Technocrat Media Nigeria
ILE-OLUJI – A former Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Professor Michael Faborode has charged the management, staff and students of the Federal Polytechnic, Ile-Oluji, Ondo state to develop human capital that must be avid net-workers, laden with innovative ideas to transform their immediate communities and human conditions, and embody the hope of our nation and peoples to attain the sustainable development goals and be the harbingers of the “Africa We Want” in line with the African Agenda 2063.
Prof Faborode who was the guest lecturer at the third foundation day lecture spoke at the permanent site of the institution.
He said “the ability of individuals to become successful professionals and active citizens in their rapidly changing environment is determined by their character qualities, also called socio-emotional skills, and commonly misnamed as ‘soft skills’.
He listed the qualities as curiosity, initiative, persistence, adaptability, leadership, and social and cultural awareness.
“Curiosity, an important determinant of the motivation of learners, reflects the desire to ask questions and show open-mindedness”.
“Initiative is the ability to seek new tasks or new goals in a proactive way”.
“Persistence (or grit) is the capacity to sustain interest and efforts in accomplishing a task or a goal”.
“Adaptability is the capacity to modify views, methods, plans or goals in light of new information”.
“Leadership is the ability to inspire, guide and direct others to achieve a common goal”.
“Social and cultural awareness is the capacity to interact with other people and with the environment in a socially, culturally and ethically appropriate manner”.
The Don expressed fear that any low-income country like Nigeria can achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without a strong tertiary education system.
He emphasised essential contributions tertiary education can make to the goals of sustainable economic growth (SDG 8) and poverty reduction (SDG1), advances on all the other dimensions, from developing a vibrant agricultural sector and building up a resilient infrastructure to mitigating the devastating effects of climate change and preserving the environment.
“All these cannot happen without the participation of scientists and well-trained professionals and the application of leading-edge research for funding appropriate solutions to the big challenges faced by mankind. With respect to the goal of diminished inequality (SDG 10), tertiary education plays a critical role in promoting social mobility through equal educational opportunities for all groups, especially the most vulnerable groups in society (low-income groups, minorities, people with special needs)”, he said.
He ended his lecture with a charge – “Mr. Rector, and all the Principal Officers, pioneer staff and students of this polytechnic, I believe very strongly that you can do it, yes YOU CAN, and YOU MUST. That should be your pact with posterity”.
Earlier, the Rector of the polytechnic, Prof. Adebayo Fasakin in his welcome address noted that the institution is emerging a beautiful campus from its original thick forest from the beginning.
He said “the last edition of our Foundation Day Lecture was held in the Open Auditorium of our Academic Take-Off Site. However, we are holding this edition in the Twin Auditorium in the Polytechnic’s Permanent Campus”
“We relocated the Administrative base of the institution and some programmes to the permanent site in December 2019, following the completion and commissioning of some of our legacy projects.
Fasakin listed the completed projects at the permanent site to include the construction and furnishing of the Administrative Building, the construction and furnishing of the School of Engineering and Workshop, the construction, furnishing and equipping of the Library, complemented with E-library services.
Others include the construction, furnishing and equipping of the ICT/CBT complex, the construction and furnishing of the School of Business and Management Studies, Water Reticulation to buildings in the Permanent Site (Phase I) and the procurement and installation of cut edge ultra-modern teaching and learning equipment for all academic programmes.
He also listed ongoing projects to include: Construction of Multipurpose Auditorium, Construction of School of Environmental Science building, Construction of School of Agricultural Technology building (almost complete), Construction of School of Industrial & Applied Sciences building (Completion stage), Construction of Roads within the Permanent Campus and Construction/Asphalting of Road linking Administrative building, ICT/CBT building to the Roundabout of the Polytechnic main road among others.
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