It was a groundbreaking achievement for the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) as it emerged the best university in the South-West, while its Vice Chancellor, Professor Joseph Fuwape, the best VC in the zone.
The university was awarded at the second edition of the South West Education Award which held at the Redeemers University, Ede (RUN), Osun State.
Addressing the audience at the opening ceremony, the chairman, South-West Education Awards (SWEA) and chairman, screening committee, Pastor Honey Olawale, said since its maiden edition held at the University of Ibadan (UI) in 2018, the organization had based its assessment and criteria for choosing winners on merit and had never been influenced by pecuniary factors.
He informed that the award was aimed at celebrating achievements in the education sector across the South-West region of the country, stressing that FUTA was selected particularly for its outstanding achievements and consistent track records in academic excellence.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor, Development, Professor Phillip Oguntunde, who represented the Vice Chancellor, Professor Joseph Fuwape, disclosed that the award came at a time FUTA had redoubled its efforts to be among the best universities, not only in Nigeria, but also globally.
“This award is a clarion call for FUTA and its Vice Chancellor to continue to sustain the tempo of development, and I thank the organizers of the event for recognizing and acknowledging the efforts of the Vice Chancellor, just within two years of being in office,” he stated as he enthused other awardees at the event.
Other awardees were the Redeemers University, awarded as Outstanding Private University of the Year; The Federal Polytechnic, Ede, as Outstanding Polytechnic of the Year, and its Rector, Dr H. Oladebeye, as Outstanding Rector of the Year 2018. Some Professors and senior lecturers were also awarded as Outstanding Lecturers of the Year.
Delivering a keynote lecture on infectious diseases at the occasion, Director of African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), Professor Christian Tiench Happi, said that Africa is a blessed continent with abundance of everything such as mineral resources, natural resources, favourable weather, and also unfortunately famine with poverty, and infectious diseases.
Happi spoke on “Genomics Revolution” and said that Africans had to begin to learn how to do things in a different way, if new and meaningful results had to be achieved.
He advised that preventing outbreak of diseases should not just be restricted to laboratories only. Hence, he advised that people in villages and rural communities be sensitized on diseases, causes and preventive measures.
Other categories awarded at the ceremony were the Outstanding School of the Year, Outstanding Teacher of the Year, and Outstanding Student of the Year, which went to Salako Folashade of the faculty of Pharmacy, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
