Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

The Vice Chancellor of Muhammad Kamalud-deen University (MKU), Ilorin and a distinguished University of Ilorin Ambassador, Prof. Rasheed Gbenga Jimoh, has urged Nigerian youths to embrace education, innovation, entrepreneurship and ensure productive use of evolving technology rather than dissipating their energies on drug abuse, excessive social media consumption and other unproductive activities.

Prof. Jimoh, who gave the admonition on Monday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, while speaking at the CRAFT Innovation Hub and Kuliya Ngari of Ilorin Emirate National Youth Mentorship workshop, challenged the youths to change their negative mindsets and take advantage of emerging opportunities in the knowledge and gig economies.

He was among the speakers at the programme, which focused on equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and values required to navigate an increasingly competitive and rapidly changing world.

Prof. Jimoh, who spoke on the need to look beyond conventional academic credentials, challenged the participants to develop competence, critical thinking, innovation and practical skills that could enable them to remain relevant in a changing world.

He commended the organisers of the programme and acknowledged the efforts of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the Fourth Estate and other stakeholders in addressing challenges confronting young people.

The Vice Chancellor particularly praised the NDLEA for its efforts in combating drug abuse among youths, saying that the situation could have been worse without the agency’s interventions.

“If not for NDLEA, maybe it would have been 100 per cent youth involvement in drug abuse. So, we believe that you can do better, and we are ready to partner with you to ensure that the expected impact is realised,” he said.

Prof. Jimoh said the decline in societal values had become a major concern, recalling that during his youth, certain behaviours were considered unacceptable and attracted strong social disapproval.

He recalled how people could leave their goods by the roadside with confidence that they would remain untouched, noting that the level of trust and communal responsibility in the past was significantly higher.

According to him, young people in his generation were also actively engaged in productive activities, games and other forms of social interaction that helped develop their sense of responsibility and community development.

He urged the younger generation to learn from the past while adapting positively to present realities.

Prof. Jimoh cautioned youths against the misconception that formal education was unnecessary because some content creators and entrepreneurs were making money without conventional academic qualifications.

He said: “Don’t be among those that will say, ‘Schooling is a scam, I can be rich without schooling.’ There is a difference between money and power. Knowledge and skills give you power, while richness can be achieved by anybody.”

He explained that the essence of education was not merely to acquire wealth but to develop knowledge, skills, values and the capacity to contribute meaningfully to the society.

“You are not going to school because of richness; you are going to school because you want to be a transformed human being,” he said.

The Vice-Chancellor disclosed that he had produced not less than 20 Ph.D. holders who are now spread across countries including South Africa, Turkey, Uganda, Rwanda and Nigeria, with one of them heading a unit at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He described the development of people and the transformation of lives through education as one of his major accomplishments, stressing that the impact of education goes beyond financial rewards.

Prof. Jimoh said Muhammad Kamalud-deen University had introduced Innovative Thinking and Idea Creation I at the 100 level and Innovative Thinking and Idea Creation III at the 200 level to expose students of our University to the process of identifying problems, generating ideas and transforming those ideas into sustainable ventures.

According to him, the courses are designed to enable students to study their environment, identify opportunities, develop ideas, nurture and scale them, and eventually build businesses and create jobs.

“It has gone beyond certification; it is now the era of innovation,” he said.

He urged young Nigerians to take advantage of the opportunities available in the knowledge economy instead of relying solely on government for employment.

The Vice-Chancellor also highlighted the growing importance of the gig economy, saying that technological advancement had removed many of the geographical barriers that previously restricted access to opportunities.

“We have migrated from the conventional world to the gig world,” he said.

According to him, Nigerians can now work for clients and organisations across the world without leaving the country.

“You can be in Nigeria and be earning dollars, you can be earning pounds, you can be earning any currency from any country because your location is no longer a barrier to tapping opportunities,” he said.

Prof. Jimoh recalled that the first innovation hub at the University of Ilorin was conceived and developed through partnership and institutional commitment during his tenure as Director of University of Ilorin ICT unit.

He disclosed that discussions were ongoing with captain of industries to establish a similar innovation hub at Muhammad Kamalud-deen University so as to create enabling environment for growing ideation.

The Vice-Chancellor said he had visited and studied innovation hubs in different parts of the world, including Epicenter in Sweden, Craft Silicon in Kenya and Konza City in Kenya, noting that such initiatives had demonstrated the importance of creating environments where young people could innovate and develop businesses.

He said the knowledge economy had become increasingly important in determining the future of nations.

“The knowledge economy is the real thing, and this is where the money is. It is no longer oil,” he said.

Prof. Jimoh described Nigerian youths as intelligent and capable, saying that what they often needed was the right motivation, facilitation and enabling environment to turn their abilities into productive ventures.

He also cautioned young people against spending excessive amounts of time on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok without deriving meaningful value from them.

He advised them to use their data and time to acquire knowledge, develop skills and pursue opportunities.

“What is the value I am deriving from my engagement? Always do this critical evaluation of your engagement because time is very, very valuable. The way we spend it will determine how far we go in life,” he said.

