*Photo: Alhaji Aliko Dangote*
The Lagos State University (LASU) 29th and 30th Convocation Ceremonies ended on a high note with major commitments to student welfare, academic excellence, and graduate employment, as Africa’s foremost industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, through the Aliko Dangote Foundation, pledged a ₦600 million girls’ hostel and offered employment opportunities to outstanding LASU graduates in Engineering and Sciences.
Alhaji Dangote, who was honoured with an Honorary Doctor of Business (Honoris Causa) in Entrepreneurship, Industrial and Human Capital Development, was represented at the ceremony by his daughter, Hajia Fatima Aliko Dangote. She announced that the donation would support the construction of a hostel for female students. She also disclosed that first-class graduates in Engineering and Sciences from the graduating class would receive preferential consideration for employment with the Dangote Group after completing their National Youth Service Corps programme.
According to the announcement, the Dangote Group currently employs more than 52,000 people across Nigeria and 11 other African countries, while the Dangote Academy provides practical training for graduates entering the industrial sector. The Dangote Foundation also runs an education scholarship programme, with plans to invest $70 million annually over the next ten years in secondary and tertiary education, teacher training, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, as well as technical and vocational education.
The intervention came alongside a major reward for academic excellence by the Lagos State Government, as Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu donated *₦20 million to each of the two best graduating students of the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions.
In his final convocation address as Visitor to LASU, Governor Sanwo-Olu congratulated the fresh graduates, their parents, sponsors, and lecturers, noting that the University had produced 20,604 graduates in the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions, including 494 first-class graduates. He also highlighted outstanding performances by students, including Lawal Ayilara, who graduated with a 4.96 cumulative grade point average (CGPA) from the Department of Project Management, and Samuel Oluolamide Adebanjo of the Department of Aerospace Engineering, who recorded a 4.97 CGPA.
The Governor also paid tribute to graduates whose achievements were not necessarily reflected in academic distinctions, recounting the personal sacrifices many students had made to complete their studies. He urged the graduates to remain competent, disciplined, and committed to service as they entered the wider world, stressing that their certificates should be accompanied by character and a willingness to make a difference.
Governor Sanwo-Olu further reflected on his administration’s investment in LASU and education across Lagos State. He cited the construction and commissioning of the Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu Library Complex, new lecture theatres and halls, student accommodation, and other facilities. The university’s records show that its student accommodation capacity expanded to 8,000 beds, while more than 50 infrastructure projects were executed through Lagos State Government funding, Federal Government support, TETFund, private-sector contributions, and internally generated revenue.
He also recalled the expansion of the state’s university system from one university to three (Lagos State University of Education and Lagos State University of Science and Technology), with another being proposed, He stated that the administration had also reduced tuition for pioneer students of the new university of education by 65 per cent to improve access to tertiary education.
The Governor described his final convocation as Visitor as a moment of reflection on his relationship with LASU, saying that although official titles expire with tenure, the memories created through service remain. He urged the graduating class to become ambassadors of the University and the State, reminding them that their future would ultimately be determined by what they could contribute rather than simply where they obtained their degrees.
The Chancellor of Lagos State University, His Royal Majesty Oba Dr Olufolarin Olukayode Ogunsanwo, Telade IV, described the convocation as a moment of joy, humility, and gratitude, while welcoming the Governor and Visitor to LASU, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu. He expressed appreciation for the Governor’s continued support for the University and his administration’s commitment to education, human-capital development, technology, and infrastructure under the T.H.E.M.E.S. Plus Agenda.
The Chancellor said LASU remained aligned with the state’s development vision and would continue to serve as one of Lagos’ strongest engines for achieving its educational and developmental objectives.
The Chancellor, who himself received a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from LASU during the convocation, also congratulated the academic and professional doctorate graduates, describing the attainment of a PhD or professional doctorate as a significant transition from being consumers of knowledge to becoming creators of solutions. He noted that LASU’s emergence as the sole South-West beneficiary of the ₦3 billion TETFund Grant for the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Cyber Sciences demonstrated the contemporary relevance of the university’s academic programmes. He therefore urged the new scholars to deploy their expertise towards addressing the complex economic, social, and technological challenges confronting Lagos State and Nigeria.
The Chancellor also explained that the honorary doctorates conferred on Mr Akin Kekere-Ekun, OFR, Mrs Harriet-Ann Omobolanle (Bola) Adesola, and Alhaji Aliko Dangote, GCON were reserved for individuals whose careers and contributions reflected excellence, leadership, and service to society.
