the first Nigerian professor of Development and Industrial Policy, who paid the money into the students’ bank accounts, called on the Federal Government to prioritise the development of the technological strength of Nigerians.
