A group of graduates of the Federal University of Technology, Akure tagged 91/97 set has donated twenty all-in-one computer sets to the management of the institution.
Presenting the donation to the Vice Chancellor, Professor Adenike Oladiji on Friday 29th September, 2023, the President of the class, Engineer Olorunfemi Opeyemi said the give back was borne out of the love the set has for the university and its desire to enhance teaching and learning.
According to him, a check was done to know one of the felt need of the university which informed the choice of the gift donated. He acknowledged the huge investment of FUTA into their lives while studying which has enabled them attain their various goals and life ambitions. He added that the donation is just a token compared to the men and women they have become today courtesy the quality of training they got from the university decades ago.
He, thus encouraged other sets to show interest in alumni matters by not forgetting their Alma Mata. “This University belongs to all of us and we must strive to see to its development through continuous give back. Funding is a major issue in university administration and old students must wake up to assist in whatever little way they can” he added.
Engineer Opeyemi commended the Vice Chancellor and the university management for sustaining the legacies of the university as the Best University of Technology in Nigeria and third best among the whole universities in the country, adding that in due course FUTA will become a force to reckon with in the higher educational sector in the world.
Responding, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Adenike Oladiji expressed her delight in the donation which she described as a “celebration of home coming”. She congratulated them for the great work they are doing in their various destinations and admonished them to continue to be good ambassadors of the university.
Professor Oladiji said “I commend this group, comprising people of high integrity. Thank you for the services you have been rendering to the university directly or remotely. You are men and women of great valour. Thank you for coming to the aid of the university at a challenging time like this with this donation. If different groups do this, the university will be better. The university belongs to you and since it has become more glaring that the government cannot fund it alone, interventions like this will surely help. Give-back come in various ways. Different from the Western world, Africans are good givers, giving in various ways, ranging from giving to neighbours, to helping out to train non biological children and so on.”
She however pleaded that scholarship be instituted for People Living with Disability (PLWD). “I look forward to how to assist students living with disabilities through support in form of scholarships. This, I believe will go a long way to alleviate their suffering and put smiles in their faces.”
The Vice Chancellor promised effective use of the donation, saying that they will be of great help in automating the operations in certain departments of the university. She called on managers of the educational sectors to establish and maintain good and cordial relationships with their alumni adding that the donation of Class 91/97 will make a statement wherever they are distributed such that it will attract other sets to do likewise.
