Convocation: 20-year-old emerges overall best student at Baze University

Twenty-year-old Morenikeji Adebanjo, from Ogun State, emerged as the overall best student at the 10th Convention Ceremony of Baze University.

Speaking during the convocation ceremony of the school in Abuja on Saturday, Adebanjo attributed her success to the collective efforts of her lecturers, families, and the institution.

Supreme News reports that Adebanjo, a graduate of Law, came overall best with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.81 on a scale of 4.0 out of the 388 undergraduate candidates

Also, Oseloka Zikora, a Mass Communication student, came in overall best with a 5.0 CGPA on a scale of 5.0 in the Masters programme among 225 candidates.

Adebanjo, while promising to be a helpful member of the society through mentorship, said this was the only way to give back to the school and the society at large.

“A lot actually inspired me, first is God, second my family and this achievement is not an individual achievement but a collective achievement through Baze University.

“My lecturers also were of great help to me. Sometimes going to meet them for extra explanation and taking the time to really understand, I appreciate their efforts. It was a collective effort.

“I will try to be a helpful member of the society in any way I can. I intend to help first the undergraduates, give them some advice on how to succeed as well as using law as an instrument of change,” she said.

In an address, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Kathleen Okafor, said the university has recorded a notable milestone, including growing academic programmes from 72 in 2022 to 102.

Okafor said this comprised 43 undergraduate courses, 41 post-graduate (PGD and MSc) programmes, and 18 PhD programmes.

She said that the convocation was also to honour two Nigerians, the late Justice Mohammed Bello with an Honorary Doctor of Letters and the late Hajiya Maryam Babangida with an Honorary Doctor of Science degree.

“Today, we present a list of 613 graduates, 388 at the undergraduate level and 225 at the postgraduate (masters degree) level.

“To us, the pleasure of producing another set of excellent intellectuals for the nation and the international community is limitless. We return all glory to the Almighty God who has made this possible,” she said.

The acting vice-chancellor also said that women must participate to be in the quest for economic regeneration as well as engage in the family and national resources for fairness, equity and justice.

She said that universities must henceforth impact education that is relevant and ethical, combating genocides and poverty, blatant breaches of the rule of law.

“The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and World Bank research reports show that exposure of women to economic activities shot productively from about 17 percent to 37 percent within two years.

“Women must be in this quest for economic regeneration, they must participate, they must collaborate and engage in the family and national resources for fairness, equity and justice .Them can be no peace without justice,” she said.

She, therefore, advised the graduating students to pursue self development in their specialised discipline and as well join relevant professional associations to sharpen their digital skills.

She said this was necessary because with the age of digital innovation and entrepreneurship, they would be well equipped to face the exigencies of work places.

Another graduating student, Roosevelt Ken-Ebeku, encouraged the graduates to share and inculcate the values and lessons learned from the school with society at large.

Ken-Ebeku, also the Student Union Government (SUG) President of the institution, commended the institution’s management for the numerous social activities the school offered, saying that the 10th convocation was the first of its kind the institution had witnessed.