Abiodun to graduates: Think outside the box

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has challenged the 2,347 new graduates of the State Institute of Technology (OGITECH), Igbesa, not to add to the growing list of unemployment in Nigeria, and rather think outside the box in order to gain employment.

Abiodun said this at the polytechnic’s fourth convocation ceremony and conferment of awards for the 2019/2020 academic session.

• COVID-19 compounded effort to address insecurity, others – Buhari
• Ogun govt to send errant students to juvenile homes

The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, urged the graduands to see the academic awards as a starting point.

He also charged them to be creative and think of whatever they could do to be employers of labour, instead of adding to the number of unemployed graduates.

“I enjoin you, this academic awards you have acquired are the starting points for achieving greater heights in the nearest future.

“Think outside the box of what you can do to become next employers and not as statistics to the growing rate of unemployment. Be creative and entrepreneurial,” Abiodun advised.

The governor congratulated the overall best student, Lawal David, who graduated with a GPA of 3.91.

He also congratulated Oluwatosin Okuleye, the first ever Students Union President to graduate with distinction in the history of the institution, adding that 62 other students, who graduated with Distinction are in the institution’s honours list.

The governor also gave an automatic employment to the best graduating student, David, in any establishment of his choice in Ogun.

The Rector of OGITECH, Engr Olufunke Akinkurolere, said that the institute of technology is an ICT-based polytechnic, revealing that the students engaged in entrepreneurial activities as it has affiliation with CISCO Networking Academy for the award of professional certification in IT Essentials, CCNA 1, 2, 3, 4; hence making them graduate with minimum of two certificates.

With 30 accredited academic programmes at National Diploma and Higher National Diploma levels, Akinkurolere said the institution has witnessed resource inspection for commencement of four new academic programmes, including Civil Engineering, Building Technology and Science Laboratory.