The Vice-Chancellor, who became a professor eight years ago, said he was the first Professor of Computer Science produced by the University of Ilorin.

He recalled the sacrifices he made to pursue his postgraduate education, including travelling to the University of Ibadan for his master’s degree and later to Malaysia for his PhD without a scholarship. He advised the youths to make meaningful sacrifices towards achieving their set goals and to always invest in future. He urged young people to make timely sacrifices for their education and personal development, stressing that “a stitch in time saves nine.”

Speaking on the programmes offered by Muhammad Kamalud-deen University, Prof. Jimoh said the institution was a private university in Ilorin running conventional academic programmes.

He disclosed that the university currently had 15 take-off programmes spread across two faculties.

The Faculty of Humanities, Management and Social Sciences offers seven programmes: B.Sc. Accounting, B.Sc. Business Administration, B.Sc. Economics, B.A. Arabic, B.A. Islamic Studies, B.A. History and International Studies, and B.A. English.

He said the programmes commenced in 2023 and that the pioneer students would be proceeding to their final year by October.

The Faculty of Science, Computing and Information Technology offers eight programmes: B.Sc. Computer Science, B.Sc. Cybersecurity, B.Sc. Software Engineering, B.Sc. Plant Science and Biotechnology, B.Sc. Chemistry, B.Sc. Physics with Electronics, B.Sc. Mathematics, and B.Sc. Statistics and Data Science.

Prof. Jimoh disclosed that additional programmes were being introduced in the current academic session.

He said the National Universities Commission (NUC) had approved the university’s Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) programme, while the institution was awaiting clearance from the Council for Legal Education.

According to him, the institution is set to invite the Council for routine inspections and he is hopeful that clearance will be given within the 2026/2027 admissions window given the institution’s preparations, after which interested candidates would be able to apply for admission into the Law programme.

He stressed that the university would follow all regulatory procedures before commencing her law programme.

The Vice-Chancellor also announced nine new programmes under the College of Health Sciences. They are B.Sc. Nursing Science, B.Sc. Medical Laboratory Science, Doctor of Physiotherapy (DPT), B.Sc. Complementary and Alternative Medicine, B.Sc. Environmental Health, B.Sc. Public Health, B.Sc. Community Health, B.Sc. Health Information Management, and B.Sc. Information Technology and Health Informatics.

He said admission into the programmes would commence within one or two weeks, adding that the programmes were expected to appear on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) within about a week.

He explained that candidates who had earlier chosen another institution could change their institution on the JAMB platform to Muhammad Kamalud-deen University.

Prof. Jimoh said the cut-off mark and other admission requirements including school fees will be made available on the University’s website www.mku.edu.ng after Council approval this coming week. He encouraged participants to share the information with other prospective students.

On tuition fees, he said Muhammad Kamalud-deen University had some of the most affordable fees among private universities in Kwara State.

He attributed the relatively low fees to the mandate of the Ansar-ul-Islam Society and the vision of the founder of the university, Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Kamalud-deen Habebullahi Al-Adaby, who, according to him, wanted people from poor backgrounds to have access to quality education.

Responding to questions on how indigent students could be assisted, Prof. Jimoh said the Proprietor of the University, the Ansarul Islam Society of Nigeria had provided automatic scholarships and subsidies for some programmes at the university.

He listed B.A. Arabic, B.A. Islamic Studies, B.Sc. Chemistry, B.Sc. Statistics and Data Science, and B.Sc. Physics with Electronics among the programmes benefiting from the subsidised fees.

According to him, students in the listed programmes pay ₦200,000 per session, or ₦100,000 per semester.

He said the subsidised fees were intended to make university education accessible to students from less-privileged families.

Prof. Jimoh recalled that scholarship support had previously been provided for 100

He added that other scholarship opportunities would be announced as they became available.

The Vice-Chancellor further explained that graduates of the subsidised programmes could pursue diverse career paths, stressing that university education provides a foundation that allows graduates to navigate different professional fields.

He said: “A university degree is about having a university degree! Anybody from those disciplines can navigate to any career in life.”

Earlier in his welcome address, the Founder and Chief Operating Officer of CRAFT Innovation Hub (CIH), Mr Abdulrasaq Ahmed Abiodun, highlighted the importance of ensuring that competence is supported by sound judgement, character and reputation.

The National Orientation Agency (NOA), Kwara State Directorate, also addressed the participants on “Character Is Capital: Values, Choices, Reputation, and Responsible Citizenship,” with emphasis on values, personal choices, reputation and responsible citizenship.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kwara State Command, in its presentation titled “Protecting Your Future: Peer Pressure, Substance Abuse, Decision-Making, and Consequences,” examined the influence of peer pressure, the dangers of substance abuse, responsible decision-making and the consequences of individual choices.

Other highlights of the programme included a moderated interactive session and question-and-answer segment involving guests and students, as well as a practical exercise titled “My Decision & Reputation Framework.”

The exercise enabled participants to apply a simple decision-making framework to real-life academic, workplace and social situations.

In attendance were stakeholders in education, orientation and drug control, as well as selected students who shared their reflections and personal commitments and appreciated the organisers for engaging them on the importance of competence, critical thinking, character, values and responsible citizenship.