TheCable

Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote group has become the 100th person to receive a honorary doctorate degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria’s premier university, in its 68-year existence.

Speaking to Dangote’s decoration, Umar Mustapha, the pro-chancellor and chairman of council, said “University of Ibadan has awarded 99 honourary degrees in its 68 years of ethe 100th goes to Aliko Dangote”.

Dangote, who received the honour alongside Niyi Osundare, one  of Africa’s finest poet, and Jacob Olabode Amao, the first Asiwaju of Ibadanland, and founder of the famed Bode Foam, also donated N250 million to the university’s school of business.

Speaking at the University’s founder’s day, where the award was conferred  on Thursday, Dangote said the university deserves special attention as the nation’s first university.

“I believe that UI deserves special attention not just because of its status as Nigeria’s oldest university, but also because of its invaluable contribution to the transformation of society through creativity and innovation,” the Union of Campus Journalists quoted Dangote to have said.

(L-R) UI registrar,Olukoya; Dangote, Osundare. Amao…

“With adequate funding, I believe the university will be able to compete favourably with the best universities in the world. It is in this wise that I will like to use this opportunity to enjoin the Federal Government to consider allocating special funds to the university to enable it to improve on its research and upgrade its infrastructure.

“We do acknowledge that the Federal Government alone cannot shoulder the entire burden of funding tertiary education due to competing needs of other sectors that also demand priority attention. This is where private-public partnership (PPP) comes in.”

Dangote said the award will further encourage the Dangote Group to redouble its efforts towards promoting Africa’s economic renaissance.

“We are grateful to UI for recognising our modest efforts to transform Africa,” he said.

“Over the next three years, we, at the Dangote Group, will be investing nearly $20billion in projects ranging from a petroleum refinery, petrochemicals, fertiliser, gas pipeline, to backward integration in sugar and rice production and dairy farming.

“These projects will create over 250,000 jobs; provide foreign exchange earnings and savings of $16billion for the country, thus helping to diversify our economy.”

The university awarded doctorate degrees to 442 candidates across its 11 faculties, two institutes and two centres of  learning.

In attendance was the Enitan Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife; Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto and chancellor of the university; Saliu Adetunji, the Olubadan of Ibadan, among many other dignitaries.