Amid distractions, UNIMED excelled in 2024 — VC

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo State, Prof. Adesegun Fatusi, has disclosed that in the outgone year 2024, the institution was able to blaze the trail amid distractions.

According to Fatusi, the first specialised medical institution achieved, among several feats, the commencement of its Doctor of Pharmacy program as well as the Bachelor of Speech Therapy program.

The Vice-Chancellor also maintained that in 2024 the university was confronted with the issue of the accreditation of the Bachelor of Radiography and Radiation Science program with the purchase of essential equipment and recruitment of new staff.

Fatusi stressed that some individuals plotted against the institution in peddling a false narrative, but the university weathered through the storm.

He said, “Against all odds and for the first time, the convocation was held at our main campus on the 12th of December 2024.

“We completed our new health centre complex, and His Excellency, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, commissioned it on Friday, 13th of December 2024. That same day, the Governor also laid the foundation of the Senate building at the main campus.

“At the special convocation ceremony of 13th December 2024, we awarded our first set of honorary degrees to his Imperial Majesty, the Osemawe & paramount ruler of the Ondo Kingdom. Oba Dr. Victor Adesimbo Kiladejo Jilo III, CFR, was installed as the first chancellor of the university. These are just a few of the significant achievements of the university in 2024.

“Unfortunately, we also experienced the work of the “accuser” and his agents in no small measure through attempts to blackmail, false petitions, and campaigns of calumny against the university and its leadership.

“The accuser, true to character, “has nothing to do with the truth, and there is no truth in him; when he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” God, however, helped us as a community to focus on the vision and mission rather than these distractions.

“Indeed, the Lord, in His mercy, turned the counsel and campaigns of calumny to nought, and it could not stop the advancement of the university.”

The VC stressed that “Among others, for the first time, we admitted over 1,000 students in 2024. In the same year, UNIMED was honoured by the state government, through the Office of the Head of Service, with the distinguished Public Service Award.

“The celebration of the 10th anniversary of the university in December 2024 showed the power of strategic focus, commitment, and unity. It demonstrated to the world what we could achieve when each contributes his/her quota to the collective aspirations of the University.

“The anniversary turned out to be a crowning moment of the University’s glory in the last decade! Indeed, teamwork makes the dream work”