The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, has called on Nigerians to prioritise integrity, courage, compassion and dedication to public service, saying the country needs more citizens willing to place national interest above personal considerations.

Echono made the call in Ilorin as Chairman of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) Homecoming Celebration and Investiture Ceremony for Awards of Excellence, Distinguished Alumni and Unilorin Ambassadors.

The event, which featured the homecoming of immediate past Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Emeritus Is-haq Oloyede, also honoured 30 other distinguished Nigerians for their contributions to education, humanity, national development and the growth of the university.

Echono said the recognition of distinguished individuals was particularly important in a society where exemplary contributions were not sufficiently celebrated.

He described Oloyede as a distinguished Nigerian who had devoted his adult life to demonstrating hard work, integrity, courage, compassion and commitment to service.

According to him, celebrating people who have distinguished themselves would encourage them to do more while inspiring younger generations to follow their example.

“We don’t tend to celebrate the right people enough. Our celebrations are often full of funerals, birthdays and burials. But when you celebrate individuals, you give them the impetus to do more.

“More importantly, you encourage others to emulate them so that they can also be celebrated,” Echono said.

He stressed that honours and recognition were important instruments for promoting excellence and sustained performance, adding that those who made positive contributions to society should be recognised while still alive.

Echono cited Oloyede’s tenure as Registrar and Chief Executive of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) as an example of his courage and commitment to reform.

He said Oloyede confronted organised networks involved in examination malpractice and worked with security agencies to dismantle the cartels operating across the country.

The TETFund boss noted that the battle was difficult because the individuals involved constituted a powerful network and often issued threats.

He recalled participating in operations to investigate and dismantle the networks, including an exercise where suspects arrested from different parts of the country were interviewed to establish the identities of those behind examination malpractice.

According to him, the exercise generated useful intelligence that contributed to efforts to sanitise the examination system.

Echono also highlighted Oloyede’s compassion and commitment to inclusive education, particularly his efforts to expand opportunities for persons with disabilities.

He said JAMB under Oloyede went beyond providing facilities for candidates with hearing and visual impairments to supporting organisations that prepared persons with disabilities for tertiary education.

“Today in our universities, I understand JAMB even instituted an award for institutions who admit students with disabilities. Nigeria will remain grateful to you, sir,” Echono said.

Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof Wahab Egbewole, described Oloyede as a worthy product and ambassador of the institution whose academic achievements, administrative leadership and commitment to national development had brought honour to the university.

Egbewole said the establishment of a professorial chair in Oloyede’s honour was a befitting recognition of his contributions to scholarship, leadership and the development of the university.

He appealed to stakeholders and guests to support the N250 million endowment, describing Oloyede as a highly disciplined, courageous and outstanding Unilorite and an “uncommon better by far Ambassador.”

The Vice-Chancellor urged the recipients of the various awards to reciprocate the honour by contributing to the development of the university.

He challenged recipients of the Awards of Excellence to identify projects they could execute, while Distinguished Alumni were encouraged to jointly identify and fund projects that would bear their names.

Egbewole similarly called on the Unilorin Ambassadors to collectively support a project for the institution, expressing optimism that the projects would be completed before the next edition of the honours programme.