Get Guardian on GoogleFifty-four graduating students have earned First Class honours out of the 630 graduands set to be conferred with degrees and postgraduate diplomas at Crawford University’s 18th convocation ceremony.
Disclosing the figures at a pre-convocation media briefing at the university’s Faith City campus, Igbesa, Ogun State, Vice Chancellor, Professor Solomon Olanrewaju Makinde celebrated the academic feat of the 2025/2026 graduating set, proudly christened “UNICORN 18”, noting that over half of the undergraduate cohort finished in the top two degree classifications.
A breakdown of the 630 graduands shows that 528 are completing undergraduate programmes, while 102 are graduating from the postgraduate school.
Among the 528 undergraduates, 287 students, representing approximately 54.5 percent, graduated with either First Class or Second Class Upper Division degrees. Alongside the 54 First Class honourees, 233 students earned Second Class Upper, 191 secured Second Class Lower, and 50 finished with Third Class degrees.
In the regular undergraduate programme, Ibazebo Anthony Eromonsele of Computer Science and Technology department and Njoku Chiamaka Jasmine of Biochemistry department, emerged as joint best graduating students, tying with an impressive Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.92 out of 5.0.
Meanwhile, in the School of Part-Time Studies, Uzoma Perpetua Ndidiamaka of Physics with Electronics clinched the overall best graduating student title with a 4.96 CGPA.
On the postgraduate front, the institution is producing 17 Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) graduates, 57 Master of Science (MSc) holders, seven Master of Business Administration (MBA) recipients, and 21 Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) graduands.
Prof. Makinde said: “These accomplishments are worthy of celebration. They demonstrate the intellectual discipline, perseverance and commitment that we seek to cultivate in our students. However, our understanding of academic excellence goes beyond degree classifications; we are equally interested in the capacity of our graduates to apply knowledge, solve problems, and demonstrate integrity.”
Beyond celebrating the graduating class, Prof. Makinde highlighted major institutional breakthroughs recorded since his administration took office in October 2025.
He said the National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved six new undergraduate programmes under the newly established College of Allied Health Sciences, comprising Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science, Physiotherapy, Radiography, Public Health, and Community Health.
He added that converted facilities for the college are ready, with pioneer students scheduled to resume shortly after the convocation.
The vice chancellor also announced that Crawford University recently became the first university in Nigeria to attain National Education Repository and Databank (NERD) status, positioning the institution at the forefront of digital scholarship and research visibility.
Looking ahead, Prof. Makinde outlined the CRAWFORD 2030 Development Agenda, an 11-pillar strategic blueprint designed to drive internally generated revenue, expand infrastructure, foster industry linkages, and deepen international partnerships, such as the university’s recent selection for the Africa–Brazil Universities Collaboration Initiative.
Through these sustained reforms, the institution aims to lay the foundation for entry into the Times Higher Education rankings within five to seven years and break into the top 1,000 universities globally within the next decade.
