By Steve Oni, Ilorin
The new Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Sulyman Abdulkareem, has charged new graduates of the institution to be purposeful and ingenious in order to survive the life of struggle for survival in the country.
Speaking during the 33rd convocation of the University in Ilorin on Friday, where a total number of 9,018 graduates took part, Professor Abdulkareem said that there were now few offers for multitude of fresh graduates, adding that, “the world is indeed different now”.
He said: “gone were the days when employers waited on convocation arena with assorted plum and well paid job offers from which fresh graduates made their choices. We now live in a reality characterised by the survival of the fittest, and the fittest are those with special edge of unique and uncommon skills and knowledge. The candid truth now is that just graduating from university is no longer enough to get a job. You need to have the uncommon commonsense.”
“Competition for jobs is now very high. It is only the few that can exert more efforts that get the few offers and who begin the new life with hope, less challenges and frustration”, he added.
Professor Abdulkareem, who titled his speech, Life has just begun, told the new graduates that they were about to start a life of another form of struggle.
“As you are stepping out of this hall, probably thinking erroneously that the struggle has ended, I must caution that the majority of you, especially those of you that have humble background, will begin a life of another form of struggle. Unfortunately, you might be on your own on the struggle. One sure way of winning the struggle is to be purposeful and ingenious. My advice is that you give it your all; dare to be all you can be. You need to persevere because perseverance is the common trait most successful people have in common and that is what has made them to succeed where others have failed,” he said.
Professor Abdulkareem also said that incessant strikes, student unrest and allied factors have earned most Nigerian tertiary institutions a notorious fame of ignominy and repudiation, noting that peace, stable and 17 years of uninterrupted academic calendar of the university had brought about its academic success.
The Vice Chancellor, who said that the uninterrupted learning environment of the university was a product of collective, will and selfless service to humanity, promised to lead by example as pacesetter.
He also said that the record had enhanced status of the university among other tertiary institutions in the country.
A total number of 9,018 graduated in the 2016/2017 academic session, out of which 7,533 were first degree/diploma graduates, while the remaining 1,485 graduates had higher degree/postgraduate diploma.
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