Vice-Chancellor-designate, Professor Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq’s Special Adviser on Health, Professor Adekunle Dunmade, veteran journalists ; Mr Dapo Olorunyomi and Alhaji Tajudeen Abdulkarim , traditional rulers; Olupo of Ajase-Ipo, Oba Ismail Bolaji Alebiosu, the Olomu of Omu-Aran, Oba Abdulraheem Adeoti and the Olupako of Share , Oba Alhaji Haruna Usman were among dignitaries that attended the farewell ceremony held for the outgoing Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Sulaiman Abdulkarim Age at the Main Auditorium of the university on Friday.
Professor Sulaiman Abdulkarim Age, who was named as Vice –Chancellor of the University of Ilorin in August 2017 , will complete his five-year tenure tomorrow, 15th of October 2022 while Professor Wahab Olasupo Egbewole would be taking over from him as 11th Vice Chancellor of the University.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned a documentary book on his tenure and achievements as 10th Vice –Chancellor of the institution titled ‘ FOOTPRINT OF A GIANT’ authored by Mr. Kunle Akogun, the university’s Director of Corporate Affairs, was launched at the event .
It was a chorus of ‘you have done us proud’ all the way.
Mr Dapo Olorunyomi, who was the book reviewer , opined that being modern -minded will ease things for leaders and produce problem –solving strategies while noting that being innovative will also help a leader to record success and address challenges as Abdulkareem had done as Vice –Chancellor of University of Ilorin.
Olorunyomi is the publisher of Premium Times, an online news platform .
The popular journalist , who agreed with the submissions made by attendees of the event recognizing Professor Age Abdulkareem’s outstanding achievements , listed factors that had helped him to get this done to include proper up-bringing, architecture of his personality, power of his faith and being a modern- minded person.
He also noted that Abdulkareem has a decent sense of himself and would not have anything to do with corruption and had abhorred and hated cheating right from his childhood days .
‘Abdulkareem’s impeccable persona are a blend of proper upbringing, a strong sense of faith [not the opportunistic posturing of using religion for political advancement that you see all around us today], a genuine understanding of the demands of modernity, a disciplined sense of freedom and the management of diversity, an awareness and belief in innovation as a mechanism for renewal, and a decent sense of self’ he said.
The book presenter, Professor Lukman Azeez described Professor Abdulkareem as a great leader ,who confronted challenges with vision, courage and prayers.
He also added that Abdulkareem has a noble vision and did his best. The book will according to him serve as a checklist and the check board to evaluate the outgoing Vice- Chancellor while also providing an immutable record to judge and access his legacies.
Giving his speech, Professor Abdulkareem, who thanked the management and staff of the university for the support and the cooperation he had enjoyed as Vice-Chancellor of the university for five years, noted that all the appointments made on his watch were not lobbied for while all the appointees did not fail in delivering their mandate.
He apologized to those that he was unable to meet their needs noting he did no such thing deliberately while asserting that the university has lovely and talented people as staff.
Author of the book, Mr Kunle Akogun, who came up with the idea of such a book in 2017, in order to have accomplishments of heads of the university documented, noted that ‘this book project has been a self-imposed task since 2017 and it must not be allowed to die no matter what’.
‘The book, “PROF. ABDULKAREEM: FOOTPRINTS OF A GIANT (VC, UNILORIN 2017 – 2022), carefully chronicles the achievements of Professor Abdulkareem, during his five-year tenure (October 2017 – October 2022) as the University’s Vice-Chancellor. It also itemizes the several honours and laurels, which the multiple award-winning Professor of Chemical Engineering earned for himself and the University in the course of his stewardship.
It is the second in the series of THE UNILORIN LEADERSHIP SERIES, a concise end-of-term portrait of a passing phase in the rich history of the University.
The historical series, which debuted in 2017 at the end of the tenure of the 9th Vice Chancellor of our great University, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, OON, aimed at creating an information data bank that will help to preserve, for posterity, the numerous legacies of successive administrations in the University.
This unprecedented initiative, which, before 2017, was never known in the annals of the University of Ilorin, was necessitated, as I stated in the first edition, by the paucity, or indeed non-availability, of any useful reference book on past chief executives of the University to fall back on by interested researchers on the respective administrations of the University. Almighty Allah has graciously made it possible for us, through the present work, to institutionalize this great initiative of the Directorate of Corporate Affairs on my watch. Alhamdulillahi! It is my fervent hope and prayer that the initiative would be sustained and made a permanent event in the quintennial transition programmes for successive Vice Chancellors’ he added- Team@orientactualmags.com
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