The Federal University Lokoja FUL has appointed a student of the Institution, Samuel Ogirima Joseph, as a One Day Vice Chancellor, with the winner calling attention to tree planting. The initiative aims to prepare students for the art of accountability, leadership in tertiary institutions, and outside.
The institution unveiled Ogirima as the vice Chancellor for a day in a well attended ceremony held inside the office of the Vice Chancellor at the Felele main campus on Tuesday in Lokoja.
The VC for One Day, Ogirima Joseph who was conducted round the offices of the principal officers and attended dummy Senate sitting, pledged to use the occasion to foster cordial relationship betwern the students and Management of the institution.
He commended his lecturers, principal officers, staff, and students for the confidence reposed in him to assume this highly tasking office. He promised to use the rare opportunity to galvanize a better understanding among the various stakeholders in the university.
He called for support to drive home his vision and mission for the school, adding that his first assignment of tree planting campaign aligned with the vision of the present management.
Earlier, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Solomon Gbenga Ibileye, disclosed that his aim of instituting the concept of VC for one day was to mainstream students into the governance structure and to deliberately prepare students for leadership and accountability.
He said, the Management needs to let the students know that there is more to life in the classroom than practical learning and thus they should be abreast with how leadership works, processes operate and how major decisions are taken.
The Vice Chancellor noted that whatever decisions the leadership take has effects beyond the seat they sat. He said hat the ceremony of “VC for a day’ today is to let other students know that there is more to what teachers teach in the classrooms, what technology does in the laboratories and what Students Union does, would amount to nothing, if students and Management are not brought together to learn proper transition and complexity of leadership.
“We have vacated the seat of VC to Samuel Ogirima Joseph for today and this is to enable him experience and drive the seat of VC and to coordinate activities for One Day to hold meetings, preside over certain decision making process and to connect with different interests within the University community.
“He started this morning with Principal Officers Committee. It will expose him to how decisions will be arrived at. He has presided over the dummy senate session. This has afforded him how academic policies are framed in FUL, decisions we take in senate chamber and how it affects his colleagues and he is today the ambassador of students in the policy making body of the University.
“One important thing he did this morning was the pronouncement of the Tree Planting campaign. This speaks to his strength as a student who already has the sense of direction of where this University is heading to as his vision tally with the vision of the management to green the university environment.” He revealed
Prof Ibileye noted that it has been the desire of the University to Champion tree planting campaign in order to make FUL the greenest university in Nigeria and Africa and indeed globally.
While congratulating the VC for One Day, parents students body and entire University community for the success of this novel occasion, disclosed that the process leading to his selection passed through rigorous scrutiny and by coincidence the maiden winner came from his department of English and literary studies.