He described Mr Kekere-Ekun as a renowned technocrat whose contributions had advanced educational development and public service, Mrs Adesola as an accomplished corporate leader and advocate for women in management, business, and public service, and Alhaji Dangote as a globally recognised industrialist and philanthropist whose contributions to commerce, education, and human-capital development had created opportunities across Nigeria and Africa.
The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Mr Babatunde Ogala, SAN, said the University had continued to strengthen its position among Nigerian universities and remained committed to research, partnerships, and innovation.
He noted that LASU was exploring opportunities arising from Lagos State’s position as a maritime and aviation hub and disclosed that the university had entered into a strategic partnership with the University of Illinois in Chicago for collaboration involving students, lecturers, and research institutions.
Mr Ogala congratulated the academic and professional doctorate graduates, describing their achievements as the outcome of rigorous study, research, intellectual inquiry, discipline, and perseverance. He also congratulated the recipients of honorary doctorate degrees, saying their recognition reflected their contributions to leadership, innovation, and societal development.
Receiving his honorary Doctor of Business degree in Entrepreneurship, Finance, and Management, Mr Akin Kekere-Ekun, OFR, thanked the University for the recognition and urged the graduating students to combine academic qualifications with integrity and personal responsibility.
Mr Kekere-Ekun encouraged the graduates to pay attention to discipline and proper conduct, stressing the importance of doing things correctly. He also urged them to abandon the culture of ‘African time’ and embrace punctuality as part of professional and personal responsibility. He advised the graduates to carry the values of integrity, competence, respect for the law, and responsibility into their professional lives.
For Distinguished Professor Ibiyemi Ibilola Olatunji-Bello, mni, NPOM, the convocation was the last of her five-year tenure as Vice-Chancellor of the University. In her final convocation address, she said she was leaving behind a university of “proven excellence”, describing LASU as Nigeria’s most subscribed university and one that had gained increased recognition within Africa’s higher education community.
Professor Olatunji-Bello outlined achievements recorded during her administration, including improvements in academic accreditation, research and innovation, digital transformation, infrastructure, financial sustainability, staff and student welfare, and global visibility. She said the university secured full accreditation for 31 of the 37 programmes presented during its first accreditation exercise under her administration, while all professional programmes presented achieved full accreditation.
She also highlighted the expansion of student accommodation to 8,000 beds, the construction of major facilities, employment opportunities created for hundreds of qualified staff, scholarships running into tens of millions of naira, and improvements in the university’s internally generated revenue. The university’s internally generated revenue, she said, rose from ₦3 billion in September 2021 to ₦13 billion by September 2025.
The Vice-Chancellor thanked Governor Sanwo-Olu for entrusting her with the leadership of LASU and for supporting the administration’s plans during her tenure. She also acknowledged the contributions of the Governing Council, Senate, management, staff, students, and unions, noting that their cooperation helped sustain industrial peace and made possible five uninterrupted convocation ceremonies.
She congratulated the graduating students and urged them to carry the University’s enhanced reputation with pride and responsibility. She described her five years as Vice-Chancellor as the most demanding, fulfilling, and humbling period of her professional career.
Also honoured at the ceremony was Mrs Harriet-Ann Omobolanle (Bola) Adesola, who received a Doctor of Business (Honoris Causa) in Corporate Finance and Governance. In her acceptance speech, Mrs Adesola spoke about the importance of women’s empowerment and the need for businesses and institutions to be sustainable for future generations. She said communities thrive when women participate and lead,
while stressing the importance of developing Nigeria’s human capital.
The combined 29th and 30th Convocation Ceremonies produced 20,604 graduates across Diploma, First Degree, and Higher Degree categories for the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 academic sessions.
The ceremonies also featured the conferment of a Doctorate degree on the University’s Chancellor, His Royal Majesty Oba Dr Olufolarin Olukayode Ogunsanwo, Telade IV, and the elevation of Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello and Professor Rafiu Olaoluwa Okuneye to the rank of Distinguished Professor.
The Epe Campus also hosted a convocation ceremony for the first time in the University’s history, with graduates from Engineering and Agricultural Sciences.
With the Dangote Group’s hostel and employment commitments, the Governor’s financial rewards for academic excellence, and the University’s reported progress in infrastructure, research, accreditation, and student welfare, the convocation marked another significant chapter in LASU’s development as one of Nigeria’s leading state universities.